Pink Floyd Music in the 20th century is something that has evolved from early days of jazz and blues music, to Rap, R&B, alternative, and rock & roll. It has become evident that some bands stand apart from others.
The influences of Pink Anderson and Floyd Council have helped one of the greatest rock bands of all time emerge, Pink Floyd. The use of synthesizers, guitar and solid vocals has made them a musical force to be reckoned with. The bands name was arrived at after blues musicians Floyd Council and Pink Anderson. However, this was not the first of the names given to the band. Sigma6 was the first on a list of many names to come for the band. The band had many names at different times such as, The Screaming Abdabs, T-Set, The Meggadeaths, and The Architectural Abdabs, until Syd came up with the name The Pink Floyd Sound, inspired by two jazz artists Pink Anderson, and Floyd Council (pinkfloyd.com).
The band had roots in the early 1960s in Cambridge, England where future rock legends Syd Barrett and David Gilmour grew up. The band would generally gather at Barretts house to play in his lavish home, using makeshift instruments to play the tunes of current rock stars; that is up until member Roger Waters blew his college grant money on his first guitar (Povey 8). Now as to the use of the name Pink Floyd, there is much to wonder. Contrary to popular belief, the name did not come from a hallucination Syd Barrett had while using LSD.
In his record collection he possessed two records, one by Pink Anderson, master of ragtime, blues and folk, and the other by bluesman Floyd Council, through which he simply combined first and last names to come up with a band name. Other options came up such as Anderson Council, but the group opted for another name (Povey 14). Pink Floyd was born. Getting back to the origin of the groups members is a lengthy issue. Each member had been in other bands before coming together, each gaining knowledge and experience in a different aspect of the music.
The initial, most important gathering was in the early 60s when Richard Wright, Nick Mason, and Roger Waters joined a band called Sigma6, along with other talents, then becoming the Architectural Abdabs due to their involvement in college (Povey 13). Eventually, a band called The Spectrum Five was formed, including Richard Wright, Nick Mason, Roger Waters, Bob Close, and founder Syd Barrett (Povey 19). Like a supernova, Roger Syd Barrett burned briefly and brightly, leaving an indelible mark upon psychedelic and progressive rock as the founder and original singer, songwriter, and lead guitarist of Pink Floyd (allmusic.com). It was not until the beginning of 1965 that the band took on the name The Pink Floyd, after being called The Pink Floyd Blues Band, and The Tea Set (Povey 19). With all of these names and changes, one would wonder what kind of people stand behind the bands name.
They go as follows: Syd Barrett was born on January 6, 1946 in Cambridge, England, and was musically inclined from a young age. He was the foremost important member of the band, largely because he was responsible for the majority of their first album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Soon after the release of this album, Barrett was released from the band due in part to his uncontrolled mental health from the use of psychedelic drugs (allmusic.com). His mental stability created a whole other aspect for the band to deal with, something that would eventually shape the way they would play forever. Roger Waters, born in Bookham, Cambridge, England on September 6, 1944, also played a large role in the bands development.
He wrote the majority of the lyrics on Dark Side of the Moon, as well as singing a great number of songs from The Wall. As bassist for Pink Floyd he did indeed take over a leadership role when Barrett was no longer part of the group (allmusic.com). However, as a leader he eventually became sickened with the band, and no longer wanted to pursue a career as Pink Floyd. He put in a court order to have the bands name dropped, so that no other member could use it at any time. Nevertheless, the name was used in the 1980s and on, though with a different style, keeping the Pink Floyd legend alive. Native to London, England, Richard Wright was also a founding member of Pink Floyd.
Born on January 28, 1943, he was the keyboardist for the band, up until controversy arose within the group (Povey 248). In 1980 he left Pink Floyd, but rejoined seven years later (Contemporary Musicians 193). Nick Mason, while not much of a controversial person, did supply the band with solid drumming, backing up their already remarkable vocals and guitar. Adding to the incredible sound was guitarist David Gilmour, born on March 6, 1946 in Cambridgeshire, England. He was brought in by Waters as a replacement for the absent Syd Barrett. Pink Floyd has become known for its problems within the band, most knowing that they are no longer together.
Problems started back in the beginning with Syd Barrett. While he was a great musician and brought a new style to the band, he clearly had a problem. While facing pressure as the bands leader, he increased the use of LSD and further enhanced his stage fright (Povey 18). In one incident Syds problems occurred on stage; Syd just stood there, his arms hanging down. Suddenly he put his hands on the guitar and we thought hes actually going to do it, but he just stood there, tripping out of his mind (Povey 29).
As a result of this incident, and many more to come, Barrett was removed from the band. While a loss for the band, it also served as a gain. A friend of Barretts, David Gilmour was brought in and quickly became a part of the band. While the band did perform with all five members at one point, this lasted only a short time. Fellow members complained about his actions on stage saying, Sometimes Syd sang a bit and sometimes he didnt (Povey 50).
At that point, for future gigs the band simply forgot to pick up Syd. He became distant from everyone due to his drug involvement, slid into isolation, and was not heard from very often. As Roger Waters later stated in 1975, Im very sad about Syd. I wasnt for years. For year I suppose he was a threat because of all that bollocks written about him and us. Of course he was very important and the band would never havestarted without him, but on the other hand it couldnt have gone on with him (Povey 142).
While most think the bands 1975 hit Shine on you Crazy Diamond makes allusions to Barrett, it does not. In fact, says Waters, Syd is a symbol of the extremes of absence, not of th …
