Learn Guitar Songs - Spotlight On Pink Floyd's David Gilmour
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Written by: Simon Turner
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Date: Wed, 2 Feb 2011 |
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Rolling Stone magazine described David Jon Gilmour as "One of the world's most distinctive guitarists". He was born in Cambridge, England to Douglas and Sylvia Gilmour on March 6th, 1946.
David is most famous for being the lead guitarist and songwriter in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd and, in later years after the departure of Roger Waters, the band's lead vocalist as well.
While he had produced a number of notable solo albums, both during and after his time with Pink Floyd, the most recent studio album being "On an Island", it is the Pink Floyd classics that many aspiring guitarists turn to when they're looking to learn songs on guitar.
The band's original singer and guitarist was the legendary Syd Barratt however, his insatiable appetite for the hallucinogenic drug LSD began to leave him unable to perform properly at the band's gigs. In December 1967, Pink Floyd's drummer, Nick Mason, asked Gilmour to join the band, temporarily making Pink Floyd a five piece, Gilmour's job being to cover the guitar parts when Barrett was off form.
Barratt's erratic performances continued to become more unpredictable to the point where one day the band simply decided not to bother calling for him on the way to the gig. It was at this point that Gilmour assumed his permanent role as Floyd's lead guitarist, and also took over lead vocal duties, sharing the role with bass guitar player, Roger Waters.
Roger Waters started to exert more and more influence over the band and left Gilmour and the other members feeling sidelined, with Keyboard player Richard Wright even being fired by Waters at one point during the recording sessions for 'The Wall'.
As the relationship between Waters and Gilmour deteriorated further, Gilmour embarked on his first solo album. During the creation of this album, Gilmour was to pen one of the most celebrated tracks of all time. Although finished too late to be used on his own album, the track was eventually released with Pink Floyd as 'Comfortably Numb'.
The band broke up in 1985 once the film and album 'The Wall' was completed, with Roger Waters declaring the band "A spent force creatively", however Gilmour and Mason declared they were to carry on without him. Gilmour felt that Waters had taken the band in an uninspiring direction, relying too heavily on the song lyrics and Gilmour vowed to create a better balance where the music once again played a more vital role.
Two final Pink Floyd studio albums were created, 'A Momentary Lapse Of Reason' in 1987 and 'The Division Bell' in 1994.
Learn Guitar Songs - Top 10 Pink Floyd tracks to learn 1. Comfortably numb 2. Wish you were here 3. Sorrow 4. Shine on you crazy diamond 5. On the turning away 6. Money 7. Time 8. Keep talking 9. High hopes 10. Another brick in the wall
While there has been continued speculation about Pink Floyd Reuniting, Gilmour always rubbished such talk, and with the death of keyboard player Richard Wright in September 2008, it looks to have finally put paid to such a prospect. During his time with Pink Floyd, David Gilmour has left aspiring guitarists with one of the richest and most inspiring collections of classic rock music songs possible.
About the Author
The How To Learn Guitar Songs Spotlight series highlights famous guitarists and the most popular songs every aspiring guitaist should be looking to learn. http://www.howtolearnguitarsongs.com
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