More Bad News...

After the death of Keith Emerson in March of this year, Greg Lake, of ELP has died after a long battle with cancer.  NPR has a glowing tribute to the lyricist for both King Crimson and ELP. 

Greg Lake spent much of his musical life as the "L" in ELP. He was the band's singer, played guitar (both acoustic and electric) and bass, and wrote lyrics for the beloved 1970s progressive rock band. He often acted as the quiet, contemplative counterpoint to the thunder of drummer Carl Palmer and keyboardist Keith Emerson.

Most people came to know Greg Lake through ELP's first "hit" song "Lucky Man," with its images of white horses, white lace and feathers, and (somewhere in there) the tale of a king and a man who goes off to war to die for his country. These phantasmagoric songs were a pleasant shift in rock music, from the often literal tales and endless songs of love that streamed across the airwaves. The world of wild song structures Greg Lake and his bandmates pioneered was liberating and literate — and it was his sonorous tones that led the charge.

He had a distinctive and powerful voice and, even though I did not care for his philosophical take on life, often angrily anti-religious, the voice dovetailed with the other two members of the band and he was a consummate bassist. Another prog rocker gone. Rest in Peace.

Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends...

Keith Emerson, formerly of the rock band Emerson, Lake and Palmer, has passed away.  Reports are that he had been in spotty health and had a degenerative neurological disease in his right hand that was robbing him of his ability to play the keyboards, and there is speculation that this led him to take his own life.  That is such a great loss.

I got plugged into ELP in the early 1970s, when I was 12 and followed them through their break-ups and reunions.  Rolling Stone has put together a “Ten Essential Songs” page with commentary on each song.  Of those, probably Emerson's adaptation of Aaron Copeland's Hoedown shows off his technical skill the best.

It has been a bad last twelve months for those of us that grew up in the 1970s. Chris Squire, Paul Kantner, Glenn Frey, David Bowie, and now Keith Emerson. I saw Todd Rundgren in Atlanta last month. Who knows how many more shows he is going to do, as he is pushing 70. Going to the Steve Hackett show in April. He is 66. Time marches on.

Rest in Peace.