The Great Gig in the Sky

The recording process for the album The Dark Side of the Moon, which explored themes such as life and death, led the band members to ask questions of people working at Abbey Road Studios. One of the questions was, "Are you afraid of dying?" The answers from Gerry O'Driscoll, a studio doorman, and the wife of their manager, Peter Watts, were included on the album, as were other spoken parts. It was in January 1973, just weeks before the album's completion, that the idea arose to invite a singer to improvise over the music. Studio engineer Alan Parsons suggested Clare Torry, a 25-year-old session vocalist and songwriter with whom he had previously worked. Torry agreed to a session for that same afternoon, but due to other commitments, it was scheduled for the following day, a Sunday. Upon being presented with the instrumental track, she was asked to improvise. At first, she struggled to find direction, but eventually found inspiration to sing as if she herself were an instrument. She performed two full takes, with the second being more emotional than the first. When David Gilmour asked for a third, she stopped halfway through, feeling she was becoming repetitive and had already given her best. The final album version was constructed from the three takes. The band members were very impressed with Torry's performance but did not communicate this to her. She left the studio with a standard fee of 30 pounds, believing her vocals would not be included in the final mix. She only learned of her involvement upon buying the album in a shop and seeing her name in the credits. In 2005, an out-of-court settlement in her favor granted her credit for the vocal composition.