Greg Lake vocalist and bassist of Emerson Lake and Palmer died yesterday (December. 7th) after what the band’s Facebook page describes as “a long and stubborn battle with cancer.” He was 69.
Greg Lake, who came to fame as the singer on King Crimson’s classic first two albums, formed ELP in 1970 with drummer Carl Palmer and keyboardist Keith Emerson from the Nice. The group went on to become one of the biggest progressive rock bands of the ’70s on the strength of their jazz and classical music-influenced compositions.
This is the second loss in a year Emerson, Lake and Palmer . Keyboard player Keith Emerson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, in March this year after battling depression and a degenerative nerve issue which was effecting his playing .
“It is with great sadness that I must now say goodbye to my friend and fellow bandmate, Greg Lake,” Carl Palmer said in a statement. “Greg’s soaring voice and skill as a musician and songwriter will be remembered by all who knew his music and recordings he made with ELP and King Crimson. I have fond memories of those great years we had in the 1970s and many memorable shows we performed together. Having lost Keith this year as well, has made this particularly hard for all of us. As Greg sang at the end of Pictures at an Exhibition, ‘Death is life.’ His music can now live forever in the hearts of all who loved him.”
Lake became friends with King Crimson leader Robert Fripp while in school. Even though he had been playing guitar since he was 12, Fripp encouraged him to switch to bass, the instrument Lake would play for most of his career. He was in the band for only a year, recording the now classic “In The Court Of The Crimson King”
Their debut album In the Court of the Crimson King featured such songs as 21st Century Schizoid Man.It set a standard for progressive rock and received a glowing, well-publicised testimonial from The Who’s Pete Townshend, who called it “an uncanny masterpiece”. But within a year, founding member Mike Giles quit and Lake refused to work with the band – although he stuck around long enough to sing on their second album, In The Wake Of Poseidon with King Crimson.
While on tour with the group, Lake met Emerson, who played keyboards in one of the opening bands, the Nice. Even though Lake was more of a rock ‘n’ roll player than the classically inclined Emerson, the pair formed, along with Atomic Rooster drummer Carl Palmer, Emerson, Lake & Palmer made their live debut at the Guildhall in Plymouth in 1970 before giving a career-making performance at the Isle of Wight Festival.what was then a sort of supergroup.
The trio released eight albums in the ’70s before breaking up at the end of the decade. They reunited for two more albums in the early ’90s. Lake and Emerson also released one album in 1986 with drummer Cozy Powell as Emerson, Lake & Powell.
Greg Lake also had some solo success, most notably with his 1975 song “I Believe in Father Christmas,” which reached No. 2 on the U.K. chart. In 1983, he joined Asia for a year, replacing John Wetton (who had replaced Lake in King Crimson a decade earlier). Over the years, he’s led the Greg Lake Band, and toured with his old ELP bandmates in different configurations.
thanks to greglake.com
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