Dick Parry, Who Played Saxophone on Pink Floyd Classics, Dies at 83

Dick Parry, a saxophonist who played with Pink Floyd, has died at age 83

NEED TO KNOW

• David Gilmour announced his death on social media and called him a "dear friend"

• Parry played on The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here

Dick Parry, the saxophonist who played on some ofPink Floyd's biggest hits, has died. He was 83.

Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour announced his deathin a post on Xon Friday, May 22.

"My dear friend Dick Parry died this morning," Gilmour, 80, wrote. "Since I was seventeen, I have played in bands with Dick on saxophone, including Pink Floyd."

"His feel and tone make his saxophone playing unmistakable, a signature of enormous beauty that is known to millions and is such a big part of songs such as 'Shine on You Crazy Diamond,' 'Wish You Were Here,' 'Us and Them' and 'Money,'" he continued. "He played in the last band I had that included Rick Wright for the On an Island Tour and at Live 8 with Pink Floyd."

In the post, Gilmour included various photos with Parry, including a shot of them on stage at the Victoria Cinema in Cambridge in 1963.

A cause of death for Parry was not provided.

Parry played solos on Pink Floyd's 1973 albumThe Dark Side of the Moonand 1975'sWish You Were Here. Parry continued to perform with the band from 1973 to 1977.

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Two decades afterWish You Were Here, Parry reunited with the Gilmour-led band for 1994'sThe Division Belland joined them for the supporting tour. Bassist and songwriter Roger Waters left the band in 1985.

According toVariety, Gilmour opened up about reconnecting with Parry in a 1994 interview.

"I got a Christmas card from Dick [Parry] who I hadn't seen for years, and who'd given up the saxophone entirely and I think was unemployed, living in a village near Cambridge, doing nothing," he said at the time.

"I asked him if he felt like auditioning for coming on the tour, to see if he still had his chops together, and he told me that he thought he was playing better than he'd ever played. And I got him down to the boat to have a little audition," he continued.

Gilmour added, "And he played about three phrases and myself and Bob [Ezrin] said, 'Fine, he's still got it. Screw this auditioning business. See if we can stick him on something.' The only one we could think of that would be really appropriate for sax was ‘Wearing the Inside Out,' so we put him on it. Boom, he's got that tone. It's fantastic. You can recognize it straight away. And so he's on the tour with us as well."

In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Parry also toured with The Who and earned studio credits for his work with Rory Gallagher, J.J. Jackson, Banco de Gaia, Bloodstone and more.

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