Jon Lord, former band member of British hard-rock band Deep Purple and the co-writer of legendary songs like 'Smoke On The Water', has died. He was 71.

The keyboard player died at the London Clinic on Monday after suffering a fatal pulmonary embolism. The musician was "surrounded by his loving family" at the time of his death, his official website said.

Lord had announced last year that he was suffering from pancreatic cancer and would be taking a break from performing "while getting the treatment and cure." "I shall of course be continuing to write music -- in my world it just has to be part of the therapy -- and I fully expect to be back in good shape next year," he wrote in August 2011.