One Crazy Diamond: Syd Barrett’s Birthday

On this day in 1946, Roger Keith Barrett was born. He later took the name Syd, the story of how that happened is as vague and confusing as all the other stories about his life, so let's move on.

Syd Barrett gets credit for being a founder of the band Pink Floyd, but I've never quite understood (or agreed) giving him credit for much else.  Not meaning to be disrespectful, just factual.

Pink Floyd as we know them began to develop their sound and their success well after Syd left the band.  He basically wrote only one successful Pink Floyd song in the 60's.  Syd then fried his brain with drug use and wound up mentally unstable and reclusive.

He then did some very odd things and created some very odd "art" and finally, he became an adult diabetic which led to his death from pancreatic cancer.  It's a sad story, but not much of a legacy.   Again I mean no disrespect, and certainly the guys in the band valued him for quite a while, ( they wrote a great song about him too).

I acknowledge his role and his limited accomplishments with Pink Floyd.  And who knows, maybe the band wouldn't have ever taken it's shape without the drama of Syd.  So, it's appropriate that today Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett fans, I salute you.