Emerson Lake & Palmer 55th Anniversary 11-24

Emerson, Lake, & Palmer released in 1970 was Progressive Rock’s first supergroup, owing to the progressive pedigrees of keyboardist Keith Emerson (The Nice), cherub-faced choirboy Greg Lake (King Crimson), and percussionist Carl Palmer (The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Atomic Rooster). Melding the intricate music, chops, and complex arrangements of classical composers, while substituting grand piano and the electronic synthesizer for the ubiquitous electric guitar, was challenging stuff both for a rock trio as well as the listener then. The degree of gusto with which Emerson, Lake, & Palmer embraced this bold experiment is still breathtaking fully fifty-five years later.

Prior to their deaths, Keith Emerson and Greg Lake shared the origins of the thunderous “Knife Edge”, the gorgeous “Take a Pebble”, and the eleventh hour add-on which became a surprise hit, “Lucky Man”, while the last man standing, drummer Carl Palmer, carries the torch today on the fifty-fifth anniversary of Emerson, Lake, & Palmer debut. -Redbeard