Jon Lord, the preeminent hard rock organist and a founding member of the legendary Deep Purple, passed away today at age 71 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.  Though he retired from Purple in ’02, his bandmates have kept going on without him, touring Canada back in February and making a stop at Massey Hall.  For the occasion, I revisited some of the band’s classic works, including the Lord-composed Concerto for Group and Orchestra.  My retrospectives have been linked below for your perusal:

Concerto for Group and Orchestra (1969)

In Rock (1970)

Fireball (1971)

Machine Head (1972)

Made in Japan (1972/73)

…

For some strange reason, I’m reminded of the Iommi tune “Just Say No To Love” on which the late Peter Steele contributed his vocal talents, including this strangely endearing verse–which I think was intended for someone else, mind you.

“Jon Lord said that you were killed
Not possibly be more thrilled
A party thrown, I’m so excited
Since you’re dead, you’re not invited
On your grave I made a wish
You beneath me is such bliss
A fitting end for a phony
You dumped me for Tony Iommi”

(On that note, let’s hope the Iron Man wins his battle with cancer…)

R.I.P.