{"id":687331,"date":"2026-05-22T22:57:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T22:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/687331\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T22:57:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T22:57:08","slug":"dick-parry-dead-saxophonist-on-classic-pink-floyd-records-was-83","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/687331\/","title":{"rendered":"Dick Parry Dead: Saxophonist on Classic Pink Floyd Records Was 83"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tDick Parry, who created some of the most indelible saxophone solos in rock music history through his association with Pink Floyd<\/a> and lifelong friend David Gilmour<\/a>, died Friday at age 83.<\/p>\n

\n\tParry was particularly lionized for his unforgettable solos on the albums \u201cThe Dark Side of the Moon\u201d and \u201cWish You Were Here,\u201d including parts on such signature songs as \u201cMoney\u201d and \u201cShine On You Crazy Diamond.\u201d He continued to appear on albums and tours that David Gilmour did as a solo artist or Floyd frontman in later years.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe death was announced by Gilmour on social media<\/a> Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMy dear friend Dick Parry died this morning,\u201d the singer-guitarist wrote. \u201cSince I was seventeen, I have played in bands with Dick on saxophone, including Pink Floyd.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGilmour continued, \u201cHis feel and tone make his saxophone playing unmistakable, a signature of enormous beauty that is known to millions and is such a big part of songs such as \u2018Shine On You Crazy Diamond\u2019\u2026 \u2018Us and Them\u2019 and \u2018Money.’\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHe played in the last band I had that included [former Floyd keyboardist] Rick Wright for the On An Island Tour [in 2006] and at Live 8 with Pink Floyd [the band\u2019s one and only full reunion show, in 2005].\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGilmour concluded his short and sweet message with an introduction to a photo montage that showed just how very far back he and the Suffolk-born Parry went: \u201cHere are some pictures of him, including one of him and me playing for the ABC Minors at the Victoria Cinema in Cambridge in 1963.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAmong the other projects Parry appeared on were 1994\u2019s \u201cThe Division Bell\u201d album, recorded after the split between Gilmour and Roger Waters, which featured his recognizable sax sound on \u201cWearing the Inside Out.\u201d Parry toured with the newly reconstituted Floyd lineup that year as well. Earlier, he had gone on the road with Floyd from 1973 through 1977.<\/p>\n

\n\tAn example of Parry\u2019s work can be found on this 1994 concert version of \u201cMoney,\u201d starting at the 2:07 mark:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tParry was famous among some fans for strapping on two saxes at once on stage, to switch between a baritone and tenor partway through his \u201cShine On You Crazy Diamond\u201d soloing.<\/p>\n

\n\tSome famous names chimed in with comments on Gilmour\u2019s Instagram post, like Graham Nash, who wrote, \u201cI\u2019m very sorry for your loss, David.\u201d Said Merck Mercuriadis, \u201cThank you Mr. Parry for the music, condolences to all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a post wishing Parry a happy birthday in December 2024, Gilmour had referred to Parry as \u201cone of my oldest friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn 1994, Gilmour talked about bringing Parry back<\/a> into the fold for that year\u2019s album and tour. \u201cI got a Christmas card from Dick [Parry] who I hadn\u2019t seen for years, and who\u2019d given up the saxophone entirely and I think was unemployed, living in a village near Cambridge, doing nothing,\u201d he said. \u201cI knew that years ago he had sold his saxophones and gone into being a farrier, shoeing horses. And he had apparently given that up as well, and he had bought himself another saxophone a year or so ago, and he just sent me a Christmas card\u2026 I just rang him up to say \u2018How are you doing?\u2019 He was talking to me about it and I had been thinking about what to do about saxophone on the tour because we weren\u2019t going to need a lot of it, but we needed some.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI asked him if he felt like auditioning for coming on the tour, to see if he still had his chops together, and he told me that he thought he was playing better than he\u2019d ever played. And I got him down to the boat to have a little audition. And he played about three phrases and myself and Bob [Ezrin] said, \u2018Fine, he\u2019s still got it. Screw this auditioning business. See if we can stick him on something.\u2019\u2026 The only one we could think of that would be really appropriate for sax was \u2018Wearing the Inside Out,\u2019 so we put him on it. Boom, he\u2019s got that tone. It\u2019s fantastic. You can recognize it straight away. And so he\u2019s on the tour with us as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAmong the other albums Parry appeared on were John Entwistle\u2019s \u201cMad Dog,\u201d Rory Gallagher\u2019s \u201cJinx\u201d and Procol Harum guitarist Mick Grabham\u2019s \u201cMick the Lad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe can be seen on Gilmour\u2019s home video releases \u201cDavid Gilmour in Concert,\u201d \u201cRemember That Night\u201d and \u201cLive in Gda\u0144sk.\u201d<\/p>\n