Keith Emerson

Keith Emerson has been an idol of many piano and keyboard players since his days with the progressive rock band The Nice in the 1960s. He is an acknowledged master of classically-influenced rock, and is known for both his showmanship and his technical accomplishments. He formed ELP (Emerson, Lake and Palmer) in 1970, and they became the first supergroup of the progressive rock era. ELP significantly increased the audience for this type of music (due in part to the heavy radio airplay they received), and they paved the way for successor “prog” bands such as Yes and Genesis. These bands collectively produced some of the most creative and interesting rock music of the 1970s. After ELP broke up in 1980, Emerson began scoring movies (including The Inferno and Nighthawks), and the band re-united in the early 1990s for a successful tour and album.

Recommended listening:

• Emerson, Lake and Palmer, 1970 (Rhino)
• Brain Salad Surgery, by ELP, 1973 (Manticore)
• Emerson Plays Emerson, 2002 (EMI)