Random Fascinating Facts About Pink Floyd's 'The Dark Side Of The Moon' (12 items)

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  (#4) You Can Hear A Beatles Song Playing At The End Of 'Eclipse'

  There is a Beatles contribution in the Dark Side album - albeit accidentally. At the same moment the producers were in the process of recording Abbey Road's doorman, Gerry O'Driscoll, for the DSotM album, an orchestral version of "Ticket to Ride" played in the background.

  O'Driscoll delivered a famous line during this unique moment as well: "There is no dark side of the moon, really. Matter of fact, it's all dark. The only thing that makes it look light is the sun."
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  (#9) The Band Played 'Money' In 7/4 Time

  Songs played in a 7/4 time signature don't often gain notoriety - except for Pink Floyd's "Money." According to Waters, David Gilmour became frustrated over the song's time signature during recording:

  I would do things, and Dave would say, "No, that's wrong. There should be another beat. That's only seven." 

  I'd say, "Well, that's how it is." A number of my songs have bars of odd length.
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  (#1) Session Singer Clare Torry Got Royalties For Her Work More Than 30 Years Later

  In 2005 session vocalist Clare Torry sued the band for lost earnings - she claimed they owed her royalties for her improvised contributions on "The Great Gig in the Sky." Torry won the suit against the band and their publisher, garnering 50% ownership of the song and 50% of the royalties. The settlement was reportedly worth millions of dollars.

  "Clare came into the studio one day, and we said, 'There's no lyrics. It's about dying - have a bit of a sing on that, girl.' I think she only did one take. And we all said, 'Wow, that's that; done. Here's your 60 quid,'" Waters later recalled.
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  (#5) Naomi Watts's Father Has A Cameo

  Actress Naomi Watts has a connection to the band and their groundbreaking album, thanks to her late father, Peter Watts, formerly Pink Floyd's tour manager. Peter's laughter appears on two songs: "Brain Damage" and "Speak to Me."

  Peter died of a drug overdose when his daughter was 8 years old. He was also on the album art for Pink Floyd's Ummagumma.
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  (#8) The Album Led To A Falling-Out With Engineer Alan Parsons

  Alan Parsons was an engineer on Dark Side who ultimately had success with his band, the Alan Parsons Project, but he had a falling-out with Pink Floyd members following the immense success of the album. He attributed this to how the public perceived him as having "hung his hat" on his connection to the record.

  "I still wake up occasionally, frustrated about the fact that they made untold millions and a lot of the people involved in the record didn't," Parsons said. In a separate interview with Goldmine, he explained why he didn't ultimately get a cut of the album's profits:

  I did The Dark Side of the Moon as a staff engineer - which explains why I didn't get rich. Engineers were considered unimportant in those days. It was only in the immediate years after that where they were recognized for their contributions to recording. It was very much a "do what you are told" type of job before that. I didn't get any production credits for Dark Side, but I am happy with what I did contribute to it. I was there.
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  (#7) A Bootleg Leaked A Year Early

  Pink Floyd began playing Dark Side of the Moon songs in concert around 1972, a year before the album's official release. To the band's horror, someone publicly released a bootleg recording of the entire album sequence from a London show and sold it in record stores.

  Though the band feared the bootleg would hurt album sales, it didn't - Dark Side has sold more than 15 million copies in the US, becoming one of the most successful albums of all time and holding the record for the most weeks spent on the Billboard 200 chart.

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