Keith Emerson

Keith Emerson
Emerson performing in Saint Petersburg, Russia, September 2008
Born
Keith Noel Emerson

(1944-11-02)2 November 1944
Todmorden, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Died11 March 2016(2016-03-11) (aged 71)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Resting placeLancing and Sompting Cemetery, Lancing, West Sussex, England
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter, composer
Years active1964–2016
Children2
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentKeyboards
LabelsEdel, Victor, Shout! Factory, Varèse Sarabande, Rhino, Manticore, J!MCO Records, Sanctuary, EMI, Marquee Inc., Charly, Gunslinger Records, Cinevox

Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 1944 – 11 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, composer and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s.[1] He became internationally famous for his work with the Nice, which included writing rock arrangements of classical music.[2] After leaving the Nice in 1970, he was a founding member of Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP), one of the early progressive rock supergroups.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer were commercially successful through much of the 1970s, becoming one of the best-known progressive rock groups of the era.[1] Emerson wrote and arranged much of ELP's music on albums such as Tarkus (1971) and Brain Salad Surgery (1973), combining his own original compositions with classical or traditional pieces adapted into a rock format.[3] Following ELP's break-up at the end of the 1970s, Emerson pursued a solo career, composed several film soundtracks, and formed the bands Emerson, Lake & Powell[1] and 3 to carry on in the style of ELP.[4] In the early 1990s, ELP reunited for two more albums and several tours before breaking up again in the late 1990s. Emerson also reunited The Nice in 2002 and 2003 for a tour.[5]

During the 2000s, Emerson resumed his solo career, including touring with his own Keith Emerson Band featuring guitarist Dave Kilminster, then replaced by Marc Bonilla, and collaborating with several orchestras. He reunited with ELP bandmate Greg Lake in 2010 for a duo tour, culminating in a one-off ELP reunion show in London to celebrate the band's 40th anniversary.[6] Emerson's last album, The Three Fates Project, with Marc Bonilla and Terje Mikkelsen, was released in 2012.[5] Emerson reportedly suffered from depression, and since 1993 developed nerve damage that hampered his playing, making him anxious about upcoming performances. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on 11 March 2016 at his home in Santa Monica, California.[7][8][9]

Emerson is widely regarded as one of the greatest keyboard players of the progressive rock era.[1][10][11][12] AllMusic describes Emerson as "perhaps the greatest, most technically accomplished keyboardist in rock history".[13] In 2019, readers of Prog voted him the greatest keyboard player in progressive rock.[14]

  1. ^ a b c d "VH1.com: Keith Emerson: Biography". VH1.com. VH1. Archived from the original on 12 July 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  2. ^ Lupis, Giuseppe (May 2006). The Published Music of Keith Emerson: Expanding the Solo Piano Repertoire (D.M.A.). University of Georgia. p. 5. OCLC 223323019. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  3. ^ Lupis, pp. 6–8.
  4. ^ Hoffmann, Frank W., ed. (2005). "Emerson, Lake and Palmer". Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Routledge. p. 374. ISBN 978-0-415-97120-1. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  5. ^ a b Chagollan, Steve (11 March 2016). "Keith Emerson, Keyboardist for Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Dies at 71". Variety. Los Angeles, California. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  6. ^ Allen, Jim (12 March 2016). "How Keith Emerson Changed the World". Ultimateclassicrock.com. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  7. ^ Savage, Mark (15 March 2016). "Keith Emerson's death ruled suicide". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  8. ^ Lynch, Joe (11 March 2016). "Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake & Palmer Dead at 71 of Suicide". Billboard. New York City. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  9. ^ Grinberg, Emanuella (12 March 2016). "Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake & Palmer Dead at 71". CNN. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  10. ^ Milano, Domenic (October 1977). "Keith Emerson". Contemporary Keyboard. San Francisco, California: GPI Publications. pp. 22–30, 32, 36, 38, 52.
  11. ^ Milano, Domenic (September 1980). "Keith Emerson: Rock's Multi-Keyboard King — Then and Now". Contemporary Keyboard. San Francisco, California: GPI Publications. pp. 16–23.
  12. ^ "25 Giants of Keyboard Music". Keyboard. San Francisco, California: CMP Entertainment Media. January 2000. pp. 32–42. No one else captured the hearts of fledgling rock keyboardists through the '70s and '80s the way he did.
  13. ^ Huey, Steve (2016). "Keith Emerson: Artist Biography by Steve Huey". allmusic.com. AllMusic. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016. Throughout his career with the Nice, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and as a solo artist, Emerson proved himself perhaps the greatest, most technically accomplished keyboardist in rock history.
  14. ^ Ewing, Jerry (21 July 2019). "The top ten keyboard players in prog". loudersound.com. Retrieved 14 June 2023.