250 million album sales worldwide!
Pink Floyd is an English rock band that has sold an estimated seventy-five million albums in the United States alone and 250 million worldwide.
With their laid-back blues-influenced psychedelic rock, they have had hits with tunes like Another Brick In The Wall, Comfortably Numb, Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Money, and Wish You Were Here.
Having gone through several member changes, Pink Floyd has always remained characteristically epic sounding.
If there was ever a band that was all about the full album experience, these guys are clearly the ones. Checking out 70s classics Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, and The Wall is a must for any serious guitarist, but don’t forget the 90s release The Division Bell as well.
Dark Side Of The Moon deserves a special mention here among all these great albums as it holds the record for the longest-charting album. It spent fourteen years on the U.S. charts!
The reason not much happened between the late 70s and early 90s was down to that the band was too busy arguing and releasing solo albums, culminating with Roger Waters (bass, vocals, and main songwriter) leaving the band.
Something he is clearly still bitter about several decades later, many times stating that when he left, the band should have been over.
This feud has not actually stopped since. In 2023, Roger announced that he is re-releasing a new version of Dark Side Of The Moon. I haven’t heard it yet but I’m not even sure I want to!
Wish You Were Here followed Dark Side Of The Moon
Wish You Were Here is the title track from Pink Floyd’s 1975 studio album. To attempt a follow-up of 1973’s Dark Side Of The Moon is not a job any band would like but Pink Floyd certainly delivered with Wish You Were Here.
This album dealt with the original singer, Syd Barrett’s mental state. Both Shine On You Crazy Diamond and Wish You Were Here are directly written about Syd.
Recorded at Abbey Road studios (the same studio as The Beatles used), Wish You Were Here was completed over 6 months, working long hours on a set schedule four days a week.
The material came from ideas the band had come up with during touring with Dark Side Of The Moon.
If you want to find out more about Pink Floyd, many books have been written, perhaps the best one is Inside Out, by the band’s drummer Nick Mason.
Pink Floyd tunes | Related pages
Wish You Were Here
| C/G | D/F# |
So, so you think you can tell,
| Am | G |
heaven from hell, blue skies from pain.
Pink Floyd on the web
