Jon Lord founding member of Deep Purple passed away on Monday at a London clinic. The 71 year old keyboardist suffered a pulmonary embolism.Lord played with Deep Purple from 1967-2002 and was in a battle with pancreatic cancer since last year. Many of the band's biggest hits, "Highway Star", "Woman from Tokyo" and" Smoke on the Water," were co-written by Lord.

In addition to his years with Deep Purple, Lord also had a tenure with Whitesnake from 1978 to 1984.  After retiring from Deep Purple in 2002, Lord focused on composing and performing orchestral music.  Shortly before his death, he had been working on a project by the supergroup WhoCares, which also features contributions longtime Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted and Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain.

Rest In Peace Jon Lord.

More From 107.9 Jack FM