Keyboardist applied classical skills to rock
Bandmate Palmer recalls his ‘ gentle soul’ and passion for music
NEW YORK Keith Emerson, the keyboardist and co- founder of 1970s progressive rock group Emerson Lake and Palmer, has died. He was 71.
Emerson died Thursday night, March 10, at his home in Santa Monica, Calif. The death was announced Friday on ELP’s verified Facebook page. No further details were provided.
“We ask that the family ’s privacy and grief be respected,” the band’s Facebook post says.
Emerson, Lake and Palmer comprised Emerson on various keyboards ( piano, organ, Moog and other synthesizers) with vocalist/ bassist Greg Lake and drummer Carl Palmer.
Emerson “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. I will always remember his warm smile, good sense of humour, compelling showmanship and dedication to his musical craft. I am very lucky to have known him and to have made the music we did together.”
Born Nov .2,1944, in Todmorden, U.K., and classically trained on piano, Emerson performed with several bands in his teens and gained attention by turning a 1968 instrumental rearrangement of Leonard Bernstein’s America, from West Side Story, into a protest song.
He later joined Lake and Palmer in forming one of progressive rock’s best- known early bands, making its debut in 1970 at the Isle of Wight Festival and later signing with Atlantic Records. ELP’s self- titled debut arrived in 1970, its best- known track likely being Lucky Man, with its heavy use of Moog synthesizer. The song made music charts in both the U. S. and Canada. The trio released four albums in their first four years together, including also Tarkus ( 1971), Trilogy ( 1972) and Brain Salad Surgery ( 1973).
Emerson brought his classical training to bear in several ELP songs, including rock arrangements of Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man and Hoedown and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.
Apart from ELP, Emerson also had a long musical career that included both solo albums and movie scores. He composed, performed and recorded a modernist piano concerto with full orchestra. His movie scores include Dario Argento’s 1980 horror film Inferno and the 1981 Sylvester Stallone thriller Nighthawks.