Richard "Rick" Wright was the quiet man in Pink Floyd. His flawless tickling of the keyboards was always something to behold. Pink Floyd's music is seminal work though some would say the pre-Roger Waters line-up was far better than the post-Waters line-up. Simply said the two line-ups are vastly different.
Pink Floyd hasn't been together since the P*U*L*S*E* tour in 1994 though Wright continued to play with David Gilmour on his solo projects. If you haven't seen the DVD from P*U*L*S*E* go and do it as soon as you can. The tumultuous break-up of the band when Roger Waters departed left a huge void in the music world. The legal wrangling that followed over the use of the band name "PINK FLOYD" held up the bands eventual reunion, though without Waters.
1987's release of A Momentary Lapse of Reason saw Pink Floyd come storming back with a new sound and new line-up with Wright now in the position of being a paid employee of the band and not a full partner though that would change soon after. Wright's refusal to hold a grudge over this turmoil simply underscores the person that he was.
They followed up A Momentary Lapse of Reason with The Division Bell and that would be the final Pink Floyd album ever to be recorded. Too bad as the new PINK FLOYD was actually a breath of fresh air.
Married three times, one his daughters married Waters' replacement bassist Guy Pratt who did a great job in picking up where Waters left off musically, though he could never challenge Waters' song writing. Pratt does a great job on bass on "One of These Days" and his vocals are front and center on my favorite song from The Wall..."Run LIke Hell".
Wright had an unremarkable solo career but that shouldn't really surprise anyone as members of great bands seldom do...
Rest easy Richard, you will be missed.
Shine on you Crazy Diamond...