Richard Wright of Pink Floyd Has Died at 65

Richard Wright, one of the founding members of Pink Floyd has succumbed to cancer at the age of 65. Wright, who met fellow Pink Floyd members Roger Waters and Nick Mason in college, was seen as the group's dominant musical force in their early days.

"Rick's keyboards were an integral park of the Pink Floyd sound," said Joe Boyd, a prominent record producer who worked with Pink Floyd early in its career.

Wright wrote "The Great Gig in the Sky" and "Us and Them" for the album "Dark Side of the Moon" and later worked on the group's epic compositions such as "Atom Heart Mother," "Echoes" and "Shine on You Crazy Diamond."



But tensions grew among Waters, Wright and fellow band member David Gilmour. The tensions came to a head during the making of "The Wall" when Waters insisted Wright be fired. As a result, Wright was relegated to the status of session musician on the tour of "The Wall," and did not perform on Pink Floyd's 1983 album, "The Final Cut."

When Waters left Pink Floyd in 1985, Wright began recording with Mason and Gilmour again, releasing the albums "The Division Bell" and "A Momentary Lapse of Reason" as Pink Floyd. He also released the solo albums "Wet Dream" (1978) and "Broken China" (1996).

In July 2005, Wright, Waters, Mason and Gilmour reunited to perform at the "Live 8" charity concert in London — the first time in 25 years they had been onstage together.