Richard Wright, keyboardist and founding member of legendary rock outfit Pink Floyd, died Monday (9/15) after a short battle with cancer, according to published reports. He was 65.

The BBC quoted a spokesperson for Wright as saying: "The family of Richard Wright, founder member of Pink Floyd, announce with great sadness that Richard died today after a short struggle with cancer. The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this difficult time."

No mention was made of the specific type of cancer to which the musician succumbed.

Wright met fellow Pink Floyd co-founders Roger Waters and Nick Mason at college and joined a previous incarnation of the band dubbed Sigma 6. That group morphed into Pink Floyd.

Wright's contributions to the iconic prog-rock act included writing songs such as "The Great Gig in the Sky" and "Us and Them" from the band's famed 1973 album, "The Dark Side of the Moon."

Wright resigned from the group during recording sessions for "The Wall," but toured with the band in support of the set. His role as a recording member of the group resumed with the 1987 album, "A Momentary Lapse of Reason," and continued with 1994's "The Division Bell."

Wright most recently appeared with Pink Floyd during a one-off reunion performance at 2005's Live 8 concert in London.

In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Wright released two solo albums--1978's "Wet Dream" and 1996's "Broken China"--as well as "Identity," a 1984 album that is the only output from Zee, a short-lived side project that Wright formed with Dave Harris (Fashion).

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