Prog-rock keyboard virtuoso/composer/legend Keith Emerson died Friday at his home in Santa Monica, Los Angeles. A pioneer in the prog-rock genre, Emerson, as one of the founders of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, combined rock, jazz, and classical into a new sound that, when melded with a flair for showmanship, led to a massively successful career.
Keith Emerson was born in 1944 in Todmorden, Yorkshire, England; his family had relocated to the town during the evacuations of World War II. He studied classical music as a child. He began playing Hammond organ — purchasing his first Hammond, an L100, at age 15 — and Moog synthesizers in his teens. He was said to be the first artist to tour with a Moog live onstage; other bands, such as the Beatles, had only used the synthesizer in the studio. His onstage modular Moog eventually grew into a behemoth weighing 550 pounds, standing 10 feet tall. He was also known for his “flying piano,” which used a special rig built by special effects designer Bob McCarthy to flip the piano end over end while he played it. He stayed on the cutting edge of keyboard technology throughout his career, utilizing and endorsing new instruments such as the Yamaha GX1 and Korg PS-3300.
Emerson’s early bands included the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown’s Bodies, Gary Farr and the T-Bones, and The V.I.P.s. His first commercial success was with the group, The Nice, before he co-founded one of the first “supergroups,” Emerson, Lake and Palmer in 1970 with vocalist/guitarist/bassist Greg Lake (formerly of King Crimson) and drummer Carl Palmer (formerly of the Crazy World of Arthur Brown). Ahmet Ertegun signed the group to Atlantic Records after their performance at the Isle of Wight festival in 1970; their eponymous debut album was released that same year. It was followed by 1971’s Tarkus, which featured Emerson’s keyboard virtuosity on the title track. Trilogy was released in 1972, followed by 1973’s Brain Salad Surgery, which included the classic track, “Karn Evil 9.” Hits for the band included “Lucky Man” and their version of “Fanfare for the Common Man.”
Solo albums from the group’s members and additional ELP followed, such as 1977’s Works Volume 1 and Volume 2, as well as Love Beach (1978). The group disbanded and reunited a few times, with one lineup, Emerson, Lake and Powell, including Cozy Powell (Rainbow, Jeff Beck) on drums.
Emerson also found success with his solo albums and with film scores, including the 1980 film, Inferno, and Sylvester Stallone’s Nighthawks in 1981. He toured with the supergroup “The Best” in 1990 (with John Entwistle, Joe Walsh, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, and Simon Phillips), and reformed and toured with The Nice in the early 2000s. His autobiography, Pictures of an Exhibitionist, was released in 2004. He continued to tour with his own band, performed with orchestras around the world, and participated in duo tours with Greg Lake and occasional reunions with Emerson, Lake and Palmer.
His most recent album, Black Moon, was released in 2012. He received the Frankfurt Music Prize in 2008. He was inducted into the Hammond Hall of Fame in 2014.