Jon Lord

jon lord RKB

His father, who was an amateur Saxophonist, encouraged Jon to study music at an early age

He studied classical piano from age 5 for years with a local teacher. His classical influences were J.S. Bach, medieval and Baroque music, and British composer Edward Elgar

Taking his cue from the jazz-blues keyboard players of the 50’s and 60’s, who used Hammond organs and Leslie speakers (such as Jimmy McGriff, Jimmy Smith, and Jack McDuff), Lord pioneered running that combination through a Marshall stack which created massive volume and distortion and resulted in his distinct sound

Jon was also influenced by American progressive rock band Vanilla Fudge (whose keyboardist was Mark Stein), after seeing them live in England in 1967, as well as British organist Graham Bond from whom he received personal direction

He co-founded Deep Purple in 1968

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