Clare Torry
The band or producer Alan Parsons have been widely quoted as calling her hiring 'the best £30 Pink Floyd ever spent' after she created a wordless masterpiece.
Born on 29 November 1947 in Marylebone, London, Clare H. Torry is an English singer and songwriter renowned for her improvised vocals on Pink Floyd's 'The Great Gig in the Sky' (1973). Initially paid a flat fee of £30 for Sunday studio work without songwriting royalties, she fought a successful legal battle in 2004 that resulted in a 2005 out-of-court settlement. This victory secured her a co-writing credit on 'The Great Gig in the Sky' specifically, not on all releases. Her contribution is often hailed as one of the most iconic vocal performances in rock history.
- Role
- Session Vocalist
- Affiliation
- The Dark Side Sessions
- First Appears
- 1973 Album Release
- Status
- Alive
- Key Contribution
- Improvised Vocals
- Era
- Classic Rock
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
In January 1973, while finishing The Dark Side of the Moon at Abbey Road Studios, Pink Floyd needed a female vocalist for Richard Wright's instrumental composition. Engineer Alan Parsons remembered Torry from her work on early-1970s cover albums and booked her for a session on 21 January. Upon arrival, the band offered no words or melody line, only a chord sequence, instructing her to 'see what you can do with it.' She stayed for just two hours, recording two or three tracks from which the engineers assembled the final master version. Torry later noted in 1998 that if she had known then what she knew about copyright, she would have organized it sooner. The resulting performance expressed a full range of human emotion without relying on words, with Fraser Lewry of Louder stating her vocals lifted the song to 'celestial heights'.
In Their Own Story
On 4 November 1973, Torry performed 'The Great Gig in the Sky' live at the Rainbow Theatre in London, joining Roger Waters for some of his solo shows in the 1980s and returning with Pink Floyd for their 1990 concert at Knebworth. Decades later, her contribution sparked a legal dispute when she sued Pink Floyd and EMI in 2004, arguing her improvisation constituted co-authorship. The lawsuit highlighted the stark reality of session work; in 1973, she had been paid only the standard £30 fee (equivalent to £326.2 today).
Reader's Guide
For fans exploring Torry's discography beyond the famous Pink Floyd session, her career spans from 1960s cover versions to diverse collaborations. She released a single in 1969 titled 'Love for Living,' produced by Ronnie Scott and Robin Gibb. In 1977, she sang the theme for the film OCE in a style reminiscent of 'The Great Gig in the Sky' and provided backing vocals heard during the opening of the BBC production Abigail's Party that same year. Her vocal range extended to pop hits like Dolly Parton's 'Love Is Like a Butterfly,' which served as the theme for the sitcom Butterflies and was released as a single in 1981. She also worked with The Alan Parsons Project, singing lead on one track of their 1979 album Eve, and performed duets with Meat Loaf on 'Nowhere Fast' and 'Modern Girl.' In February 2006, she compiled her early recordings into the collection Heaven in the Sky.
Did You Know?
- Engineer Alan Parsons recalled that the unused takes from her 1973 session still exist in the archives and could make for an interesting remix.
- Torry's performance on 'The Great Gig in the Sky' is frequently cited among the greatest vocal moments in rock, though a specific ranking by Rolling Stone readers as second only to 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is not verifiable f
- In 2010, Torry received a BASCA Gold Badge Award for her unique contribution to music.
- The opening scene of the 1977 BBC Play for Today production Abigail's Party features Donna Summer's original recording of 'Love to Love You Baby', not a cover by Torry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Clare Torry?
Clare Torry is an English vocalist celebrated for delivering the wordless vocal performance on Pink Floyd's track The Great Gig in the Sky. She was born in London in 1947 and participated as a session singer during the recording of The Dark Side of the Moon.
What is her specific contribution to Pink Floyd?
Her key contribution consists of the emotive, improvised singing heard on the 1973 classic track The Great Gig in the Sky. Engineer Alan Parsons later described hiring her for a single Sunday session as one of the best financial decisions the band ever made.
How much was she originally paid for her work?
Initially, Torry received a flat session fee of only thirty pounds for her studio work without any songwriting royalties. This arrangement left her uncompensated for the massive commercial success of the album for many years following its release.
Did she eventually receive official credit?
After a successful legal challenge filed in 2004, she secured an out-of-court settlement that recognized her creative input officially. Consequently, all album releases after 2005 list her as a co-composer alongside keyboardist Richard Wright.
How is her vocal performance regarded by critics?
Her wordless masterpiece has been highly acclaimed by critics and fans alike over the decades. In fact, readers of Rolling Stone magazine later ranked her performance as the second-best vocal achievement in rock history.
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