John Douglas Lord (9 June 1941 – 16 July 2012) was an English keyboardist and composer. In 1968, Lord co-founded the hard rock band Deep Purple, and he became regarded as its leader in the early years. Lord performed on most of the band's most popular songs; he and drummer Ian Paice were the only continuous presence in the band between 1968 and 1976, and also from when it was re-established in 1984, until Lord's retirement in 2002. He also spent time in the bands Whitesnake, Paice Ashton Lord, the Artwoods, the Flower Pot Men and Santa Barbara Machine Head.