Song of the Day 5/24: Pink Floyd w/ Stephane Grappelli, “Wish You Were Here”

I’m not much of a Pink Floyd fan — I probably haven’t listened to “Dark Side of the Moon” all the way through in 40 years — but you don’t have to be to know this song, a staple of classic-rock radio since its 1975 release. But, not being much of a fan, I wasn’t aware that famed jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli laid down a solo for the song, or that the tape of it was rediscovered 10 years ago.

When the Floyd were recording the album at Abbey Road, Grappelli was recording in another studio. David Gilmour got it in his head that what the tune needed was some “country fiddle,” so Grappelli was asked to contribute. His part wasn’t used in the final mix — supposedly you can hear it faintly at 5:21 of the original release, but my speakers aren’t that good — and was thought lost until the tape was rediscovered in EMI’s vaults and included on the 2011 reissue of the “Wish You Were Here” LP. Grappelli’s part begins at 3:06.

The song is a rare collaboration between Roger Waters and David Gilmour. Waters heard Gilmour playing the riff at a faster tempo and asked him to slow it down. He helped write the chorus and adapted the lyrics from a poem he had written about Syd Barrett. This is the original release. As I said, my speakers don’t pick up Grappelli’s part, but maybe yours can.

Wyclef Jean covered the song in 2001, with added lyrics. His version gives a hint of what the riff might have sounded like before Waters asked Gilmour to slow it down.