Ten years ago, the world lost one of its most talented songwriters in Syd Barrett. The lost leader of Pink Floyd slowly lost his grip on reality, eventually being forced to leave the band after giving the world Piper At The Gates Of Dawn in 1967. While Pink Floyd led a thoroughly successful career without Syd Barrett, their entire ethos was inspired by him. As they grew in popularity, they eventually retraced their roots and put out Wish You Were Here, an ode to their former champion.
As the story goes, the band had not seen Syd Barrett since the 1960s, but they were working on a new album in 1975 that subtly paid tribute to him and his legacy. While they were recording the song “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” Barrett himself made an impromptu appearance in the studio with a completely shaven head and eyebrows. He was almost unrecognizable, and his unintelligible conversation drove Roger Waters to tears.
This story becomes relevant, as Barrett unfortunately passed away in July of 2006. Naturally, the music world was hit hard by the loss, as Barrett was the spiritual foundation for all psychedelic art rock. The String Cheese Incident would pay tribute to the late great Barrett in a performance at the Radio City Music Hall in NYC, played on this date exactly ten years ago. There, with saxophonist Kenny Brooks, the band broke out into a tremendous version of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond.” The crazy diamond, of course, was Syd Barrett, and his legacy did indeed shine on that night.
Listen to the whole show recording, which also includes a crazy “I Know You Rider” featuring all of Ratdog, streaming below. Audio is provided courtesy of taper Tony S.