Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon turns 47 today

Pink Floyd‘s The Dark Side Of The Moon celebrates its 47th birthday today. Released on this day in 1973, the album has gone on to sell more than 45 million copies worldwide and is generally considered one of the greatest records of all time.

Pink Floyd’s first US top 40 album, The Dark Side Of The Moon sought to explore a wider range of lyrical subject matter than the band’s previous material had. Somewhat paradoxically then, the band decided to designate Roger Waters the album’s sole lyricist.

“I never rated myself terribly highly in the lyrics department, and Roger wanted to do it,” David Gilmour told Rolling Stone in 2011.

Waters’ ability to offer insight on issues ranging from mental health to greed is admirable. But it’s the breadth of the album’s soundscapes that secured its place in history. Dark Side swings between bombastic and mellow seemingly effortlessly, often in the space of a single track.

The album’s impact in the years since goes far beyond the literal musical influence it continues to provide. Dark Side‘s box office success helped to fund Monty Python and The Holy Grail and established Pink Floyd as one of the premiere musical acts of a generation. The record also spawned one of the more famous rock fan theories – that The Dark Side of The Mood miraculously syncs up with The Wizard of Oz when the former is played as a soundtrack to the film.

So happy birthday to The Dark Side Of The Moon. May your influence continue to reign over the musical landscape.

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.

Subscribe to Rolling Stone magazine

Subscribe to Rolling Stone magazine