Great Gig in the Sky First Time Reaction

[@taylortyler1867]

Only song that makes me cry. If they don't play this at my funeral, _I AIN'T GOING!_

[@Chardling77]

I love it!

[@MikeB-in1nd]

Always go to other people’s funerals other wise they won’t come to yours.

[@andybricks576]

@@MikeB-in1nd Most people go for the free food & to be nosy af, no one's allowed at my Funeral!

[@rhudoc3745]

@@MikeB-in1nd That's a Yogi Berra quote. And a great one at that.

[@craigtalbott731]

My memorial service is gonna be such a private affair that not even _I_ will know when it will occur (much less invited)!

[@markmurphy558]

As a dumb 18 year old in 1973, I was sitting listening to this with my girlfriend and she began to cry. I was shocked and asked her if she was all right. Nowadays I cry everytime I hear this song

[@Chardling77]

love this memory

[@charleswagner2984]

​​@@Chardling77She got her usual £30 (about $70 1973 US dollars) for 2 1/2 takes. They also gave her what was left of a case of Heineken. Roger Waters said about that evening that "It was a happy accident."

[@keith6485]

Two years ago, I received one of "those" phone calls that my sister-in-law had died unexpectedly. After collecting myself, I pulled up this song on my play list, put on my headphones, cranked it up and bawled my eyes out. So much emotion on display. Clare knocked this out of the park in a way that nobody else will ever match.

[@carnivoroussoupspoon]

how can a song about the stages of death be so beautiful...Clare was out of this world!

[@cristianrusu89]

This and Mozart's Lacrimosa.

[@johnlongenecker7779]

Richard Wright on the piano. SO9OOO hauntingly beautiful. RIP, Richard.

[@danjames5552]

. Great man .RIP.

[@myownchannel247]

Clare Torry’s vocals are so timeless they seem eternal ✨

[@charleswagner2984]

Clare said in an interview "I don't know if it was the devil grinning up at me, or God smiling down on me." Probably the greatest quote about any song in all music history.

[@MelodyMan69]

"Ducks on the Moon"....Love it. 🇦🇺 The song is about ALL the Emotions about knowing you are Dying.

[@richardcook4260]

An epiphany I wish I kept more forefront in my mind…as my highest aspirations have sat in the backseat for far too long

[@jonathansmith3742]

The greatest female vocal of all time.

[@Chardling77]

Simply Amazing

[@jenesisjones6706]

Goosebump overload for me...always, from the first scream.

[@llanitedave]

Good choice to play the studio version. As great as Pink Floyd was in concert, their album music was even better, they were masters of composition.

[@Chardling77]

It pains me that I will never see them live... but I wholeheartedly agree, they were masters of their craft

[@IAMCAVE]

I feel that (all) reactors should always listen to the studio versions before the live versions.

[@giggling_boatswain]

Once, a long time ago, I read an article called the history of 1 vocals. It was interesting. Thank you, Clare, for your work. Excellent. Of all the takes made, the very first version was included on the disc. It was just a part-time job for an unknown singer who was invited. She had absolutely no free time - she ran around the studios and worked as a background vocalist. They paid very little. The sound engineer at that time, Alan Parsons, invited her to sing. Roger Walters simply asked her to express death with her vocals, to think about it and try to express it in the vocals, but he warned that there should be no words, pure vocals. Clare was not at all interested in the album. For her, it was an ordinary part-time job with another group, nothing more, and she did not even remember about it. She found out that her name was on the record by chance from a neighbor about 7 months later. He simply asked if she sang with Pink Floyd. Only after that did she go and buy the album to listen to what had come out.

[@richardcook4260]

Such an incredible story….thank you Alan Parsons, Clare, the band, and for your insightful reflections 🙏

[@notmyname4261]

"If you understand this you're dying" Anyone else hear that between the second and third verse? shivers. I've listened to this track many times and never caught that before.

[@beaconeersofthesevenmaps3467]

If you can hear this whispering you are dying

[@notmyname4261]

@@beaconeersofthesevenmaps3467 Thanks for clarifying. Listened through my laptop

[@Llydrwydd]

It's actually : "I never said I was frightened of dying".

[@notmyname4261]

@@Llydrwydd No that's in the intro, we're talking about between the second and third parts of Clare's vocal arrangement. It's a girl whispering and it's very subtle. Like I said, I've never heard it in all the times I've listened.

[@Llydrwydd]

​​@@notmyname4261I may be wrong but I think we are talking about the same moment in the track, about 3 minutes 33 seconds in. Apparently it was Patricia Watts the wife of road manager Peter Watts according to Wikipedia. There's some interesting background information there on how the song evolved and details of the interviewees involved and their comments plus of course Clare Torry's unforgettable contribution. Just go straight to The Great Gig in the Sky entry.

[@uplink5]

When dealing with the realization and onset of our pending mortality, and the stages of grief...the emotional rollercoaster to the Great Gig in the Sky.

[@Jack96993]

I was lucky enough to see Pink Floyd do their kick off tour of Dark Side of the Moon back in 1972 Just recently I saw Brit Floyd and they announced they are going to do Great Gig in the Sky I thought, yeah right😅 Well it was unbelievable and the female singer was outstanding and got a 20 minute standing ovation! If Brit Floyd comes to town, there are a must see!!!!

[@Chardling77]

Sounds incredible my friend. I've heard that the Australian Floyd show is quite formidable as well. I would love the chance to see Brit Floyd live in concert.

[@John-s7s8s]

Nice reaction to a great song, from a great band and great album.

[@richardcook4260]

Much appreciated!

[@eamonconnelly8029]

Clare Torry shares how she was hired by Pink Floyd and her experience doing her vocals for The Great Gig in the Sky in "Pink Floyd Clare Torry 'The Great Gig in the Sky' interview" on KZbin.

[@lesliemcquillan4420]

love her reaction....

[@edwardlongshanks827]

The liner notes for Dark Side of the Moon has only credited Clare Torry for her vocal composition since 2005. Prior to that, she got no writing credit for the song. She actually sued Pink Floyd and EMI for songwriting royalties for the vocals in 2004 and reached an out of court settlement. She had received £30 when she recorded the vocal, the going flat rate at the time for a session singer in '73.

[@richardcook4260]

Amazing history for one of the best selling albums of all time. I was unaware of those facts, thank you!

[@davidferro2236]

In the January 6-19, 2020 issue of New York magazine, there is a story by Craig Jenkins titled "Clare Torry's voice is seared into your brain whether you know it or not." He writes "...at the end of the night, she was paid just £30, and that much only because 'it was double time on a Sunday,' as she'd later tell John Harris, author of The Dark Side of the Moon: The Making of the Pink Floyd Masterpiece." Wonderful photo of her smiling with Roger Waters talking to each other on stage, his arm on her shoulders, at Madison Square Garden 1987. Yeah, she sang it live, just her.

[@martinperry5072]

This is the end of side one, which goes through one's life. You can hear her go through the stages of grief, from anger to acceptance.

[@PercyPruneMHDOIFandBars]

@ martinperry5072: End of side 1???!!!!! You mean you listened to this on VINYL?? The BEST way! That couple of minutes to turn the disc over is an important part of the experience.

[@martinperry5072]

@@PercyPruneMHDOIFandBars Yes, I'm that ancient.

[@PercyPruneMHDOIFandBars]

@ martinperry5072: Me too mate! 😄

[@kyotocoversjimanderson782]

Haha, I just subscribed after "Time," expecting to see your mum again, but it's your sister! But loved it as well, Thank you.

[@alvamarsh4290]

The original hasn't been topped yet

[@jackbrooks6082]

Nice review,beautiful song!

[@Watchman70]

Nice to meet sis and get her opinion! How could you be a human and not love this amazing vocal!? Since I was a boy this track ripped me up! ❤🎉

[@mikefetterman6782]

She was given simple instructions for each verse. Emote 1. birth. 2. struggle of life. 3. Dying and death.

[@MelodyMan69]

B.S. Its about the 5 stages of accepting your Death. Bisbelief and Argument Bargaining Acknowledgement Resignation Peace.

[@chaosmos24]

4:57 tp 5:03 always gives me goosebumps.

[@TurningoffyourGaslights]

Clare Torry was terrific in this wasn't she? Poured her soul into it. Worth the listen is this song from the Pulse concert. Three different singers instead of one...different from the original here, but every bit as good...and like Clare...they too poured their souls into the performance.

[@Chardling77]

She is a force of nature and thank you for the recommendation! I will definitely check out the concert footage.

[@RoboSteave]

Nope. Sorry, but not as good. No way.

[@llanitedave]

​@@RoboSteave Nobody could ever do it as well as Claire Torrey did it the first time. Even when they brought her into a concert to do it herself live, she couldn't quite repeat the original accomplishment. It was just one of those moments that's there once, and then it passes forever. I'm just glad they were able to record that magical moment.

[@billacikalin8108]

Love seeing Emrakul on your wall.

[@richardcook4260]

Amazing piece of art… thanks! 🙏

[@gbsailing9436]

I think that was the remastered version. Personally, I think the original recording was better as Tory's voice had greater dynamics. IMHO!

[@llanitedave]

Remasters almost never improve on the originals. And now they're inserting auto-tune into everything, removing all character and soul. I can rarely listen to today's music, not because the musicians can't sing or play, but because the post-production eliminates everything that makes it worth listening to.

[@coffeync]

Singing the instrumental solo (soul-oh).

[@RoadDoug]

You should google Clare Torrys’ interview.

[@you166mhz]

Clare Torry had to sue PF and EMI for royalties -- and she won ... I'm glad she won ....

[@Rassskle]

Like all remastered versions, the final brilliant vocals of passing on have been removed, edited out.......as well as the tone and feel being criminally damaged . For the best version you need an original album record, or the early CD's taken directly off the record or master.

[@richardcook4260]

Excellent thank you for the recommendation!

[@andrea-v2s]

only PF can reach this level

[@davehadley3567]

Now you just gotta do the pulse concert version, with video and it’s worth mentioning it’s about death.

[@danjames5552]

This is the finest thing ever to come out of a womans mouth.

[@Dan-nj8du]

When words fail, there's always Clare Torry. Too bad you kind of gave it away for Amy by telling her there were no lyrics before listening.

[@Veggamattic]

Your sister looks like Kim Iverson.

[@michaellord9]

no it wasn't one take, it was several and they stitched the best of each take

[@darkpitcher5242]

Torry said they did two and a half takes. However, she thinks that they used the first one they used the first one Alan Parsons said he can't remember which take they used but he also said that he thought both were equally good. The technology at the time did allow for stitching together tracks easily as it would sound very odd with tape edits of splicing so it probably was one of the takes in one hit

[@eamonconnelly8029]

In an interview with Clare Torry, she states they did one take in which she used words like baby like a scat but was told by David Gilmour not to use words. Torry did another take and told Gilmour after the second take that she was done & didn't want to do another take. She felt doing multiple takes would sound contrived and no longer fresh. Gilmour insisted on another take. Torry states she did the 3rd take & quit in the middle of it so according to her, there are only two and half takes of her vocals for track. Torry shares the aforesaid in "Pink Floyd Clare Torry 'The Great Gig in the Sky' interview" on KZbin.

[@Rassskle]

You believe all the new internet lies , don't you ? It was only one take for over 30 years until a young uppity disc jockey interviwed Alan Parsons and drove Allan crazy.....in the end Alan agreed it was more than one take, just to shut the idiot up.

[@rodglen8435]

You do, of course, have actual evidence supporting this assertion, don't you?

[@eamonconnelly8029]

@@rodglen8435 Who are you replying to?

[@kh2099-z5f]

And she hardly got any money 50 bucks for singing the song. Years later she sued and won.

[@Chardling77]

crazy!

[@eamonconnelly8029]

She also bought the album to see if Pink Floyd used her on Dark Side of the Moon because nobody told her if her vocals made the cut. Also, session vocalist (& other session musicians) were/are usually paid a flat fee & the going rate for a session vocalist in the U.K. & in 1973 was £30, which equates to about £455.00 or roughly $600.00 in today's U.S. Dollars. Therefore, it is not unusual for session musicians to be paid a flat fee & not that much. In Clare Torry's case, she never did session work for bands- this was a new experience for her. However, the difference for her is that she didn't just sing on "The Great Gig in the Sky" like a session vocalist. Usually, the songwriters have the melody & the chorus &/or whatever part the singer is supposed to sing written out. They tell the session vocalist what to sing & how & Pink Floyd didn't do this. Pink Floyd had no clue what they wanted. The only person who had an idea of what they wanted was David Gilmour, & he didn't know what he wanted either but for the fact that he wanted Torry to not use words in her vocals. Torry had carte blanche in the studio sans words, & she came up with her "own" melody as she wails throughout the song. This is the difference of her just singing on the track & earning her £30 like most session musicians of her era versus becoming part co-songwriter on this song. This is why she won her lawsuit. That's her melody in the track that she ad-libbed, created & wrote for the song.