Rick originally dabbled with the trombone, trumpet and cello in the early days of the band, before settling on using a Farfisa Compact Deluxe organ as his main keyboard, as well as piano in the studio. Occasionally he would use a vibraphone in live concerts towards the end of the sixties. Rick can be heard playing trombone and trumpet on such early recordings as "Biding my Time" and Atom Heart Mother's "Summer 68". He started using a Hammond organ regularly around 1970, and a grand piano became part of his usual keyboard setup live when Echoes was added to the set. He started using electric pianos and synthesizers from Dark Side Of The Moon onwards. Since the eighties, he has favoured Kurzweil synthesizers.

Although he played keyboards, he was a frequent back-up vocalist, and occasionally sang lead vocals (most notably on the songs Time and Echoes).

After being turned down for material for the Animals album, Rick recorded his first solo album Wet Dream released in September of 1978 with little notice.

Battling both personal problems and an increasingly rocky relationship with Roger Waters, he was ousted by the latter during recording of The Wall (1979). He was only a salaried session musician during the live shows to promote that album, in 1980 and 1981. Ironically, he was the only band member to profit from the shows — the net loss had to be paid out of pocket by the other members.

During 1984, Wright formed a band with Dave Harris called Zee. Zee signed a record deal with Atlantic Records and released only one album, Identity which flopped terribly. Wright left in 1986.

Wright subsequently came back as a session musician for a few tracks on the A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987) album. He was reinstated as a full member for Delicate Sound of Thunder (1988), the live album from the subsequent tour. He co-wrote five songs and sang the song "Wearing the Inside Out" on the next Pink Floyd album, The Division Bell (1994), which provided the material for the live album/video release P*U*L*S*E. The only Pink Floyd album on which he does not appear is The Final Cut, though he is the only member to have played at every Pink Floyd gig.

Inspired by his successful input to The Division Bell, in 1996 Wright released his second solo album Broken China which included the talents of Sinead O'Connor and Tim Renwick.

In July 2005 Wright joined Gilmour, Mason, and Waters on stage for the first time in 24 years, for a four song set at the Live 8 concert in London. He underwent eye surgery for cataracts in November 2005, preventing him from attending Pink Floyd's induction into the UK Music Hall of Fame.

Wright also contributed to Gilmour's 2006 solo album, On An Island. Wright performed with Gilmour's touring band in spring 2006 for 25 sold out shows in Europe, Canada, and the United States.