Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake and Palmer and King Crimson Has Died at 69 Years Old

Greg Lake, the singer, bassist, guitarist and vocalist who played in an early incarnation of King Crimson before forming his own outfit, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, died on Tuesday night after a long battle with cancer.

While Lake might not be “metal,” so to speak, King Crimson and Emerson, Lake and Palmer both had an immeasurable impact on metal’s more progressive side. If not for Lake’s work, it’s a certainty that bands such as Opeth, Tool and Between the Buried and Me would have never existed… to name but a few. Their work inspired generations of prog musicians to come.

ELP keyboardist Keith Emerson also died this year.

Lake’s former bandmate Carl Palmer has issued a statement on his friend’s passing:

It is with great sadness that I must now say goodbye to my friend and fellow band-mate, Greg Lake.  Greg’s soaring voice and skill as a musician will be remembered by all who knew his music and recordings he made with ELP and King Crimson.  I have fond memories of those great years we had in the 1970s and many memorable shows we performed together. Having lost Keith this year as well, has made this particularly hard for all of us.  As Greg sang at the end of Pictures At An Exhibition, “death is life.” His music can now live forever in the hearts of all who loved him.

Brian Salad Surgery is my favorite ELP album, one of their very weirdest, and also one of the band’s most popular. Have a listen below as we remember Lake’s legacy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmtWExgQYs4