Hard to believe someone that young can enter a studio, and be told we don't know what we want from you, other than no words to the song. But sing. Lol. And she improvises and does that, the culmination of two full takes, and a third which she stopped at midpoint exhausted, and told them she had given all she could and they should be able to work with what she did. And left thinking they would never use my singing effort. But they did as we all marvel at. Later explaining she figured I would just use my voice as if I were an instrument. Quite frankly brilliant. All singer's voices are instruments, but she meant literally. Lol. And it showed. And the rest is as they say...History. Legendary history. I'm glad she finally got some serious compensation (albeit via a lawsuit) in the later years rather than the thirty British Pounds she received for that work (Judas received thirty pieces of Silver for his work...hmm). FYI in 1973, 30 GBP = 2,518 USD. She had no choice. No one was rolling up to her door with wheel barrels of cash voluntarily. They should have. Lol. Anyway, nothing against the guys. Young. Still finding their way. Manager(s) really should have initiated something once the evidence was in so to speak. Business back then was fractional. No real established way to compensate those who came in and left other than hourly, doing a part here and there. But THIS? This was special. It was a game-changer. It all ended well. What a masterpiece.
@@fernandoc.campos8842 Yes...you are correct. I was referring to the single effort that day as a whole where no words were used. Show up. Do the singing. Leave. Once she realized they wanted no words, she did two full takes. On the third take stopped, basically spent, and told them she had given them all she could and what she did do up to that point was good enough and they should be able to work with it. And left. Lol. Alan Parsons and the boys did just that. Apparently, they used all three takes (2.5 actually) to come up with what we hear and marvel at. She thought they would use none of it. I should have been more specific rather than the truncated version. I stand corrected (modified my original comment).
It’s funny,listening to this album growing up,but it wasn’t till I bought a high end CD player and amp and speakers that this album changed . I could hear other voices and more sounds in the background that I’d never noticed before and it nearly made me cry listening to it . Music deffo sounds better on a nice system. You can see why it’s voted no1 of all time
Clare Torry did what no one else ever gets to say they did. She vocalized perfection. In studio or live no one will ever upstage Clare Torry. This is simply the greatest song there has ever been. Period.
@@BlueBeeMCMLXI i agree with him and i first heard this as a teenager in '73 and never recovered from Claire's delivery of a completely free musical adlib . Musical genius .
I’m 60 now but when I was younger we’d hangout in the alley just a few steps from my house. One by one they would arrive. The lighted pole was ours. We got high, listened to the radio, and sometimes we even made bbq. We drank cheap beer. I first heard the Great Gig in The Sky Clare’s version. Everyone got quite and listen including myself. Each one in their own world. When the song finished everyone said “a-la-va” meaning whoa in Spanish. Yesterday I happened to run into this song randomly it brought tears. And a feeling that I haven’t felt in a longtime. It was not Pink Floyd but a band called Atom, she had the same voice as Clare. I grew up with Pink Floyd and likes this it’s awesome to hear these songs again and brings back memories long ago. To Atom and the lady that sang this cover!
I like the Clare Torry pics in this video, so breathtakingly gorgeous for a English girl ...I am not saying that because I am a girl too, she can sing it❤❤❤❤❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Fantastic is that the biggest impact of this is not the masterpiece itself, but its perpetuity and "fermentation" (something that grows over time). I think our understanding and sensitivity had to grow over time to really absorb the level at which it was conceived. As Semper Fi said in the comments below, they didn't know what they wanted and the singer didn't want any words. More and more I believe in Divine interference in these beautiful events. Only can.
I played this for my Aunt Dorthy, many, MANY years ago. She sat, we listened, after it was done playiny, she looked at me & said, "My God LuAnn, it can be any emotion, at any time", I was so proud lol
This song is how my dad died. He was dying and I was with him for days… this is the death song. It is the ebb and flow. It is how he surrendered. Absolute magic ❤
There were many anti-nuclear war rallies on Kitsilano beach, British Columbia in 1985. We were treated to a fireworks show featuring 'The great gig in the sky', right on the beach, at evening.
Precisely...When They Calked Into the Studio In 1972~They Told Her They Wanted Her Vocals To Touch On Several Different Emotions... She Recorded Her Vocals In 1 Take...
She did it per instructions and she did it with zero embellishment. No clocks no guitars no insane people in the studio. Except for for the spirit of syd.
Yes, as superlative as I thought Torrey's performance was when I first heard it, the depth of regard, feeling, and utter awe I have for it today is far greater.
Expressing perfectly my exhausted mental state at the moment. That’s what art is - another language, not the common one, and it can only be produced by another human being for our experience is shared. I hate to think that the following generations will be miserably trapped by the unaccountable AI.
Every time I hear it, this brings a tear to my eye. I’ve listened to this from the beginning. Wow, what a beautiful voice. Thank you so much for this song.
Hail Ms Claire Torry, since my highchool days i've been listenning this song, wonderful of yours that i luv so much..when i was in Saudi Arabia driving my car at a speed of 120 kmh i just turn off the A/C open the windows and play the tape, greatest gig in the sky makes me high..thanks Ms Claire Torry..
I listen and listen to this song since released when I was 10 years old...and still can't put into words what it does to me...but I love whatever it does.
They asked her to just compose, just invent and she came up with this masterpiece. Y'know what? She came out of the booth and apologised but Flloyd were blown away and the rest of us have been ever since. Claire, you're a darlin'
Clare Torry, in a later interview, said she worked only with David Gilmour on this recording. She said she did two takes, and David asked her to do one more take; she said she was sorry, but had other plans that day (she said she didn't know who Pink Floyd was, having only heard of the band's name).
Afterwards, by her own admission, she wasn't even sure her take was going to be used for the final mix. When the album appeared some months later and she had a look at it in a record shop, she was surprised to find her own name among the credits. So it's not as if she walked out of the studio thinking: "today I cut a masterpiece vocal, I KNOW this will be on the radio!"
Pink Floyd has a documentary about making "Dark Side of the Moon". The whole album was a culmination of so many factors beyond just the groups talent and imagination. Having Clare there at that time in her life, with whatever motivated every nuance in her thoughts and voice... The album is an example of a whole being greater than the sum of its parts. It would not have been the album it is, without every part and Clare Torry was key in what this album has become. Thank you Pink Floyd... and thank you Clare Torry for a performance that has touched so many lives in such beautiful ways.
Hey Floyd friends there is a exhibit in Los Angeles California it's called all that remains goes on til February 4 it's on Broadway wow 😲 Floyd's on Broadway I'm 53 thank you fir getting me through life had a abusive dad is were I f it eat heard Floyd he cudnt beat me nor cud u stop me from hearing Floyd not jus listening#23
Sorry to hear your dad was so hard on you, I hope your mom made up for this?. I have so many memories of my late father, I'm a bit older than you and have my own kids, it's a difficult call being a father, I'm so glad this brilliant colourful music helped you through. Enjoy your life as much as you can, I'm sure he loved you in his heart.
Who'd have thought that a skinny little 25yo white girl would walk into the studio in 1974, no idea what she was supposed to do, no idea who she was recording for, and a few hours later walked out for a pay day of 30 pounds. And here we are, one of most famous, most amazing female vocal tracks, that doesn't even have any words.
Overdue Lifetime Vocalist Grammy award for Clare Torry. Very few songs transcend but this one nearly fifty years on still delivers and sears ones soul😎👌
I am fifty years old and I never did drugs. I think I 'll never will. But every time I listen to this song, I enter a kind of psychedelic journey akin to what people describe they feel when they are high.
Simply a genius, Clare. How have you been able to express so well and with no lyrics what you were asked to do by the leaders of Pink Floyd and Alan Parsons...THANK YOU SO MUCH
What a masterpiece. I have a 7 month old granddaughter who absolutely loves to hear this. She's already into music thanks to her daddy. Hopefully this will be her singing this. Such a shame Clare didn't get the attention that was so well deserved for this song.
I think she's gettin it now, better late than never. How many people know her name now but still can't name all the rest of the guys in the band? Hell, I can't!
J'ai écouté ce morceau pour la première fois en 1974 alors que j'étais teenager et j'ai été totalement et immédiatement subjugué par la justesse et la puissance de la voix. Depuis ce jour, à chaque fois qu'il m'est donné de réentendre ce morceau, je ressens les mêmes frissons que ceux éprouvés lors de la première écoute... Merveilleuse Clare Torry...
A man I was seeing many years ago, he came to my house, knocked, I had this on LOUD, I opened the door, he looked at me & said, Clare Torry. I then knew he was the one lol
people, i think this is a one and only performance of a life time . i haven't heard any other vocalist catch what she did here and i doubt whether she could do repeat this one off ever again,. did they get her to do any live versions of this and if so where they ever as good ? man they caught some unique magic that day. what a gift to the world .i hope this is around as long as mankind is. for people of the future to gasp in awe. 4 odd minutes and you've catapulted yourself into history and left an indelible legacy for mankind . it's nearly a glimpse into the most exposed heart you can get of a human .nearly the most sacred music i've ever heard .or am i going overboard and getting weird ? another point as a believer ,if we could pray with this conviction, fervour and passion and all our heart, we'd get some things moving. if anybody wants to throw some prayers my way to help ,i want to be able to pray with the unrestrainedness (fully exposed no brakes on or holding back ) she brings to this . thanks .
I always thought that the woman was black because of the kind of singing associated with black singers in the U.S. where I live. The Beatles composed some great songs but Pink Floyd went above and beyond anything the Beatles did. They seem to be almost shouting warnings to us humans to avoid shallow, harmful living associated with materialism, tyranny and other negative characteristics/traits. The ending of this song where the song's tempo is slightly and quickly sped up is subtle yet so meaningful. There's so much that I can interpret just from that slight technique, and I believe Pink Floyd purposefully employed that. To me it echoes the mysterious, powerful and haunting theme about time and the meaning of life. The entire album is especially meaningful to me because a few months later after it was released, my mother's sister died on xmas day of 1973--the day she was scheduled to be released after a long bout with depression and other related problems. We were all awaiting that day but that morning forever shattered the peace and happiness of life most kids only know about life at that age. She brought a lot of those things on herself and she probably committed suicide. But I was 7 at that time and confused about why anyone would die especially on a day I used to anticipate and associate with joy and excitement. My mother's parents, one of her cousins, and my father's mother would also die almost in succession during the following 3 years---also around xmas. I was scared and confused after also watching my mother grieve during those same years. Life didn't make sense to me if loved ones were dying so quickly and in succession, at least to a child's immature and undeveloped mind. Memories of 1973-1976 are like a dark, depressing cloud to me. One of the few hopefuls things about those years is the great music that was produced like Pink Floyd's. Years later during the beginning of this century I purchased almost every single Pink Floyd album on CD. I couldn't get enough of their songs and messages. Their Animals album really helped me to avoid becoming like the dreaded characters that Pink Floyd sang about on that album. I would carefully listen to those songs and other Pink Floyd's songs on my iPod as I got off from one bus to another, struggling to get to my jobs on time. There are few philosophy rockers that equal Pink Floyd. They're not only progressive but very philosophical as well. Sometimes words aren't needed to communicate deep meanings and feelings like in this song. Their music is timeless and always applicable, probably more so today than ever.
In 1973 I was 8 years old. A year later my parents got divorced, which was rough, but no one in my family passed away until I was an adult. I can't imagine how difficult that must have been for you. I'm glad you survived it and are able to enjoy Pink Floyd despite the connection to your childhood memories.
This song has such deep meaning when you are diagnosed with cancer that has taken relatives all around you. I have reached remission but this song will forever be a reminder of a dark time that i came through ok Nobody conveys the emotion of this song better than her 🩷✌️💎
