Carry on… Jon

Album: Dancer and the Moon (2013)
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Songfacts®:

  • The closing track of the album is a tribute to guitarist and songwriter Ritchie Blackmore's Deep Purple bandmate, Jon Lord, who died July 16, 2012.

    Blackmore described the song's origins in the album's liner notes. "We had a blizzard in New York and we were totally marooned at the house. For days we had nothing to do, so I said to the producer, 'I have an idea for an instrumental,' and as I recorded it it gave off a melancholy feel. I thought it would be a good way of Jon and pulling an organ solo reminiscent of his style. It was a tip of the hat to Jon Lord."
  • In a 2013 interview with The New Jersey Star-Ledger, Blackmore said: "I wrote it on the spur of the moment. I had a very melancholy kind of tune. Then I started thinking about Jon. I thought maybe we should do an organ part at the end, as a tip of the hat to Jon. Pat Regan is an accomplished organist. We put the organ sound on, and off he went. I guided him on a few things, like riffs and how Jon played syncopation with his right hand."

    He added: "it was a throwaway idea that turned into something. It was something to Jon, a way of saying thanks for the years. It's hard to talk about, when someone says, 'What did you think of Jon?' I'd rather play a tune. We wouldn't have put it on if we hadn't been snowed in. Maybe Jon caused the blizzard."

Comments: 2

  • Steve G from TexasAndi, sorry, but you obviously didn’t follow DP. This is an honest and heartfelt tribute to Jon, may he RIP.
  • Andi from AlbaniaThis melody that Blackmore claims to have composed is nothing but "Gary Moore - The Loner"! Blackmore has been a great guitarist, but not a composer
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