The Great Gig in the Sky

It began as a chord progression by Wright known as The Mortality Sequence or The Religion Song. In the first half of 1972 it was played live as an organ instrumental over Bible readings and extracts from Malcolm Muggeridge. By September 1972 it was a piano piece close to its final form, without vocals. The band then thought of asking a female singer to wail over it, and engineer Alan Parsons suggested Clare Torry, who was 25.

The session took place on Sunday 21 January 1973 and lasted three hours. Torry struggled at first, then decided to sing as if she were an instrument. She recorded two complete takes and stopped halfway through a third, and the final vocal was assembled from all three. She was paid the standard Sunday fee of 30 pounds and learned she was on the record when she saw her name in the credits. In 2004 she sued for songwriting royalties, and an out-of-court settlement in 2005 led to a composition credit for her on later pressings. The spoken fragments elsewhere on the album come from Abbey Road staff who were asked whether they were afraid of dying.

Live

It is one of only three Pink Floyd songs with a lead vocal from an outsider, with Have a Cigar and Hey Hey Rise Up. The band played it from 1973 to 1975 and from 1988 to 1994. In 1974 and 1975 Gilmour played pedal steel and Hammond organ, and Venetta Fields and Carlena Williams sang. The 16 November 1974 performance is in the Experience and Immersion editions of the album. A readers' poll in Rolling Stone ranked it second among the greatest vocal performances, behind Bohemian Rhapsody.