Jon Lord

John Douglas Lord 9 June 1941 16 July 2012 was an English keyboardist and composer In 1968 Lord cofounded the hard rock band Deep Purple and he became regarded as its leader in the early years Lord performed on most of the bands most popular songs he and drummer Ian Paice were the only continuous presence in the band between 1968 and 1976 and also from when it was reestablished in 1984 until Lords retirement in 2002 He also spent time in the bands Whitesnake Paice Ashton Lord the Artwoods the Flower Pot Men and Santa Barbara Machine Head Lord became known for his pioneering work in fusing rock with classical or baroque forms especially with Deep Purple His distinctive organ playing during Deep Purples hard rock period was essential to the bands signature heavy sound and contributed to the early development of heavy metal On 11 November 2010 he was inducted as an Honorary Fellow of Stevenson College in Edinburgh Scotland On 15 July 2011 he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree at De Montfort Hall by the University of Leicester Lord was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 8 April 2016 as a member of Deep Purple