Dick Parry died this morning, May 22, 2026, at the age of 83. The saxophonist whose playing became inseparable from some of rock music’s most enduring recordings passed away with no cause of death announced. David Gilmour broke the news on social media, writing, “My dear friend Dick Parry died this morning. Since I was seventeen, I have played in bands with Dick on saxophone, including Pink Floyd.”
Parry and Gilmour’s friendship stretched back to Cambridge in the early 1960s, where both were part of the city’s mid-decade music scene. Gilmour played in Jokers Wild while Parry fronted The Soul Committee. That bond, formed before either had any idea where music would take them, turned out to be one of the most quietly consequential friendships in rock history.
When Gilmour brought Parry into the studio for ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ in 1973, the result was permanent. The saxophone line on “Money” became one of the most recognizable instrumental moments in the entire classic rock canon. Parry also appeared on “Us and Them” from that record, and his contributions extended to 1975’s ‘Wish You Were Here’, most notably on “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.” Gilmour described his playing as “a signature of enormous beauty that is known to millions.”
Parry toured with Pink Floyd from 1973 through 1977, one of the band’s most celebrated live periods. Nearly two decades later, Gilmour tracked him down after receiving a Christmas card from a man who had sold his saxophones, become a farrier, and largely stepped away from music. A brief audition on the boat was enough. Three phrases in, Gilmour and producer Bob Ezrin agreed he still had it completely. Parry played on “Wearing the Inside Out” for 1994’s ‘The Division Bell’ and toured behind it, with his performances documented on the live album ‘Pulse’.
He was there for the historic Live 8 reunion in 2005, the only time the classic Pink Floyd lineup performed together after Roger Waters’ departure. He appeared again on Gilmour’s 2006 On An Island Tour alongside the late Rick Wright, a run Gilmour referenced specifically in his tribute post. Beyond Pink Floyd, Parry’s discography touched John Entwistle, Rory Gallagher, the Violent Femmes, and dozens more across six decades of session and touring work.
Dick Parry never sought the spotlight. He was a sideman in the truest and most honourable sense, someone whose contributions shaped records that hundreds of millions of people have carried with them through their lives, often without knowing his name. Now they do.
Dick Parry, the saxophonist whose playing on Pink Floyd classics “Money,” “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” and “Us and Them” became part of rock history, has died at 83. David Gilmour called him “a signature of enormous beauty.”