R.I.P. Keith Emerson

Rich Upright · Post by **Rich Upright** » 11 Mar 2016 3:15 pm

Keith Emerson, leader & 1/3 of the ultra-supergroup "Emerson, Lake, & Palmer", has died, apparently from a self-afflicted gunshot wound. Although I am a steel player & country picker, and prog rock is prolly the farthest thing from country music, ELP have been my all-time favorite band since I first saw them in concert in '73. Seen them 17 times since, and met Greg Lake & Carl Palmer in '74, when their Giant Stadium concert got rained out & my buddies & me helped push their limo out of a flooded parking lot. Emerson was without a doubt without peer on the keyboards, and was widely esteemed in the classical music community. He was the first to make use of the Moog Sunthesizer, and helped pioneer the instrument with Robert Moog. ELP were so far above any other band at the time, and their legendary, over-the-top concerts were nothing short of spectacular. They were single-handedly responsible for turning many rockers on to classical music. For years I had hoped for a reunion, & my wish was granted when I got to see them both nights in '94 for their concert at Radio City. Was going to actually fly to England for the High Voltage reunion, but couldn't get tickets.

R.I.P. Keith. You & L&P were truly "The greatest show in Heaven,Hell,or Earth".

Godfrey Arthur · Post by **Godfrey Arthur** » 12 Mar 2016 5:30 am

Godspeed Keith.

This is the year he found out he was sick but didn't want to miss the tour in 2010 because of the long hospitalization and recuperation. Decided to hope for the best.

Tarkus was on heavy rotation at my house when the album first came out.

Chris Boyd · Post by **Chris Boyd** » 12 Mar 2016 5:49 am

Amazingly talented...loved ELP.. RIP Keith Emerson...

Joachim Kettner · Post by **Joachim Kettner** » 14 Mar 2016 8:41 am

Here's him back in '66 with "Rock Candy", a number which has also been covered by Buddy Emmons and Danny Gatton:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1ZQxvvrG0I

Rich Upright · Post by **Rich Upright** » 20 Mar 2016 11:11 am

Joachim Kettner wrote:Here's him back in '66 with "Rock Candy", a number which has also been covered by Buddy Emmons and Danny Gatton:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1ZQxvvrG0I

That was AWESOME! He also played the Keyboards for the old Alka-Seltzer commercial, with the song "No Matter What Shape"(you stomach's in) from back in the 60s.