Deep Purple founder Jon Lord, 'Smoke on the Water' co-writer, dies at 71

English rocker Jon Lord, who founded Deep Purple and co-wrote their most famous song, Smoke On The Water, has died aged 71.

The Leicester-born keyboard player, who had pancreatic cancer, died in London on Monday.

A statement on his website said he had passed "from Darkness to Light", and that he was "surrounded by his loving family" when he died.
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The heavy rockers sold more than 100m albums – many featuring Lord's classically inspired keyboards.
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Born in Leicester, Lord studied classical piano from the age of five. In his teens, the then-new rock'n'roll and R&B movements made a deep impression on him, in particular the music recorded by blues pianists and organists such as Jimmy McGriff and Jerry Lee Lewis. The contemporary combination of Hammond B3 and C3 organs with Leslie speakers appealed to him, and this became an instrumental setup that remained integral to Lord's signature keyboard style for the rest of his career.
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