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Keith Emerson

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Keith Emerson was an English keyboardist and composer. He was born in 1944 in Todmorden and grew up in Sussex. He took classical piano lessons, but as a teenager chose jazz piano and also listened to boogie-woogie and rock 'n' roll. After hearing the jazz organist Jack McDuff, he bought his first Hammond organ. In 1967 he founded The Nice. That band became known for rock arrangements of classical music and for Emerson's wild performances: he hit his organ, tipped it over and stuck knives between the keys to make notes sustain.

Music and breakthrough

In 1970 he formed the group Emerson, Lake & Palmer with bassist and singer Greg Lake, who came from King Crimson, and drummer Carl Palmer. The trio broke through at the Isle of Wight Festival of 1970 and became one of the best-known progressive rock bands of the 1970s. Emerson wrote and arranged a large part of the music, on albums such as Tarkus (1971), Pictures at an Exhibition, an adaptation of Mussorgsky, and Brain Salad Surgery (1973). He combined his own pieces with work by Bach, Bartók and Copland. After ELP he made solo records and film music, including for Inferno (1980) and Nighthawks (1981).

Influence

Emerson was the first to go on tour with a Moog synthesizer. His modular Moog was three metres high and needed four roadies, and the oscillators went out of tune with changes in temperature. Even so, he made the instrument a permanent part of rock. He died in 2016. He is regarded as one of the technically strongest keyboardists in the history of rock.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Lucky Man by Emerson, Lake & Palmer and wait for the end: there Emerson takes over with a gliding, sharp Moog solo. Hear how that electronic sound stands out against the quiet acoustic ballad before it.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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Categories: Artists