This Iconic Roots Album “Deeply” Affected Pink Floyd’s Most Popular Records

Before Pink Floyd released their most enduring records that would inspire countless musicians after them, the band was reveling in inspiration of their own via an iconic album that bassist Roger Waters said “deeply” affected the British psych-rock outfit.

Indeed, it would appear that we have Big Pink to thank for Pink Floyd becoming the musical behemoth we know them as today.

The Iconic Album That Inspired Pink Floyd

With their eclectic lyricism, psychedelic soundscapes, and larger-than-life concept albums, Pink Floyd appears to be in a category all their own, untouched by external influence or genre. But of course, even the most distinctive artistry comes from an amalgamation, no matter how vague, of the art that preceded it. Pink Floyd’s most iconic records are certainly no exception.

Bassist Roger Waters revealed that Pink Floyd was forever changed by a similarly hued release by The Band: Music From Big Pink. The supergroup’s 1968 debut paid homage to Big Pink, a bright pink home in upstate New York where The Band did most of their initial writing. The roots rock album featured tracks like “The Weight” and “Long Black Veil,” and for musicians like Waters, it changed everything he thought about music.

“That one record changed everything for me,” Waters later said. “After Sgt. Pepper, it’s the most influential record in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. It affected Pink Floyd deeply, deeply, deeply. Sonically, the way the record’s constructed, I think Music From Big Pink is fundamental to everything that happened after it.”

Roger Waters’ Love of Roots and Americana Runs Deep

At face value, The Band and Pink Floyd don’t seem to share many sonic similarities. The former Canadian-American rock band specialized in rootsy Americana with elements of jazz and country. Pink Floyd, on the other hand, was undeniably psychedelic. But non-psychedelic music has long influenced Pink Floyd’s former bassist and co-vocalist Roger Waters.

For example, Bob Dylan’s 1966 album Blonde on Blonde helped pave the way for lengthy musical sagas that Pink Floyd would explore with tracks like “Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Pts. 1-9)” and “Echoes.” While speaking with Howard Stern, Waters said Dylan’s “[Sad-Eyed] Lady of the Lowlands” was a considerable influence. “When I heard that, I thought if Bob can do it, then I can do it. It’s 20 minutes long [but] it in no way gets dull or boring. You just get more and more and more engrossed” (via Rock and Roll Garage).

John Prine has also been a notable influence on Waters (and, in turn, Pink Floyd). “Sam Stone,” from Prine’s eponymous 1971 debut, heavily inspired Waters’ last album he wrote with Pink Floyd in both melody and lyrical content.

Taking Waters’ lifelong love of roots and Americana, it’s not surprising that The Band’s Music From Big Pink would have left such a lasting impression on him before he went on to co-write Pink Floyd’s most iconic albums, including Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here. 

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