Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon.

[3db]

I always thought the female vocalist was of of African decent so I finally decided to google her. Turns out she's a British white female. I ALWAYS admired her humming on that album. She had freaken awesome vocals. Turns out that that everything wasn't rosey between her and Pink Floyd. Clare Torey is her name.

LawsuitEdit
In 2004, she sued Pink Floyd and EMI for songwriting royalties on the basis that her contribution to "The Great Gig in the Sky" constituted co-authorship with keyboardist Richard Wright. Originally, she was paid the standard flat fee of £30 for Sunday studio work. In 2005, an out-of-court settlement was reached in Torry's favour, although the terms of the settlement were not disclosed.[8] All releases after 2005 carry an additional credit for "Vocal composition by Clare Torry"[9] for the "Great Gig in the Sky" segment of the booklet or liner notes.

 

[lovinthehd]

Knew it all along myself but the way she was treated not so hot, but not unusual for the times....hell of an addition, it just wouldn't be the same without her. Then again any backing female vocals from various races were often taken advantage of by record companies/bands....I just saw the Joni Mitchell collaboration for "Shadows & Light" with The Temptations and my first thought was just how much did those guys get for their appearance.....

 

[2channel lover]

I didn't know it, but not surprised the label/band tried to stiff her. jmho...her contribution is what's etched into my brain on the song.

 

[KEW]

I remember reading a commentary (documentary?) on this where Roger Waters (or someone from PF) told her just to wing it and she was pretty insecure about the end result. Knowing it is an impromptu extemporaneous composition reflects highly on her talents and she certainly deserves credit for her role in making this one of the best pieces of music out there!
At the time she did it, she was pretty delighted that they liked it so much; but I suspect after time and talking with people about what she had done (and the fact that this song has become a classic and made a great bit of money) it made sense to get a bigger slice of the pie. A shame that the band (I like to think it is the manager/lawyer that is the asshole) didn't acknowledge her contribution when she contacted them more recently!
Does anyone know? Did she tour with them for concerts?
The actual foundation of the song is a little fuzzy for me, but her part is crystal clear in my mind!

 

[2channel lover]

I remember reading a commentary (documentary?) on this where Roger Waters (or someone from PF) told her just to wing it and she was pretty insecure about the end result. Knowing it is an impromptu extemporaneous composition reflects highly on her talents and she certainly deserves credit for her role in making this one of the best pieces of music out there!
At the time she did it, she was pretty delighted that they liked it so much; but I suspect after time and talking with people about what she had done (and the fact that this song has become a classic and made a great bit of money) it made sense to get a bigger slice of the pie. A shame that the band (I like to think it is the manager/lawyer that is the asshole) didn't acknowledge her contribution when she contacted them more recently!
Does anyone know? Did she tour with them for concerts?
The actual foundation of the song is a little fuzzy for me, but her part is crystal clear in my mind!

Definitely deserved the credits, and cash...but it's very likely she was paid a flat fee for studio work and that was deemed to be it....then her part went on to essentially be the "lead" for the song.

I'm not sure if she toured or not...but getting a bigger slice would be challenging even if she deserves it.

 

[panteragstk]

It's not like it's an unknown fact that Roger is kind of a pretentious ass. However, he's the reason pink Floyd is pink Floyd. Without him it's just Gilmore and his terrible lyrics..