Editing Jon Lord (section)

==Early life==

===Growing up in Leicester===
Lord was born in [[Leicester]] on 9 June 1941 to Miriam (1912–1995; née Hudson) and Reginald Lord, and lived in the city until he was 20.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jonlord.org/2013/01/13/celebrating-jons-childhood-home/ |title=Celebrating Jon's childhood home &#124; Jon Lord – The Official Website |date=13 January 2013 |publisher=Jon Lord |access-date=2014-06-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Marlow |first1=Lee |title=Jon Lord's Blue Plaque: Leicester Pays Tribute |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/blue-plaque-for-jon-lord-unveiled-in-leicester |website=Classic Rock |publisher=Future plc |access-date=27 November 2024 |date=9 June 2015}}</ref> His father was an amateur saxophonist and encouraged Lord to play music from an early age. He studied classical piano from the age of five, with a local teacher, Frederick Allt, and this focus on a classical grounding to his material was a recurring trademark in his work, both in composition, arranging and his instrumental solos on piano, organ and electronic keyboards. In particular his influences ranged from [[Johann Sebastian Bach]] (a constant reference in his music and in his keyboard improvisation) to Medieval popular music and the English tradition of [[Edward Elgar]]. He attended [[Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys]] between 1952 and 1958 where he gained [[GCE Ordinary Level|O Level]] passes in French, music and mathematics, participated in amateur dramatics and the school choir alongside his organ and piano studies, and then worked as a clerk in a solicitor's office for two years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deep-purple.net/tree/artwoods/artwoods.html |title=Jon Lord profile|publisher=Deep-purple.net|access-date=16 July 2012}}</ref>

Lord absorbed the [[blues]] sounds that played a key part in his rock career, principally the raw sounds of the great American jazz and blues organists, such as [[Wild Bill Davis]], [[Jimmy Smith (musician)|Jimmy Smith]], [[Jimmy McGriff]] and "Brother" [[Jack McDuff]] ("Rock Candy"), as well as the stage showmanship of [[Jerry Lee Lewis]] and performers like [[Buddy Holly]], whom he saw perform at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester in March 1958.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.songkick.com/concerts/968148-buddy-holly-at-de-montfort-hall |title=Buddy Holly — Leicester — De Montfort Hall — 16 March 1958 |publisher=Songkick |date=1958-03-16 |access-date=2014-06-04}}</ref> The jazz-blues organ style of black R&B organ players in the 1950s and 1960s, using the trademark blues-organ sound of the [[Hammond organ]] (B3 and C3 models) and combining it with the [[Leslie speaker]] system (the well-known Hammond-Leslie speaker combination), were seminal influences on Lord. Lord also stated that he was heavily influenced by the organ-based [[progressive rock]] played by [[Vanilla Fudge]] after seeing that band perform in Great Britain in 1967, and earlier by the personal direction he received from British organ pioneer [[Graham Bond]].<ref>Welch, Chris. "The Story of Deep Purple", in ''Deep Purple: HM Photo Book'', copyright 1983, Omnibus Press.</ref>

===Move to London===
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2014}}
Lord moved to London in September 1960, intent on an acting career and enrolling at the [[Royal Central School of Speech and Drama]], in London's [[Swiss Cottage]]. Following a celebrated student rebellion he became a founder of [[Drama Centre London]], from where he graduated in 1964. Small acting parts followed, including in the British TV series, [[Emergency - Ward 10]], and Lord continued playing the piano and the organ in [[nightclub]]s and as a session musician to earn a living. He started his band career in London in 1960 with the jazz ensemble [[Bill Ashton (jazz musician)|The Bill Ashton Combo]]. Ashton became a key figure in jazz education in Britain, creating what later became the [[National Youth Jazz Orchestra]]. Between 1960 and 1963, Lord and Ashton both moved on to Red Bludd's Bluesicians (also known as The Don Wilson Quartet), the latter of which featured the singer [[Art Wood|Arthur "Art" Wood]], brother of guitarist [[Ronnie Wood]]. Wood had previously sung with [[Alexis Korner]]'s [[Blues Incorporated]] and was a well-known figure in the British blues movement. Somewhere around this time, Lord altered his birth name spelling from "John" to the more contemporary "Jon". In this period, Lord's session credits included playing the keyboards in the number one song "[[You Really Got Me]]" by [[The Kinks]]', released in 1964; however in a ''Guitar World'' interview, Kinks frontman [[Ray Davies]] stated it was actually [[Arthur Greenslade]] playing piano on that particular track.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Alan de Perna|journal=Guitar World|title=You Really Got Me|date=January 1997}}</ref>

Following the break-up of Redd Bludd's Bluesicians in late 1963, Wood, Lord, and the drummer Red Dunnage put together a new band, The Art Wood Combo. This also included Derek Griffiths (guitar) and Malcolm Pool (bass guitar). Dunnage left in December 1964 to be replaced by [[Keef Hartley]], who had previously replaced [[Ringo Starr]] in [[Rory Storm]] and the Hurricanes. This band, later known as "[[The Artwoods]]", focused on the organ as the bluesy, rhythmic core of their sound, in common with the contemporary bands [[The Spencer Davis Group]] ([[Steve Winwood]] on organ) and [[The Animals]] (with [[Alan Price]]). They made appearances on the BBC's ''[[Saturday Club (BBC radio)|Saturday Club]]'' radio show and on such TV programs as ''[[Ready Steady Go!]]''. It also performed abroad, and it appeared on the first ''Ready Steady Goes Live'', promoting its first single the [[Lead Belly]] song "Sweet Mary" — but significant commercial success eluded it. Its only charting single was "I Take What I Want", which reached number 28 on 8 May 1966.

This band regrouped in 1967 as the "St. Valentine's Day Massacre". This was an attempt to cash in on the 1930s gangster craze set off by the American film ''[[Bonnie and Clyde (film)|Bonnie and Clyde]]''. Hartley left the band in 1967 to join [[John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers]]. Lord next founded the blues-influenced [[Santa Barbara Machine Head]], featuring Art's brother, [[Ronnie Wood]], writing and recording three powerful keyboard-driven instrumental tracks, giving a preview of the future style of [[Deep Purple]]. Soon thereafter, Lord went on to cover for the keyboard player Billy Day in [[The Flower Pot Men]], where he met the bass guitarist [[Nick Simper]] along with drummer [[Carlo Little]] and guitarist [[Ged Peck]]. Lord and Simper then toured with this band in 1967 to promote its hit single "[[Let's Go to San Francisco]]", but the two men never recorded with this band.{{Citation needed|date=July 2012}}

===Formation of Deep Purple===
In early 1967, through his roommate [[Chris Curtis (musician)|Chris Curtis]] of the [[The Searchers (band)|Searchers]], Lord met businessman [[Tony Edwards (manager)|Tony Edwards]] who was looking to invest in the music business alongside partners Ron Hire and John Coletta (HEC Enterprises). Session guitarist [[Ritchie Blackmore]] was called in and he met Lord for the first time, but Chris Curtis's erratic behaviour led the trio nowhere. Edwards was impressed enough by Jon Lord to ask him to form a band after Curtis faded out. Said Edwards, "I couldn't really cope with [Curtis] but I had a great rapport with Jon Lord; here was somebody sensible, somebody I could communicate with on my level."<ref>Tyler, Kieron [http://www.deep-purple.net/archive/68-76history/roundabout.htm On The Roundabout With Deep Purple] Retrieved 31 August 2020</ref> Simper was contacted, and Blackmore was recalled from [[Hamburg]]. Although top British player [[Bobbie Clarke]] was the first choice as drummer, during the auditions for a singer, [[Rod Evans]] of "The Maze" came in with his own drummer, [[Ian Paice]]. Blackmore, who had been impressed by Paice's drumming when he met him in 1967, set up an audition for Paice as well. The band was called the "Roundabout" at first and began rehearsals at Deeves Hall in Hertfordshire. In March 1968, this became the "Mark 1" line-up of "[[Deep Purple]]": Lord, Simper, Blackmore, Paice, and Evans.

Lord also did session work in the late 1960s with the band "Boz", along with Blackmore (guitar) and Paice (drums), given that Boz was being produced by [[Derek Lawrence]] who produced Deep Purple's first three albums. Boz was led by [[Boz Burrell]] (vocals/guitar, later bassist for [[King Crimson]] and [[Bad Company]]) and also included [[Chas Hodges]] (bass guitar).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/boz-burrell-mn0000099073/biography |title=Boz Burrell - Artist Biography by Bruce Eder |last=Eder |first=Bruce |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=30 November 2020}}</ref>