Seriously, do you know who Clare Torry is? Because you should. Her vocals on Pink Floyd’s epic track The Great Gig In The Sky (from the album Dark Side of The Moon) were voted the second best of all time, landing just behind Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. Not a bad accolade, eh?
The Great Gig in The Sky is the fifth track on Dark Side of The Moon. It is part of what the group called their reflections of mortality portion of the album. Once Richard Wright had written the music, the group debated what to do with the song. Something was missing. They decided that a female vocal was needed and friend of the band Alan Parsons (yes, of the Alan Parsons Project) suggested twenty-five year old session singer Clare Torry. The group gave her very loose instructions. She was told to sing, without words, the sum of human experience: birth, mortality, love, life, joy and grief. She was paid 30 pounds (about $350 in today’s US dollars) for her day’s work. Initially she worried that she hadn’t nailed it, that she sounded silly. Everyone else in the room knew that this was something timeless, something special, something unforgettable. At the time, Torry was not credited on the album for her vocals although over the years she did appear live with the group, and with Roger Waters on his solo tour and reprised her amazing vocals. As time went on Clare Torry realized that her voice and her wordless composition were actually the lyrics of the song, just as Richard Wright’s composition was the music. In 2004 she sued for and was granted credit for her contribution. The parties settled amicably out of court. On all releases after 2005, Clare Torry is credited as a composer on The Great Gig in The Sky. Damn right.
No words and yet she said so much. I cannot imagine this song without her.
Incidentally this is one of only three Pink Floyd songs that uses an outside vocalist and, technically, this song used three different people. Before recording the group and some of their friends sat around and talked about dying, about their feelings on death and about the human experience of mortality. In the end, recordings from these conversations were inserted into the song. In addition to Clare Torry, you have the following snippets which add to the overall atmospheric nature of the track (this next bit is copied from Wikipedia and the links back are included):
(At 0:39)
And I am not frightened of dying. Any time will do, I don’t mind. Why should I be frightened of dying? There’s no reason for it – you’ve got to go sometime.
(At 3:33, faintly)
I never said I was frightened of dying.
— Patricia ‘Puddie’ Watts, wife of road manager Peter Watts[6]
Lyrics
Intro Gerry Driscoll:
And I am not frightened of dying, you know
Any time will do, I don’t mind
Why should I be frightened of dying
There’s no reason for it
You’ve got to go sometime
Non-lyrical vocals Clare Torry
Interlude Patricia Watts:
I never said I was frightened of dying
Non-lyrical vocals Clare Torry
