Greg Lake obit

Greg Lake: King Crimson and ELP star dies aged 69

 He was not on the list.

Greg Lake, who fronted both King Crimson and Emerson, Lake and Palmer, has died aged 69.

One of the founding fathers of progressive rock, the British musician is known for songs including In the Court of the Crimson King and I Believe in Father Christmas.

He died on Wednesday after "a long and stubborn battle with cancer", said his manager.

The news comes nine months after Lake's band-mate Keith Emerson died.

Keyboardist Emerson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, coroners in the US said.

Lake's manager Stewart Young wrote on Facebook: "Yesterday, December 7th, I lost my best friend to a long and stubborn battle with cancer.

"Greg Lake will stay in my heart forever, as he has always been."

Guitarist Steve Hackett led tributes on Twitter, writing: "Music bows its head to acknowledge the passing of a great musician and singer, Greg Lake."

"Another sad loss with the passing of Greg Lake," wrote Rick Wakeman, keyboardist in pro rock band Yes.

"You left some great music with us my friend & so like Keith, you will live on."

'Greatest music made for love'

Born in Bournemouth, Lake was given his first guitar at the age of 12 and took lessons from a local tutor called Don Strike.

He formed a close friendship with fellow student Robert Fripp, with whom he formed King Crimson in 1969.

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.

But their success was short-lived. Within a year, founding member Mike Giles quit and Lake refused to work with the band.

He stayed around long enough to sing on their critically reviled second album, In the Wake of Poseidon.

'Love not money'

The singer and bassist was then approached by Emerson, who had supported King Crimson on a North American tour and needed a singer for his new band.

Joined by Atomic Rooster drummer Carl Palmer, ELP made their live debut at the Guildhall in Plymouth in 1970 before giving a career-making performance at the Isle of Wight Festival.

Unusually, the band combined heavy rock riffs with a classical influence. They scored hit albums with Pictures at an Exhibition, Trilogy and Brain Salad Surgery - many of them produced by Lake himself.

Tarkus, released in 1971, featured an opening track inspired by the fictional Tarkus character - a half-tank, half-armadillo creature that would appear on stage at gigs - that lasted more than 20 minutes.

Their ambitious light shows and on-stage theatrics were the epitome of '70s rock excess, and several punk acts cited ELP as one of the bands they were reacting against.

But the band sold more than 48 million records, and Lake continued to be an influential and popular touring musician even after the band wound down in the late 1970s.

"The greatest music is made for love, not for money," Lake is quoted as saying on his official website.

"The early ELP albums were pioneering because there is no standing still; time is always moving forward."

 

Discography

Year            Recorded        Artist            Title            Notes

1967    1967            The Shame  Don't Go Away Little Girl / Dreams Don't Bother Me       Vinyl, 7", Single

1968    1968            Shy Limbs   Love            Vinyl, 7", Single, B-side of "Reputation"

1969    1969            King Crimson            In the Court of the Crimson King            Studio album

1997    1969            King Crimson            Epitaph            Live album

1998    1969            King Crimson            Live at the Marquee            Live album, King Crimson Collector's Club

2000    1969            King Crimson            Live in Hyde Park            Live album, King Crimson Collector's Club

2004    1969            King Crimson            Live at Fillmore East            Live album, King Crimson Collector's Club

1970    1970            King Crimson            In the Wake of Poseidon            Studio album

1970    1970            Emerson, Lake & Palmer            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  Studio album

1997    1970            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970    Live album

1971    1971            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  Tarkus            Studio album

1971    1971            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  Pictures at an Exhibition            Live album

2017    1971            Emerson, Lake & Palmer            Masters from the Vaults   Live album

1972    1972            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  Trilogy            Studio album

2011    1972            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  Live at the Mar Y Sol Festival '72            Live album

1973    1973            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  Brain Salad Surgery            Studio album

1974    1974            Emerson, Lake & Palmer            Welcome Back My Friends...            Live album

2012    1974            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  Live in California 1974            Live album

1977    1976            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  Works Volume 1            Studio album

1977    1973-76            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  Works Volume 2            Studio album

1978    1978            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  Love Beach   Studio album

2011    1978            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  Live at Nassau Coliseum '78            Live album

1979    1977            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  In Concert / Works Live            Live album

1981    1981            Greg Lake    Greg Lake    Studio album, with Gary Moore

1995    1981            Greg Lake    King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Greg Lake in Concert            Live album, aka Nuclear Attack, Live, and In Concert, with Gary Moore

1983    1983            Greg Lake            Manoeuvres    Studio album, with Gary Moore

2001    1983            Asia            Enso Kai: Live in Tokyo / Live at Budokan            Live album, recorded live at the Budokan in Tokyo, Japan 6 December 1983

1986    1986            Emerson, Lake and Powell            Emerson, Lake & Powell  Studio album

2003    1986            Emerson, Lake and Powell  The Sprocket Sessions            Recorded live at Sprocket Studio, London during the rehearsals for the 1986 world tour

2003    1986            Emerson, Lake and Powell  Live in Concert            Live album, recorded live at Lakeland, Florida, November 1986

2015    1989-90        Greg Lake & Geoff Downes            Ride the Tiger            Studio album

1992    1992            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  Black Moon   Studio album

1993    1992            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  Live at the Royal Albert Hall            Live album

2001-06            1971-78 / 1992            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  The Original Bootleg Series from the Manticore Vaults   Official bootleg series

1993    1971-93            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  The Return of the Manticore            Box set

1994    1994            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  In the Hot Seat            Studio album

1997    1997            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  Live in Poland  Live album

2013    1977            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  Live in Montreal 1977            Live album

2015    1997            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  Once Upon a Time: Live in South America 1997            Live album

2015    1997            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  Live at Montreux 1997            Live album

1997    1973-74 / 1977            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  King Biscuit Flower Hour: Greatest Hits Live            Live album

1998    1974 / 1997-98            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  Then and Now            Live album

2007    2005            Greg Lake    Greg Lake    Live album

2010    1971-98            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  A Time and a Place            Live Boxset

2010    2010            Emerson, Lake & Palmer  High Voltage            Live album

2014    2010            Keith Emerson & Greg Lake            Live from Manticore Hall      Live album, recorded live at Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield CT on 8 May 2010

2013    2012            Greg Lake    Songs of a Lifetime            Live album

2017    2012            Greg Lake    Live in Piacenza            Live album