Jonathan Douglas Lord (John Lord) is a British musician and composer best known as one of the founders and leaders of the legendary rock band Deep Purple. He has also worked with Artwoods, Flower Pot Men, Whitesnake. As a guest musician, Lord has collaborated with George Harrison, David Gilmour, Cozy Powell.
Carried away in early childhood by classical music and the works of J. S. Bach, John Lord forever linked his life with music.
early years
John was born in England in 1941 on June 9th. His father served in the fire brigade and organized his own little jazz band there. He often took his son to his work, where the boy listened to musical pieces performed by the orchestra.
When the child was 5 years old, he began to take his first piano lessons. He liked jazz, rock and roll and classical music. Perhaps it was this love that later served as the basis for the creation of such a unique sounding group Deep Purple, founded in the late 60s of the last century.
Deep Purple and further creativity
When John was 12 years old, he entered an acting school in London, dreaming of working in the theater, and at the same time began performing with various groups in small clubs and cafes. It was there that he acquired his experience and unique style of playing keyboards.
By the time the famous group was founded, John was in a creative search, and when his friend and musician Chris Curtis offered to form his own team, John immediately agreed. Chris quickly moved away from his idea, and the Lord began to bring it to life.
The first years of work in the group were in constant rivalry with one of its leaders - Ritchie Blackmore, who wanted to play hard rock, similar to that of Led Zeppelin. In contrast, Lord leaned towards the classics and tried to develop his own style of music. However, after the release of the album "Concerto for Group and Orchestra", the group completely switched to playing hard rock, although many of the musical compositions still showed the influence of the classics introduced by Lord.
After the group disbanded in 76th year, John began to engage in solo projects and work as a guest musician with famous rock performers.
Two years later, he joined the equally famous Whitesnake group and worked with them for almost 5 years. He did not give up his solo career during this period and recorded two albums, which were based on classics, ballads and the soundtrack to the film "Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady".
A few years later, Deep Purple announced their reunion, and Lord rejoined the group, recording six new albums with the musicians. He also continues to write his own works and a solo career, but releases only one album.
The last performance of Lord as part of the legendary band will take place in 2002, after which he announces his retirement and completely immerses himself in classical music.
A few years later, in 2009, Lord was invited on a tour of Russia, where he went with great joy. John gave concerts in several cities, bringing together Russian fans of his work for his concerts.
Returning to his homeland, Lord suspends his concert and musical activities in order to undergo a course of treatment. He was diagnosed with oncology, and John goes to rehab in Israel. A year later, Lord returned to England, but his health deteriorated again and in 2012, on July 16, the famous musician passed away in one of the clinics in London.
Personal life
John tied himself in conjunction twice.
The first wife is Judith Feldman. They lived with John for over 10 years, and in this marriage was born a daughter, Sarah, who later became a television producer.
The second wife was Vicki Gibbs, the twin sister of Jackie, the wife of drummer Ian Pace. In this marriage, the second daughter of the Lord, Amy, was born.
