Posted on 03/11/2016 12:23:43 PM PST by Borges
Keith Emerson, the outsized co-founding keyboardist in Emerson Lake and Palmer has died. Long-time bandmate Carl Palmers publicist has posted a message that confirms Emersons passing last night (March 10) in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 71. Keith was a gentle soul whose love for music and passion for his performance as a keyboard player will remain unmatched for many years to come, Palmer said. He was a pioneer and an innovator whose musical genius touched all of us in the worlds of rock, classical and jazz.
(Excerpt) Read more at ultimateclassicrock.com ...
I saw Asia’s first ever show at the Clarkson Arena at Clarkson College in Potsdam NY. They were launching their tour in Rochester the next night and scheduled the college gig as a tune-up to get their sound set etc. Geoffrey Downes stood facing away from the crowd but had an entire wall of keyboards with a mirror at the top to see the people. Cool concert. We played a lot of ELP songs back in the day..Karn Evil 9, Epitaph, still you turn me on. RIP Keith.
I agree! Not a technical pianist by any means as you said. But Rick was able to create textures and sounds like no one else.
thanks for the article. sad news indeed if it was a suicide. Depression can do strange things. Logically it makes no sense. even if he could no longer play piano - not sure that was the case - Keith was a great composer. He could have continued composing. But again depression does not deal in logic.
Wore out the live version from “Welcome Back.....”
Man, I’m getting old.
Suicide they are reporting.
IIRC, Greg Lake came up with the lyrics for “Lucky Man” as a young kid - 5th grade or something.
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=3661
Hey - I found the above link with lots of details on the song. Greg had the lyrics and basic chords at 12 years old. They were short a few minutes for a full album and Greg says “um - well there is a song I have” and he played it. It was dreadful with his singing and the four chords. Emerson said “I’m going to the pub.”
Lake and Palmer kept messing and adding to it, overlaying bass, electric, etc. and it started sounding good. Emerson comes back and says “Hey - this is good. I suppose I should play on it?” It was pretty much done, but he had just received a MOOG synth to try out, so they added that at the end.
It was very late in life before I got to see them (1992). I was amazed when he started stabbing the knives and rolling that organ around. Not so much on the act, but that the “noise” he was producing was just like on the album. It wasn’t “noise”, it was music! Crazy stuff. (And playing the organ from behind, playing two keyboards, etc.)
Great music, and an even greater show.
RIP.
Last night was tough: I was angry at the protestors, greatly disappointed in Cruz's half-hearted response, and saddened at the unnecessary loss of a man who, along with the "other" Keith and Jimmy Smith, led me to a life of enjoying classical, jazz, and rock organ music.
P.S. And the other Keith? I brought him to FL in 1985 for a concert on a Frobenius pipe organ, the only one in FL AFAIK. He stayed with us for the weekend, and one thing he talked about was how he wanted to make enough money to purchase a private plane. He eventually obtained the plane, and that is how he died, crashing the plane four years later in CO.
I saw them live in 1977,...same here...an awesome concert.
I would have loved to see Emerson and Eddie Van Halen play together.
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