"Money" is a song by Pink Floyd from their 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon. Written by bassist Roger Waters, it opened side two of the original album.

Released as single on May 7, 1973, nearly 10 weeks after Dark Side came out -- and with nearly a minute and a half shaved from the album track to make it more radio friendly -- "Money" was the British quartet's first song to hit the Billboard 200, peaking at No. 13. It would not be surpassed until "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II" from The Wall hit No. 1 six years later, and those are still the only two Pink Floyd songs to hit the Top 20 in North America..

Roger Waters is the only songwriter credited on "Money," but the lead vocal is by David Gilmour. Waters provided the basic music and lyrics, while the whole band (Waters, Gilmour, keyboard player Richard Wright and drummer Nick Mason) created the instrumental jam of the song. Gilmour was the one overseeing time changes and responsible for the acclaimed guitar solo.

"It's Roger's riff," guitarist David Gilmour told Guitar World in 1993. "Roger came in with the verses and lyrics for 'Money' more or less completed. And we just made-up middle sections, guitar solos and all that stuff. We also invented some new riffs -- we created a 4/4 progression for the guitar solo and made the poor saxophone player (Dick Parry) play in 7/4.

“Money” is particularly notable for its unusual 7/4-time signature throughout most of the song, its distinctive bassline, and the seven-beat “loop” of money-related sound effects that opens the track: coins clinking, a cash register ringing, etc.

All that seems straightforward compared to track's myriad sonics, however. "We really pushed things on that one," says Mason, who was Pink Floyd's de facto sound effects manager. But for "Money" it was Waters who introduced the idea of rhythmic clinking coins, crashing cash bags and cash register keys that were meticulously created by the band and engineer Alan Parsons -- pieced together with razor blades and splicing tape and synced to the band's playing.

Speaking with “Songfacts” about the Abbey Road studio habits of The Beatles and Pink Floyd, Parsons said: "They both liked to use the studio to its fullest, and they were always looking for new effects and new sounds. That was the beauty of working with those guys: There were always new horizons to discover in sound." 

Various Sources