Jon Lord Jon Lord John Douglas Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English composer, pianist, and Hammond organ player known for his pioneering work in fusing rock with classical or baroque forms, especially with Deep Purple, as well as Whitesnake, Paice Ashton Lord, The Artwoods, and The Flower Pot Men. In 1968, Lord co-founded Deep Purple, a hard rock band of which he was regarded as the leader until 1970. Together with the other members, he collaborated on most of his band's most popular songs. He and drummer Ian Paice were the only continuous presence in the band during the
Ian Paice Matteo Filippini. The band performs on a regular basis mainly in Italy. They have also released two studio albums on which Paice has guested. "Time to Take a Stand", which was released in 2006, featured two songs that featured both Paice and Glenn Hughes, performing together for the first time since 1976. The list of Paice's declared admirers includes Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith. On 21 June 2004 Smith and Paice joined forces at the launch of the London Drum Company. The next year they also played together at the Modern Drummer Festival at New Jersey Performing Arts Center.