Ask most people who they know from Pink Floyd and usually the answer will be either Roger Waters, David Gilmour or Syd Barrett. These men all led Pink Floyd at one time or another; Barrett was responsible for their initial stage; Roger Waters for the record-breaking heights of The Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall, and finally Gilmour for their post 1985 output. However, one member that has been around through all three phases is Richard Wright; keyboardist and occasional lead vocalist. Whilst never leading the band, Wright has been behind some of the most important decisions the group made, and his unique mix of piano and synthesizer work made Pink Floyd’s music have the timeless quality that still resonates today, while his vocal contributions allowed the harmonies that allowed songs like ‘Time’ to be instantly recognizable. Overlooked by many, including his own bandmates; Wrights contribution to Pink Floyd was immeasurable.

It contains some of Wright’s finest piano work

While he only has sole writer credit on 10 songs of all that Pink Floyd released, each one stands out in their respective album. His first song was ‘Remember a Day’ taken from their 1968 album A Saucerful of Secrets. One of his finest compositions, it sees Wright taking a nostalgic view on childhood with dashes of realism and abstractness, carefully juggling the abstractness of Barrett’s work with the wide arching themes that would come to symbolize Floyd under Waters.  Another classic example is ‘Summer ‘68’ from Atom Heart Mother, a standout track which tells of a one night stand; it contains some of Wright’s finest piano work and stands out for its rare use of a brass section. In the pre The Dark Side of the Moon days, Wright was an expert in being able to write very musically complex pop sounding songs; with examples including ‘Paintbox’ and ‘Stay’.

The most famous of all his solo compositions is ‘The Great Gig in the Sky’, the famous musical interlude on The Dark Side of the Moon. A fantastic piano tune which highlights Wrights skills as a musician and bridges the gap between both sides of the record. ‘The Great Gig in the Sky’ is mainly comprised of Wright playing a church organ, making the piece quite somber in nature, with wordless vocals from Clare Torry, now credited as a co-writer for this performance. The last song I will use to demonstrate Wrights composition skills is ‘Shine on You Crazy Diamond Part IX’, the only part which is attributed solely to Wright. It is a short somber closing to a song that details the rise and fall of Syd Barret, and makes use of Wrights keyboard abilities in full.

Wright wrote and performed some of the most famous music in Pink Floyd

The next area in which Richard Wright shone is in his musicianship talents. Wright wrote and performed some of the most famous music in Pink Floyd, with his Hammond organ taking a prominence in ‘Us and Them’ from The Dark Side of the Moon, where it gives the gravitas needed for such a heavy song. ‘Shine on You Crazy Diamond’ is further evidence of Wrights musicianship talents; his piano sets the mood for the entire piece, and helps provide the idea of the ghost of Barrett lingering on in the band. His use of synthesizers as far back as The Piper at the Gates of Dawn have always allowed a certain ambiance to Pink Floyd’s work, which helps add to the overall sound of the music. This is evident all the way through his tenure; it still remains on songs such as ‘Cluster One’ and ‘Wearing the Inside Out’ from 1994’s The Division Bell, after he had rejoined the band. This sound is noticeably not as present in albums such as The Final Cut (which Wright was not part of) and A Momentary Lapse of Reason, (where Wright was only employed as a session musician) one of the reasons why these albums do not sound as Floydian.

The piano and organ parts in ‘Sheep’ also stand out as a particular highlight in Wrights catalogue, as while the song is written by Waters, without the playing of Wrights ARP synth and Hammond organ it would sound very different, as the instruments help build the sense of danger in the opening few minutes; while songs like ‘Sysyphus’ show Wright’s ability to write more classically minded pieces. In my opinion the album Obscured by Clouds could not have been the same if not for Wright; his talent is clearly shown with the piano ability on songs like ‘Mudmen’ is a piece with a very serene atmosphere.

Wright’s vocals were somewhat soft and sad

Another area in which Wright was supremely underrated was in his vocal abilities. Much like Barrett in some regards, Wright’s vocals were somewhat soft and sad, but very much suited the compositions he sang on. His voice was able to add the melancholy touch to compositions like ‘Summer 68’ and ‘Stay’. However Wright’s real talent was in his ability to harmonize with Gilmour. This creates some of Pink Floyd’s strongest vocal performances,  especially on ‘Time’ and ‘Echoes’. This made Pink Floyd unique in some respects as the potential to have two lead vocalists who could harmonize well, meant that vocals could take more of an atmospheric presence, and lift the song a lot more than just one voice.

Wright was an integral part of Pink Floyd, and I could list many other musical examples where his input has brought songs to life. But he was an integral part of Pink Floyd who contributed in band decisions as well. It was his decision to make Ummagumma a record which half split into live and studio recordings. It was also his idea to want something “simple and bold” for the cover of The Dark Side of the Moon, which led to the well known design of the prism on the black background, a picture arguably as famous as the album. These were all decisions that Wright made without which Pink Floyd might have taken a different direction.

To conclude I believe Richard Wright was severely underrated in Pink Floyd, with his musical accomplishments often dimmed in favour of Waters and Gilmour. This is evidently shown in both his musical abilities and his decision making in the bands process, with Roger Waters saying when he died: ““It is hard to overstate the importance of his musical voice in the Pink Floyd of the ’60s and ’70s… Rick’s ear for harmonic progression was our bedrock”.