Fifty years of The Dark Side of the Moon
It was the Spring of 1973. My birthday was a few weeks away. My siblings asked me what album I would like as a present. I said either Crosby, Still & Nash or Deja Vu. A couple of weeks later they handed me my present. I ripped off the wrapping paper and found a record album. It was Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon.” WHAT? Where were David, Stephen, Graham, and/or Neil?
I was never a fan of Pink Floyd. I had listened to their earlier records and it just wasn’t my kind of music. But, now I owned one of their albums so why not give it a listen? After hearing it for the first time, I knew this was something different. After playing it a second time, I knew this was something special.
From the beginning, I knew this was a great album. I didn’t know it would be an all-time classic. I didn’t know we would still be talking about it fifty years later.
Today is the fiftieth anniversary of Pink Floyd’s legendary album “The Dark Side of the Moon.” The honors for this record are overwhelming. You’ll find it near the top of almost every poll of the greatest rock recordings. In a piece I wrote about the best albums of the 1970s, I rated it number one! Its sales made the band members rich beyond what they ever dreamed. Forty-five million units were sold worldwide. Fifteen million of those came from the United States, where it’s been certified as 15xPlatinum.
Fifty years ago, I remember thinking this was one of the deepest albums ever. I must have been high when I thought that because back then I had no idea what the theme of this record was or even if there was one. Fifty years later, I still don’t know, but that’s okay. What I did love was the music and the way it made me feel. I still have those feelings today.
The word is that Roger Waters is going to remake Dark Side. I’m not sure why, although my guess is it has something to do with his current bitter feud with David Gilmour. Dude, don’t do it! Don’t mess with perfection!
So on this fiftieth anniversary of “The Dark Side of Moon”, we’re still talking about the album, we’re still playing it, and we’re still marveling at its greatness. My guess is in another fifty years, long after most of us who loved it in 1973, are gone, a new group will still be doing the same.