ICONIC Frontman LOST His Voice, So Random Guy STEPPED In to Sing 70s Rock Classic!-Professor of Rock
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- Rock immortality. It’s a rarified state reserved for only a select few. And today’s featured band no doubt earned it with the release of their 8th studio album… The Dark Side of the Moon. Pink Floyd's 10-track collection eclipsed the competition. But what do you do after you have realized your wildest dreams? Well, that question almost tore this band apart. Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Richard Wright, and Nick Mason felt Stagnant and uninspired, these guys were just going through the motions… That is until Roger Waters dredged up the guilt he felt over exiling their former frontman Syd Barrett. Building that into a concept album called Wish You Were Here that the critics tore apart by the way but that fans bought in droves to the tune of 20 million albums. Wish You Were Here would feature a guest vocalist who came out of nowhere to record Have a Cigar when Roger lost his voice as well as the centerpiece of the album: Shine on You Crazy Diamond that was 26 minutes long and brought back this troubled former frontman in a truly mystical way. . The story’s coming up… NEXT on the Professor of Rock.
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#classicrock #70smusic #vinylstory #pinkfloyd
Hey music junkies, Professor of Rock, always here to celebrate the greatest artists and the greatest songs of all time. If you used to study the liner notes and album covers for clues to the mysteries of rock and Roll… You’ll dig this channel of deep musical nostalgia Make sure to subscribe. We are on our way to a million subs and if you like sub and share this content it will keep rock and roll alive!
So it’s time for another edition of our series The New Standards. This show takes an in-depth look into songs that transcend genre, decade, and fads - songs that are monumental touchstones in our culture and society. On today’s episode, from Pink Floyd’s 1975 masterpiece album, it’s the powerful and awe-inspiring epic nine-part track: Shine On You Crazy Diamond.
Heading into 1974, Pink Floyd was faced with what seemed like an impossible task… following up one of the all-time, biggest-selling albums ever put to vinyl: 1973’s landmark record The Dark Side of the Moon. One of rock’s most elite and revered records, Dark Side reached #2 on the UK charts and #1 in America, and would go on to sell over 15 million copies in the US and 50 million plus worldwide. But even more than that, Pink Floyd’s 8th studio album was a flawless collection of timeless tracks that have inspired and amazed listeners the world over for five decades.
However, that kind of mega-success was a double-edged sword. Yeah, the upsides were phenomenal: fame and fortune untold… rock immortality. But there was also an inordinate amount of pressure weighing on the band as well. I mean, what do you do for an encore? And that was the predicament the iconic foursome of David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Rick Wright found themselves in. What do you do next? The band would wrestle over that question for the next couple of years, resulting in a few false starts before actual recording sessions began in January 1975.
The problem clearly did not lie with the collective talents of the band members. Rather, it was a matter of how to once again blend those talents together. Relative harmony had prevailed during the creation of Dark Side. However, unity was fast becoming a fading memory.
Poll: What is your pick for the GREATEST concept album of all time?
STYX - Kilroy Was Here
Olias Of Sunhillow
Guns and Roses Chinese Democracy
Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed
Pink Floyd The Wall ?
'Wish You Were Here' can never be overplayed. It's now 2024 and still cool as ever. A masterpiece!! ❤
Agreed. What's your top track from the classic?
One track? you can't expect me to choose just one track!@@ProfessorofRock
@@j1derliI agree, you cannot pick just one
@@j1derli Seriously! Adam is always trying to get us to pick ONE, when he _knows_ we can't, and I bet he can't either! My "favorite" anything is always subject to change, except for my favorite child. I only have one so that's easy.😃
I think you're watching the wrong channel then.
Those 4 epic guitar notes alone are worth the price of admission.
Agreed. So fantastic!
Twilight Zone theme?
C'mon that was funny.
Legendary status.
Roy Harper somehow managed to craft an uncanny blend of Roger and David. It’s profoundly enigmatic how one isn’t sure which of them sang it, without the remote notion of anyone other than Roger or David. The inflections and
snide ridicule evident are perfectly seamless and genuine. Astonishing.
Great description. I think so too. Great vocal track.
I agree...you can almost taste the vibe within the song.
Well, if you are familiar with Harper’s work and have any of his records, you will hear that his vocals are pure Roy, and not anyone else. He nailed a Pink Floyd song where Waters and Gilmore couldn’t. Listen to the bonus version of Have A Cigar on the box set of WYWH with Waters on vocals…
Waters claims a few more tries he'd have gotten it.... Haha, another aside is Roy Harper is hardly a random guy, but in the USA you could argue it hahahaha
I had no idea that someone else sang that song! I thought it was Roger for all these years!
You have music. And then you have Pink Floyd... they are from another universe.
There are normal lyrics, and then there are lyrics by Pink Floyd.
Umma Gumma's Set The Controls for the Heart of the Sun
is evidence of their other worldly origins.
@@robertholle5599one of favorite albums.
all great bands are from another universe an alternate univere. so whats not news?
Perfect summary in the world of music.
Pink Floyd is one of the very few bands that always seem to be ahead of their time!
So true. What are some other ones?
Hard to answer but Queen might be another one. I heard my 13 year old daughter sing Don’t Stop Me Now the other day. She had no idea who the band was, but I played a few more songs and she knew each one. 😂
Thanks!@@WalkerStalker
I think so too. What a band. It's a shame they self destructed.
Their music sounded so futuristic.
I found an 8 track of Wish u Were Here walking home from school in 1976. When I got home I immediately inserted the aforementioned tape into my Panasonic TNT 8 track player. It changed everything for me. That one “tape” changed my understanding of music. I was 10 at the time. I honestly had no idea what I was listening to, but I knew it moved me. I knew that at 10 years old. Fast forward 50 years and I currently own 4 different versions of the album, several cd’s and a reel to reel copy in my collection. It continues to amaze me and I share it with anyone who will listen. I was fortunate enough to see a few Pink Floyd Tours. Also caught Roger Waters The Wall Tour several years ago. Thanks for the detailed insight into such an Epic Record. Took my right back to that day walking home from school. I’m actually about a quarter of a mile away from the very location as I type. Cheers, Dino
Roy Harper certainly did NOT come out of nowhere. He is one of the most respected musicians in the UK, cited by most major players as one of their favourite artists. You should try listening to "Stormcock" or "HQ" and you will realise what an amazing composer and poet he is.
I agree. I meant random in the fact that he was randomly in the studio at the time. What a stroke of luck.
I just saw an interview with Roy where they were trying to get the vocal right on Have A Cigar and nobody had the attitude for the song.
He was in the control room and one of them asked him to try.
And he had the attitude for Cigar.
yeh i have a record he did with john baldry when in uk several years back he was on bbc at one of the megafestivals and interview few months back uncut mag had his perspective of the 73 zep tour looking back 50 years later
Just don’t listen to Whatever Happened to Jugula, the album he did with Jimmy Page. Worst album I ever heard
“Hats off to Roy Harper” - Led Zeppelin
I cannot even guess why critics would have a problem with Wish You Were Here, its one of the greatest songs of history
I saw Pink Floyd at Giants stadium in the mid-90s and the concert opened with “Shine on you crazy diamond.” The first chord played for a long time on a gradual fade in and fans in the stadium slowly started to notice it. Then just as it got loud enough for everyone to hear it, the lights went out and the stadium erupted in cheers. It was my first stadium concert and I’ll never forget it.
I saw them in Edmonton Alberta in '94 and that's how they started the show. It was also my first stadium concert. Absolutely surreal experience! To this day it ranks as my all-time favorite concert.
@robertgrey7266, was that the show where they placed DSOTM in its entirety? If so, I was at that same show. It remains one of the greatest concert experiences of my life.
I saw them at Giants Stadium as well during that tour.
I love the album, but Wish You Were Here is the one that really strikes a chord with me. There are a couple people that have came through my life that I send that song out to. I miss them dearly.
Thanks for sharing.
The lyrics really do hit home.
Amen. Anyone who has lost a loved one or friend can relate. I think of people that are no longer in my life every time I hear this song. I sing along with the last part every time.
m.ua-cam.com/video/9joAHhzm6EY/v-deo.html&pp=ygUdY29keSBqaW5rcyB3aXNoIHlvdSB3ZXJlIGhlcmU%3D
I saw Gov’t Mule on New Year’s Eve, 2003 at the legendary Beacon Theater in NYC. They played Wish You Were Here as a tribute to their late founding bassist, the great Allen Woody, while home movies of him throughout his life played on video screens. I looked around and every single person in attendance was singing and many had tears streaming down their faces. It was one of the most moving communal experiences I’ve ever had and I’ll never forget it. R.I.P., Woody. Gone, but never to be forgotten. ❤️🤘🏼
It’s remarkable that a band could follow up an album like DSOTM with WYWH. And then with Animals? And then with The Wall? Seriously, they are the GOAT in my opinion.
There’s a reason those albums are considered some of the best of all time.
Mine too!!
Definitely not something that you see these days, at least commercially...kind of why "Have a Cigar" is even more relevant this day and age.
They were not Led Zeppelin or The Beatles, but awesome. There last few albums without Roger Waters were way better, IMO@@williamsanders2439
Not only that, but DSOTM was preceded by Meddle and Atom Heart Mother, which I think both are on the same level as the following albums
The band's reverence for their fallen comrade is epic, literally, with their homage to him in multiple songs and albums. They were told by Syd's family that visiting him only made him more depressed but, even though he'd been cut out of the band for recording and performing, they continued to pay him, helping to take care of him.
They only made sure that he received the royalties from the PF albums he appeared on, but David Gilmour did help Syd with his solo albums after he left PF. That also provided some income for him.
I think this story confirms that it was Waters who spiked Syd. It was said "a friend" had secretly given LSD to Syd which triggered his psychosis. So much guilt is possibly for more than rudeness!
Why was Syd cut out of recording? Nick was the only one who didn't contribute to his solo albums and that's because he wasn't good enough to keep up with Syd's abstract timing. Those were basically Floyd albums under a different name (of the man who both made and named their band) and the results were better than what Pink Floyd were making at the time. They sound like they could've been produced today. They even sound more like Pink Floyd did, then and later, Dark Side etc included. There are elements of More, OBC, Meddle, DSOTM, even The Wall in them. But he wasn't allowed to record with his own band? As PINK FLOYD?
Syd had serious psychiatric problems. PF couldn't continue with him. At least David helped him record his solo albums to help him make money, and they ensured that he got his royalties from sales of the earlier albums he was on. When Syd passed away in 2006, he was worth over a million pounds sterling. The remaining members of the band were deeply saddened by what happened to Syd. They all knew him as youngsters. It was a very hard decision to let him go, but it was necessary. 😢@@Josephine_Mass
I heard that story about Sid coming into the studio and I love it! I think someone recognized him at the door and let him in and didn't tell the band because they thought they would recognize him, or they wanted to see how long it would take to. I don't think it was just random luck or chance meeting. I think it happened for a reason. Beautiful song and tribute to him. I know someone who went mad after taking too much lsd, and it is very sad to see that happen.
Isn't it crazy?
He probably wanted to visit his former bandmates.
@@ProfessorofRock I researched this one. It isn't true, unfortunately.
@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 what's sad is that this was the last meaningful meeting he would have with them before he became a near total recluse (he literally fled from Roger Waters when he incidentally ran into him a few years later in a department store). It would almost be mistaken for a plot from a movie, proving truth can be stranger than fiction.
Syd did Starz appearance post Floyd, solo albums, but it was shambolic as I hear or read about it, he withdrew for most of the 70s, 80s, 90s obviously
This is my all time favorite album. A statement I don't make lightly. It is a true masterpiece.
Awesome!
The whole thing.
OMG, get ON with it!!!!!
Gilmour's slide guitar solo on the 2nd half of Shine On is still my favorite part of the album.
I agree! So grand!
I agree. One of its best moments.
In a radio interview, all we had back in the 80s etc., David actually stated he played slide guitar with a bottle-neck, not a lapsteel, however he's been seen doing both, but lapsteel live in most all videos
Glad to hear that…mine too…it blows my mind everytime 👍
Horripliations galore
Heard that story of Syd appearing in the studio before, but it still made me tear up to hear it again. Hits me deep - reminds me of slowly losing my mother to dementia.
Yes, l did too. It’s not easy to put it into words. This song does it.❤️
@@DeidreL9 To think he mysteriously re-emerged as they were finalizing the paean to him - it’s unbelievable.
It gets me every time.
Somewhere a comment of Syd made regarding the music as he felt about it, but I'm not clear on it
The first time I heard this story of Syd I figured it had to be some kind of urban legend. It was too weird and improbable to be true. But it is. And so tragic. I can't begin to imagine how they all felt when they figured out who he was.
We played “Shine on You Crazy Diamond”, orv ay least part of it! At my husband’s funeral. It seems so fitting for that.
I bought darkside of the moon in middle school in 1973 and was hooked on Pink Floyd. I bought and still have all the original albums. I still get Goose bumps everytime I listen to Pink Floyd. Their music can take you away anywhere your imagination wants to take you.
IMO...one of only a handful of rock albums that can be played all the way through without skipping a single song. Masterpiece from start to finish. (Dark Side of the Moon is another.)
Also, “Close To The Edge” by Yes.
My favourite Pink Floyd song. I never get tired of it. What a masterpiece 🥳☺️🤗
Outstanding podcast !
A stark reminder that we should not take our mental health for granted.
Shine On , All of You Crazy Diamonds...
Shine on!
Always do what is best for you.
Love Pink! "Wish you were here"is my favorite album of theirs. Always been a loyal fan, but that one has a collection of songs that can't be beat. Years after I'd been saying it was my favorite, I heard an interview with them, and they said it was their favorite too. I just knew that album was extra special.
Someone stole my WYWH album 40 years ago, but I still have the postcards that came with it. One has someone standing on their head (or hands) underwater so just their legs are sticking perfectly straight up. The other has 2 men shaking hands, but one is on fire and appears to be unbothered by the flames.
I have a suggestion for a future show that I think would be interesting to young and old both, show some albums from the late 60s until early 80s that came with bonuses like posters, song lyric booklets, etc. Rolling Stones had a real zipper incorporated into the cover of "Sticky Fingers", which was an up close and personal photo of the crotch of a man (I assume it's Mick) wearing blue jeans (absolutely no question, it's a male!). Mom wouldn't let me buy it, so I _still_ never got to peek behind that zipper! I was told it was just tighty whities and nothing naughty. 😂
Just a show about the album art from the 60s and 70s would be interesting. As a teen I had a poster of Three Dog Night that came with the album (when there was only 3 of them). That poster freaked out my BFF because it looked like their eyes followed you no matter where you stood!😳 Records were expensive so we loved getting a lil sumpthin extra! I'll never forget the wonderful scent of fresh vinyl when we carefully sliced open the shrink wrap!☺
It’s just an emotional listening experience.
The saxophone ending the song/album is so stellar. I didn't want it to end at all!
The story of Syd showing up unrecognized is beyond Rock lore… it’s gained the status of true Legend
Right you are man!
Syd's sister described him as a painter who once dabbled in music.
@@alan6832 She really minimized his impact on humanity, reluctant or not.
Those four notes… brings back childhood memories. Still can’t get enough of Floyd.
Animals is my overall favorite but I absolutely love Wish You Were Here, as an album and as individual songs. 🎉🎉🎉🎉 lyrical genius, all the instruments get to shine at different times.. it's a super cool piece of work!
animals and the final cut for me. AMAZING journeys.
Syd Barret you DID Shine on you crazy diamond...A diamond I'd be proud to wear around my heart...😎🤘🔥💯❤️🎸🎤🎧 You're on my list of Rock God Legends 😎🤘🔥💯🎸❤️🎤🎧
Listening to this with headphones at 16 years old, stoned, sold me on this epic song.
Those 4 notes are indeed haunting, beautiful, and compelling. I never heard them described as Sid's ... Bb F G E Great story about Cigar. All these years of loving PF but never new who actually sang the song! Happy New Year all 🎉
Thanks for listening
Happy New Year! 🎆
Perhaps the most haunting notes in rock.
Happy and healthy New Years!
Why didn't you play those 4 notes in the video? I didn't hear them.
The instrumental parts of "Diamond" (When I used to listen to it in the dark) felt like floating in outer space.
In 1977 I went to high school in Denmark. I was 19 years old and some friends introduced me to Pink Floyd. I had never heard of them before and it took me some time to recognize the greatness of the music, but soon I was involved in sitting and analyzing the lyrics of the album "Wish you were here". From there I discovered from behind, you could say, their entire production of records. I have never seen them live, but have been to Roger Waters' concert in Denmark three times.
Amen, Professor. Thank you for this episode. The Floyd was my husband's favorite band! This story is truly one of my favorites 💛
So original and ahead of the times.
Agreed. So amazing all these years later.
Haunting and ethereal.
I don't have anything to add to this wonderful story, but I wanted to tell you about my first Pink Floyd concert and how magical it was. I wanted to tell you because I think you are one of the very few who would understand.
May 1977, Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. It was the Animals tour. We were there 2 hours early to get a good seat. It was raining. We sat in the rain, praying the concert wouldn't get canceled.
Then, the rain stopped, a bit of evening sun peaked through the dark clouds, a rainbow appeared over and across the stage! While we gawked at this sight, we didn't see the band appear on stage and "Pigs on the Wing" began to play.
And the sky went dark as the last bit of sun set and the rainbow winked out. 😮
One of the best bands to ever grace the airwaves
I second that. What's our favorite by them?
One of the top 10 greatest bands.
Thank you for covering this album. Musically it is my favorite Pink Floyd album. It is one of my favorite albums of all time.
Now there's a look in your eye, like black holes in the sky...shine on you crazy diamond. Amazing lyrics!
Loved this video! As a fan if this album in real time, (back in the day) it is really eye opening to see what they went through to make it happen. You brought the goods again, Prof! One note: In England, when they argue, it is a row, rhymes with ow, as apposed to to row a boat.
Sorry!
Start the new year with Pink Floyd...can't get any better than that!!! Thank you. 😁😉
The story behind this album is just as amazing as the album. I rate this album as equally to the dark side of the moon and love listening to their music everyday. Mate love your work and all the research you put in to every episode.
Apart from the studio recording, my favourite version of Shine On is David Gilmour live in Gdansk. It was recorded live not long after Syd's death and is sung with such melancholy that it is heartbreaking. It was also the last time Rick Wright would perform it live before his death.
Wish You Were Here is still, and always will be, my favorite Pink Floyd album...nothing else compares...although I love everything they've done...Thank you for covering this great album, and band Adam...
It is tough to follow an album like Dark Side, but they figured it out!! Animals and The Wall were really good too!!
Agreed! They are a perfect band.
@ProfessorofRock
I was lucky enough to see the Dark Side tour in 73 before I enlisted in the Army. They opened with a couple from Meddle, then they played the entire Dark Side album front to back, then they finished with an extra long version of Echos. To this day, it was hands down the best concert I've ever seen. And I've seen just about everybody in the last 50 years!!
Wow! Where'd you see them?@@Dave-lq2le
@ProfessorofRock
Blossom Music Center in Cleveland. It's pretty much like the Hollywood Bowl. The sound was killer and the stage show was too. Just the best!! Of course, the red windowpane probably helped too!!🤣🤣🤣
Because it’s Pink Floyd. Enough said.
When I was stationed in Virginia for AIT, the album from the concert Pulse came out, and one of the other guys bought a copy. I had discovered some Pink Floyd by then, but they didn't have the meaning to me then that they do now. He played this album for me while we had some down time one weekend, and I went and got my own copy.
I bought my own copy because of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond." And all these years (almost 28 now!) later, SOYCD still resonates with all of the beauty, pain and just deeply felt need that struck my perpetually "lonely in a crowded room" 20-year-old soul so hard back then.
Brilliant work as always, professor!
Have you seen the "Pulse" DVD? Great stuff, brother!!
@@Dave-lq2le Had it on VHS about a million years ago. Most definitely watched.
The concert wasn't Pulse, it was The Division Bell tour. Pulse was the name of the album.
@@paulqueripel3493
Well said!!👍
This was the album that made me a Pink Floyd fan. I fell in love with it almost immediately.
Thanks for this look at Wish You Here , I always thought it seemed somehow underrated but epic at the same time. Welcome to the Machine was way ahead of its time in my opinion. Still a very haunting song that sounds modern to this day. Great channel!
One of the greatest LP's of all time and my favorite concert. I was lucky to see them in July 1975 before this LP came out but touring for it. I saw them in Hamilton ,Ontario on the last stop of their N. American tour. It was Epic.
Happy New Year to everybody!! This was incredible to learn more details about this masteriece - great way to kick off the new year. I'll be listening to it all day :) Thanks for another great job!
So fascinating this story about Shine on you crazy Diamond. Pink Floyd is one of the best groups of all time in my opinion. Thanks for covering this. Professor of Rock, you truly have a gift for storytelling. Would love to hear more stories on concept albums...perhaps Paradise Theatre by Styx?
Amen to that! Happy new year!
YES 👁️💕PINK FLOYD
THEY R LEGENDARY 😎
It’s such an Epic album, and for me personally it shows band members love for Syd and how they never forgot him
PF shared their royalties with Syd Barret even on the albums he never worked on
Love the Umphrey's name drop, you are definitely one of my new favorite channels. I saw them perform Have a Cigar a few years back and it was indeed one of the most amazing tributes ive ever seen to Pink Floyd. I cant believe i never knew that was Roy Harper on vox, ive been listening to that album for almost 20 years and never knew! Thanks Professor.
Thanks for watching!
I was pleasantly surprised by the umphrey's mention, this guy knows whats up. Gonna go see them im a couple days. Umph love!
My favorite line from "Have a Cigar" was, "We're just knocked out; we heard about the sellout" What a comment on the industry and the artists! 😮
My youngest son and I were driving in a convertible around Crescent Lake in Washington State on the Olympic Peninsula. Beautiful place, right when we came out of the trees, and the lake came into view, those 4 notes hit hard. My son was 15 at the time and just discovering Pink Floyd as well as the Eagles. Those first 4 notes became the ringtone for me on his phone. A magic time for both of us. He took his own life 1 year later. I still love Wish You Were Here and Shine On. They are so hard to listen to now, however. But I still do.
I’m so sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine the pain you must have, and still are, experiencing. I have five sons and that’s where my understanding ends. I hope you know it’s not your fault. This condition called life is such a dichotomy of beauty and tragedy. I don’t know you, but I love you for trooping on.
I have watched a number of your presentations and I am amazed at your knowledge and at how articulate you are in your delivery. Long may you reign.
I've never failed to be impressed and entranced by Pink Floyd's music and David Gilmore's guitar work. It's the kind of music that sparks a lot of images and, for me, just mellows me out.
Lol! Im listening to your commentary as I write this comment, Professor, and it seems like we're on the same page about how we listen to it. Im willing to bet there's a lot of people who feel just the same 😊
Thanks Linda. For sure.
Yes, but correction, it's Gilmour to us purist 🎸
@@kencraig7308 lol! 😊Sorry! I don't think ever considered his name spelling, but I'm a bit of a purist about things myself so the correction is noted and appreciated! 😊👍
Absolutely
Pink Floyd is what you listen to when you want to relax with good imagery.
Thank you for starting the year off with one of the greatest bands ever and one of their greatest songs ever!!!!
Agreed. They're in my top 5 ever. What is yours?
@@ProfessorofRock Pink Floyd is my #1. Through just the absolute randomness of the universe, there has always been a Pink Floyd song randomly playing in the background of important moments of my life. I hadn't realized this until about 6 months ago, and each moment has a different song. My top 5 is impossible because I have too many to just narrow it down to 5 without feeling guilt for leaving someone out, but they're all the heavy hitters for sure.
Wonderful clear view into a band I thought to be a bit theatrical at the time. I’m more into Hendrix as a foundational rock inspiration but you opened a window into Pink Floyd’s background that gives me a reason to revisit their ouvre.
😮
Thanks for watching! Love Hendrix!
My best friend in high school was sporting his new copy of the album in about 1984. I remember hearing "Wish you were here" on his stereo record player, A song that he loved. He was killed a few years later in a tragic robbery gone bad. I still hold back tears when I hear it play.
It's a great tune that I'm sure has brought a lot of reminiscent tears over the years!
Thankd again Adam. YOU are number one!
Pink Floyd, my all time favorite band. David Gilmour is in the top five or six, meaning maybe the number one. Beck, Page, Walsh, Towshend and Schon.
Orémus Y'all.
Thanks for commenting. Love all of them.
I take it you've never heard of Stevie Ray Vaughn .....
All six of them would make transcendent songs as a supergroup.
0:10 ‘ECLIPSE the competition’- I see what you did there, impressive. Rock ON 🤘
👍Keeping Rock and Roll Alive ✌🎸
Amen!
In 1981 I joined the military. First time away from home, I was feeling a bit homesick. I used part of my first paycheck to buy a small boombox (remember those?) and bought my first album ever - Dark Side of the Moon. Helped me through some tough and lonely times. Such awesome music.. Always tugs at the heart when I hear it.
Clare Torry’s haunting voice is glorious!!
She's amazing. What's your favorite album by them?
Verily.
@@ProfessorofRock
The vocals, on 'The Great Gig, in the Sky'?
I'm glad she finally got composition credit, in 2005.
Agreed. @@whyis45stillalive
I was lucky enough to see her perform Great Gig with Floyd at Knebworth in 1990.
However old I get, this piece of music will always be one of my favorite records. Timeless, beautiful, haunting, amazing. I never get tired of listening to it.
I live for music 🎶 I love so many bands and find it hard to like one more than the other because I truly need them ALL in my life. However, Pink Floyd is one of my favs ♥️ But I probably have 100 favorite bands 😂
In the Christmas Eve of 1994 (years before MP3 and mixing computer programs), it was a saturday, around four o'clock there was a program in a radio station administrated by the state gobernent, it was called "ruido rosa (pink noise)" and they played progresive rock. That day they opened with "shine on you crazy diamond", I thought that it was the part l to V and then they'll play another song, so I cranck the fu@k up and take a bath. It never ocured to me mix parts l to V with parts Vl to X, they did. It blow me away!!! It was the first time I heard the complete track entirely, and as you say, as David Gilmour wanted (now there's a mixed version also, here in UA-cam). I passed them from my cd's to my lap top 20 years ago, and I can hear it as it was intended, and always reminds me that cold 24th of december of 1994, greetings from Monterrey, México
Roy Harper is no random guy!
The Greatest English song writer
A revolutionary poet/musician, had been paying his dues since the early 60s
An incredibly important singer/guitarist
He is the English Dylan but with a beautiful voice and better guitar skills, an old friend of 'Zep ' (Hats off) on Zep 3
Have loved the man for decades
Please check out his music, 40 odd releases!!
Fabulous insight. Being a Pink Floyd fan for nearly 50 years I always thought ' shine on ' came from Roger saying to David ' what were those four notes ?' I never knew eventually it would be known as ' Syd's theme ' Thank you.
When I was younger, and when I bought this cd, I always thought that was Roger singing on "Have A Cigar". Roy sounded so much like Roger to me back then. Now that I'm older, I can clearly hear the difference. Wow.
I know what you mean!
It was different but his voice did fit in!
One of the best moments of my life was seeing Pink Floyd live and hearing those first four guitar notes in "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" float over the crowd, from a darkened stage...
Yikes! I've always thought that "Have a Cigar" was the greatest vocals ever in a Pink Floyd song. I wasn't sure if it was sung by Gilmour or Rodgers. Probably Gilmour. Now, I'm finding out that it was a stand in musician, Roy Harper.
I have a personal tradition of listening to "Wish You Were Here" before i go to sleep every night. Unfortunately the list of people gets longer and longer. Happy 2024 to all!🎉 Thank you Professor for all the info on the different bands - I listen at some a lot differently
I can't listen to this album anymore, after losing a close friend to schizophrenia. She was only 26, and loved Pink Floyd with a passion, to the point that she wanted "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" played at her funeral. I made sure it was. But damn, Sari, I much rather Wish You Were Here now, 20 yrs later.
I'm so sorry to hear. RIP. and Peace to you.
My condolences!
@@ProfessorofRockThank you very much. She was a beautiful person and a talented musician herself, when she was on her medication and nothing else. Such a reflection of Syd Barrett, though he lived longer, and his friends' tribute to him was heard around the world.
@@DavidOmaha1 Thank you. She's part of why I went into mental health work, as well as my own work as an artist. If I can save a single life, I'll have done right by my lost friend.
This really hits me in the feels. I’m so, so, so sorry and big hugs 🫂
One of your best episodes. Loved the story of Sid showing up at the recording. Thank you.
Back in the Saddle Again Naturally
There you are again!
@@ProfessorofRock Back where I belong !
Pink Floyd was the coolest for me as a teenager. They provided a lot of inspiration when I was studying art and photography at the university in the late 70s and early 80s. "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is so beautiful and ethereal that so many fantastic images are conjured every time I listen to it. Actually, that happens while listening to most of Pink Floyd's music.
Thanks for sharing! What do you for a living?
@@ProfessorofRock I'm the director of IT for a planning company. But I'm also a photographer and ex-flamenco guitarist. I had to relearn to play guitar after battling two cancers, and now I play mostly electric guitar and bass and write bloody awful songs.
Sounds like you're a survivor!@@T10elC
Just an amazing masterwork that dazzles me with every listen.
This is the best Pink Floyd album in my opinion. Dark Side of the Moon is great but is overplayed. Shine On You Crazy Diamond is the song that I would play to someone who never heard what Pink Floyd was about. Friends and I debate whether if Syd never exited the band would we have this iconic Pink Floyd sound today?
I’ll never forget when my buddy and I walked into the record store to buy the new album, Wish You Were Here. We couldn’t see the cover art because the album was wrapped in an opaque blue plastic wrapper. We were blown away when we opened it up and revealed two guys in suits shaking hands, and one of them was on fire.
Happy 2024 !
Same to you!
Same to you!
Love your channel, I'm the youngest of 7 siblings, grew up in Pink Floyd, a family favorite. I'm in LA and their on east coast. Wish You Were Here is so fitting for me as I start my new year
Rock on! What would you like to see next?
I've always felt, personally, that David Gilmour is one of the greatest - if underrated - blues rock guitarists in history, and this is the album that showcases that. Also, when it comes to Roy Harper, I can't help but speculate if David ever thought about bringing him in full time after Roger left just to do more 'fill ins'.
"Welcome to the machine" really resonated with me. I was a teenager when i first heard it, and it reminded me of post apocalyptic worlds, which was my thing at the time. I still have a soft spot for fiction and video games based in post apocalyptic worlds.
Absolutely love this album. Shine on is my all time favorite song!!
Thanks Professor.
I always gain something when you enlighten.
I listen to this album with the lights out, a good drink, and headphones on. It's an amazing experience. When I die, I want this to be the last music I hear if I have the choice.
I played this for my dad, as well as the Moody Blues when he died. I just had a feeling I needed to play it for him that day.
I think Syd showed up to shine on one last time with his bandmates and give his blessings on the epic masterpiece. I hope he heard it in its entirety while there with them. Amazing story, Professor. Now i must listen to that album in its entirety, for Syd. It is one of my absolute favorites and have two songs from that album planned for my friends to listen to when I leave this Earth...Wish you were here and Have a Cigar.
Great Post Professor!!!! You ROCK Bro!!!🤘
There's always been a thin line between genius and madness. Teetering too far one way or the other and you can fall away. Thanks, Prof, for this look into this amazing song. Rock on, my brother.
There’s a very moving video of Wish You Were Here being performed in a train station. It was done by two gentlemen on acoustic guitars and sung in a flash mob style. The goal was to draw attention to those among us who may be suicidal. It was very beautifully done.
This was one of 5 CD's I purchased the day I brought my first stereo. I've never been able to pick a favorite Floyd album, but Shine On has kept me company on many a road trip. Repeat for 3-4 hours is not unusual.
HAPPY 2024 PROFESSOR! I wish you more success than EVER this year! ❤
Same to you! Thanks for watching!
You as well!
That picture of Syd with his eyebrows shaved MUST have been the inspiration for when the main character Pink in the movie version of The Wall shaves his.
Thanks for decoding this album for me It is one of my favourites. I knew none of the history behind it. Now I do it makes it even more of a diamond of an album. See what I did there. Of course you did. LOL
I was a teenager and typical London male of those times, seeing all of the live acts from the early sixties onwards and being into the Floyd et al and idolising Syd (Roger is his birth name!) who was the creative driving force of the early band, even I admit to worshipping the post Syd music, Wish You Were Here is undoubtably an everlasting masterpiece.
Roy Harper (and Ron Geeson) were unsung heroes of the day and more or less forgotten these days.
Wish you were here is an ethereal slow burn that cuts to the soul
Holy F***. That ending gave me f****** chills man. Wow. Makes that song even more out of this world! 🤯
When I was in my early 20s, my friend and I would go...what we called...Floyding. We'd drive around late at night on backroads with only the car's parking lights on...discussing life and its issues while Pink Floyd was playing quietly in the background on a cassette.
Many of life's issues were resolved back then. Man...what a great time it was and what a great memory.
Dedicated to you Professor 👓...
Shine on you crazy diamond 💎...
Ah! Thanks! Love it.
Happy New YEar!
@@ProfessorofRock Happy New Year Professor 👓 🎉🎊