Wish You Were Here turns 50!
To all my fellow Pink Floyd fans…
This memorable album was released on September 12, 1975.
This is the cover of the album Wish You Were Here (1975) by Pink Floyd.
Based on material Pink Floyd composed while performing in Europe, Wish You Were Here was recorded over numerous sessions throughout 1975 at EMI Studios in London. The album's song's lyrics variously express longing, alienation, and sardonic criticism of the music industry. The bulk of the album is taken up by "Shine On You Crazy Diamond”, a nine-part tribute to the Pink Floyd co-founder Syd Barrett, who had left seven years earlier due to his deteriorating mental health. Barrett coincidentally visited the band during the recording. Wish You Were Here was certified gold in the UK and the US in its year of release and topped the charts in several European countries. The album has sold an estimated 13 million copies worldwide. It was cited by the late keyboardist Richard Wright and guitarist David Gilmour as their favorite Pink Floyd album.
Source: Wikipedia.org
My late mother became a fan of Pink Floyd later in life. “Wish You Were Here” was one of her favorite Floyd songs, along with “Time” and “On The Turning Away.” “Wish You Were Here” was among the first songs that I learned to play on the guitar and naturally reminds me of my mom and our shared love of Pink Floyd.
“As 1992 became 1993, my inner musicologist began to see a connection to the past, perhaps spurred along by the often sapient and seemingly ethereal words found in the songs of Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. Society’s fascination with one musical style or genre was replaced by another. What was old, became new again. No matter the genre, current bands were influenced by past bands, and so on, and so on. I ultimately discovered (and rediscovered) the sounds of yesteryear, while also becoming receptive to the “now”. In turn, my CD collection began to grow exponentially.”
- Woodard, Anthony. “For Those About to Rock…”. Feb. 16, 2023
Courtesy of Anthony Woodard