RIP Keith Emerson, "Lucky Man" (1944-2016)

Keith Emerson, doing his thing

Yesterday, news outlets reported that Keith Emerson, the lucky man who formed one-third of the legendary 1970s progressive rock trio Emerson, Lake, and Palmer (ELP), has died.

I won't pretend that Emerson or ELP left as great a mark on popular culture as, say, David Bowie (whom I memorialized here). But I do love prog rock, a genre ELP helped to define and popularize in the 70s with their eclectic mix of rock, classical music, jazz, and other influences on such albums as Tarkus and Brain Salad Surgery.

Tarkus. Yes, that is a mechanized, weaponized armadillo. The 70s were weird.

H.R. Geiger, who designed the alien in Alien, designed Brain Salad Surgery's cover.

And they couldn't have done it without Emerson, who was extremely, ridiculously, flamboyantly talented at synthesizers, keyboards, and other such instruments. See, for example, this live performance of their cover of Aaron Copland's "Hoedown," which could qualify as perhaps the only "progressive country rock" song:



Emerson's skill was also on full display in "Karn Evil 9, Part II," a song that my father and I both love, and that has happened to play on a Cincinnati radio station at the same time of the same day for 5 of the past 8 years without explanation (I've asked the station manager):

I would go so far as to say that Emerson was one of prog rock's best keyboardists--a bold statement, given competition such as Richard Wright of Pink Floyd and Rick Wakeman of Yes.

Though I began this short blogpost downplaying the influence of Emerson and ELP in comparison to, say, David Bowie, the recent deaths of Bowie, Emerson, and Beatles' producer George Martin (about whom I shall have more to say soon) are all a part of the same phenomenon: the slow but steady passing of Baby Boomer culture from the scene. As I wrote upon the passing of Bowie in January:

For since assuming control of the commanding heights of Western culture, [Baby Boomers] have profoundly influenced it; indeed, they have controlled it. That can’t last forever. But what comes after they’re gone? And will subsequent generations be able to move out from under their shadow?

These Baby Boomer deaths--which will accelerate in the coming years--will force us to answer these questions. And likely sooner than we would like.