Emerson, Lake & Palmer

The band originated in late 1969, when The Nice keyboardist Keith Emerson and King Crimson bassist and vocalist Greg Lake met when both groups were on tour. Emerson was looking to form a new band and Lake wished to leave King Crimson,[12] and after initial discussions about the possibility of forming a group in New York City, the pair met two months later in December 1969 when The Nice and King Crimson were billed together for concerts at the Fillmore West in San Francisco. During a soundcheck before one of the shows, Emerson described the first time he and Lake played together: "Greg was moving a bass line and I played the piano in back and Zap! It was there."[13] When the Nice split in March 1970 and Lake left King Crimson a month later, the pair began the search for a drummer, which turned out to be a difficult process.[14] They initially approached Mitch Mitchell, who was at a loose end following the breakup of The Jimi Hendrix Experience and suggested a jam session take place amongst the three of them and guitarist Jimi Hendrix. The session never happened, but it caused the press to report rumours of a planned supergroup named HELP, an acronym for "Hendrix Emerson Lake Palmer", which Lake later debunked.[15]

As part of auditions for a drummer at a studio by Soho Square,[16] Emerson's manager, Tony Stratton-Smith, suggested Carl Palmer of Atomic Rooster and previously The Crazy World of Arthur Brown.[17] Palmer enjoyed the chemistry, though was initially reluctant as Atomic Rooster were starting to gain attention; it was only after several weeks of further sessions that Palmer agreed to join.[17] Triton was a group name that Emerson said "was buzzing around" for a little while,[18] and Triumvirate and Seahorse were also in contention,[19] but they settled upon Emerson, Lake & Palmer to remove the focus on Emerson as the most famous of the three, and to ensure that they were not called the "new Nice".[20]

The group's second gig was at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival

After rehearsals at Island Studios in Notting Hill,[18] the band formed a live set featuring "The Barbarian", an arrangement of the piano piece Allegro barbaro by Béla Bartók, "Rondo", an arrangement of the jazz standard "Blue Rondo à la Turk" by Dave Brubeck that Emerson had recorded with the Nice, an arrangement of "Nut Rocker" as an encore,[21] and a rock adaptation of Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky that Emerson wished to do after seeing it performed with an orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall in London when he was in the Nice.[22] The group wished to enhance their live act, and spent £9,000 on a sound mixer and £4,000 on a Moog modular synthesizer imported from America that was adapted for better performance on stage.[14]

The trio's first live gig followed at Plymouth Guildhall on 23 August 1970, supported by local band Earth.[23][24][25] They travelled to the venue in a transit van previously owned by fellow progressive rock band Yes, and were paid around £400 for the gig.[26][27] A small venue outside London was deliberately chosen in case the concert was a failure, but the concert was well received.[28] Their second gig took place on 29 August with a set at the Isle of Wight Festival which was attended by an estimated 600,000 people and drew considerable attention from the public and music press. At the end of "Pictures at an Exhibition", the band fired two cannons that Emerson had tested in a field near Heathrow Airport.[21]

The success of the group's debut, as well as Lake's prior association with King Crimson, led to ELP's signing management and recording contracts with E.G. Records, who distributed their records through Island Records in the UK and Atlantic Records' Cotillion Records subsidiary in North America.[17] Emerson believed that Atlantic's chief Ahmet Ertegun agreed to take the band on "because we could sell out 20,000-seaters before we even had a record out. That was enough for him to think that a lot of people would go out and buy the record when it did come out."[13]

Emerson performing in 1977

In the months surrounding their debut gigs, the band recorded their first album, Emerson Lake & Palmer, at Advision Studios. Lake took on the role of producer, which he had also done in King Crimson, with Eddy Offord as their engineer. The album included studio versions of "The Barbarian" and "Take a Pebble", "Knife-Edge", based on the first movement of Sinfonietta by Leoš Janáček and the Allemande of French Suite No. 1 in D minor by Johann Sebastian Bach, Palmer's drum solo "Tank", the three-part "The Three Fates", and "Lucky Man", an acoustic ballad that Lake wrote when he was twelve.[29] The album was released in the UK in November 1970, and reached No. 4 in the UK and No. 18 in the US. "Lucky Man" was released as a single that peaked at No. 48 in the US.[30]

From September 1970 to March 1971, the band completed their first concert tour with shows across the UK, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Their performance on 9 December 1970 at the Lyceum Theatre in London was filmed and released in UK theatres in 1972 with added psychedelic effects including characters from Marvel Comics.[31]

During a break in their first tour in January 1971, Emerson, Lake & Palmer returned to Advision Studios with Offord to record their second album, Tarkus. Friction between Emerson and Lake during the early recording sessions almost caused the group to disband as Lake disliked the material that Emerson was writing. Following a meeting with the band and management, Lake agreed to write his own songs and continue recording.[32] The album was recorded in six days.[33] The album's first side is occupied by the 20-minute title track, a seven-part song based on reverse evolution that was recorded in four days. Its cover art was designed by painter and graphic designer William Neal. Tarkus was released in June 1971 on Island Records. It was a commercial success after it reached No. 1 in the UK and No. 9 in the US. The band resumed touring with their first North American tour, starting 24 April 1971 at Thiel College in Greenville, Pennsylvania[34] and continued until the end of May. Further dates across Europe followed until the end of the year.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer released their third album, Pictures at an Exhibition, in the UK in November 1971. They recorded their performance of it at Newcastle City Hall on 26 March 1971 and decided to release it with the concert's encore, "Nut Rocker".[31] The group wished to release it as their second album, but Atlantic Records declined, claiming it would not sell or receive any radio airplay because it is a classical piece. Atlantic instead offered to release the album through its sister label Elektra Records' Nonesuch Records subsidiary, which handled budget, classical, and avant-garde albums (Pictures had been issued by Island Records in the UK as a budget-priced title).[17] The band refused, and delayed its release on purpose until after Tarkus; Emerson said the delay was to also show to the press and public that they could write their own songs and were not merely a "band that did classical music".[35] Following Island's decision to import 250,000 copies into the US which sold within a short amount of time, helped by radio DJ Scott Muni playing the entire album uninterrupted on WNEW in New York City, Atlantic decided to release Pictures through Cotillion as a full-price album in January 1972.[17] The album peaked at No. 3 in the UK and No. 10 in the US.[36]

Band logo designed by H. R. Giger, introduced 1973

Trilogy, the band's third studio album, was recorded at Advision Studios with Offord between October 1971 and January 1972.[37] Its cover art was designed by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis.[38] "Hoedown" is an adaptation of Rodeo by Aaron Copland. Released in July 1972, Trilogy reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 5 in the US. "From the Beginning", an acoustic ballad featuring an extended synthesizer solo, was released as a single which reached No. 39 in the US.[39] Lake has picked Trilogy as his favourite studio album by the band.[40] The album was supported with a North American tour in March and April 1972 which included a spot at the Mar y Sol Pop Festival in Manatí, Puerto Rico on 3 April.[41] Following dates across Europe, including their first in Italy, the band performed at the Concert 10 Festival at Pocono International Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania on 9 July 1972. This was followed by their first dates in Japan in July.[41]

In early 1973, the band formed their own record label, Manticore Records, and purchased an abandoned cinema as their own rehearsal hall in Fulham, London. In June 1973, Emerson, Lake & Palmer began recording Brain Salad Surgery in London at Advision and Olympic Studios which lasted until September that year. Offord was not present for the recording sessions as he was working with Yes, leaving engineering and mixing duties to Chris Kimsey and Geoff Young. Lake wrote the album's lyrics with Peter Sinfield and its sleeve was designed by H. R. Giger and includes the band's new logo. Formed of five tracks, the album includes a rendition of "Jerusalem" which features the debut of the Moog Apollo, a prototype polyphonic synthesizer. "Toccata" is a cover of the fourth movement of Piano Concerto No. 1 by Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera and contains synthesised percussion in the form of an acoustic drum kit fitted with pick-ups that triggered electronic sounds. The 29-minute track "Karn Evil 9" is the longest song recorded by the group. Brain Salad Surgery was released in November 1973 and reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 11 in the US.

From November 1973 to September 1974, the band toured North America and Europe which included a headline spot at the inaugural California Jam Festival on 6 April 1974 at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California, to an attendance of 250,000 people. Their performance was broadcast across the US.[42] The band's live shows exhibited an unorthodox mix of virtuoso musicianship and over-the-top performances which received much criticism. Their theatrics included Emerson playing a piano as it spun, suspended, end-over-end; Palmer playing on a rotating drum platform; and Emerson throwing a Hammond organ around the stage to create feedback. Emerson often used a knife, given to him by Lemmy Kilmister who had roadied for the Nice,[43] to force the keys on the organ to stay down. Emerson used a large Moog modular synthesizer on stage but it was unreliable as heat affected its sound.[44] The band carried almost 40 tons of equipment for the tour.[45] ELP were one of the top world concert draws during 1973-74.[46] Performances from the band's 1973–74 tour were documented in the live album, Welcome Back, My Friends, to the Show That Never Ends ~ Ladies and Gentlemen, released in August 1974 as a triple LP. The album peaked at No. 5 in the UK and No. 4 in the US.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer took an extended break in 1974. They regrouped in 1976 to record Works Volume 1 at Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland and EMI Studios in Paris, France. It is a double album with one side of an LP containing songs by each member and a fourth of group material. Much of the album was recorded with an orchestral accompaniment; Emerson's side consists of his 18-minute, three-movement "Piano Concerto No. 1". Lake contributes five songs he co-wrote with Sinfield, and Palmer's includes two covers of classical pieces by Sergei Prokofiev and Bach. One of the two group tracks, "Fanfare for the Common Man", is a cover of the same-titled orchestral piece by Aaron Copland, who gave permission to have the band release it. Works Volume 1 was released in March 1977 and peaked at No. 9 in the UK and No. 12 in the US. A single of "Fanfare for the Common Man" was released and reached No. 2 in the UK, the band's highest charting UK single.[47] In November 1977, Works Volume 2 was released as a compilation of shorter tracks recorded from 1973 to 1976 during various album recording sessions. The album was not as commercially successful as the band's previous albums; it reached No. 20 in the UK and No. 37 in the US. Three tracks from the album were released as singles: "Tiger in a Spotlight", "Maple Leaf Rag", and "Watching Over You".

Palmer performing on the Works tour, in 1978

The two Works albums were supported by North American tours which lasted from May 1977 to February 1978, spanning over 120 dates.[48] Some early concerts in 1977 were performed with a hand-picked orchestra and choir, but the idea was shelved after 18 shows with the band due to budget constraints.[49] The final concert with the orchestra and choir took place on 26 August 1977 at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal that was attended by an estimated 78,000 people, the highest attended Emerson, Lake & Palmer concert as a solo act.[50] It was released in 1979 as Emerson, Lake & Palmer in Concert and reached No. 73 in the US. Emerson wished for a double album release, but Atlantic Records decided against it due to the band's pending dissolution at its time of release. In 1993, the album was repackaged with additional tracks as Works Live, and put out on video in 1998.[50] According to Lake on the Beyond the Beginning DVD documentary, the band lost around $3 million on the tour. Lake and Palmer blame Emerson for the loss as the use of an orchestra on tour was his idea.

After their 1977–78 tour, the band discussed their next move. Emerson recalled that in order for the group to continue, "we would have to do a lot of cutting down" and considered the possibility of producing music with just a piano, bass guitar, and drums.[51] As the group were contractually obliged to record one more studio album, the band relocated to Emerson's home near Nassau in the Bahamas and recorded Love Beach at the nearby Compass Point Studios in 1978.[41] Lake did not carry out the production duties, leaving Emerson to complete the record on his own after his bandmates returned home when recording was complete.[52] The album has been dismissed by the band, who explained it was produced to fulfil a contractual obligation.[53] Sinfield is credited on the majority of the tracks as a lyricist except "Canario", an instrumental based on Fantasía para un gentilhombre by Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo. The second side is taken up with "Memoirs of an Officer and a Gentleman", a four-part 20-minute track that tells a coming of age story of a soldier during the World War II-era.[52] Its cover is a photograph of the group at a beach off an island from Salt Cay, Turks Islands, "decked out as bare-chested late-seventies disco stars".[52] Despite Emerson expressing his disapproval on the album's title and cover to Ertegun, neither was changed.[52]

Love Beach was released in November 1978 and was poorly received by the music press. "All I Want Is You" was released as a single in the UK, but failed to chart. It did sell enough to be certified gold in the US for 500,000 copies sold, in January 1979.[4] In early 1979, Palmer attempted to organise a farewell summer tour and have the group disband at its conclusion. Due to internal problems, such as "what we should play and how we should play it", the tour never materialised.[54] As the band's demise became clear, Palmer formed a band called PM, which released an album called 1PM.[55]

In 1985, Emerson and Lake formed Emerson, Lake & Powell with former Rainbow drummer Cozy Powell. Palmer declined to participate in a reunion as he was busy with commitments with Asia. Rumours also linked Bill Bruford to their new line-up, but he was committed to King Crimson and Earthworks. The group's only album, Emerson Lake & Powell, was released in June 1986 and charted at No. 35 in the UK and No. 23 in the US. The single "Touch and Go" went to No. 60 in the US and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The trio toured the album in 1986, playing material by the Nice and Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

In 1988, Emerson and Palmer joined with Robert Berry to form the band 3. They released an album, To the Power of Three, in 1988.

Emerson, Lake and Palmer performing in 1992

Thanks to Phil Carson, in 1991, Emerson, Lake & Palmer reformed and issued a 1992 comeback album, Black Moon, on Victory Music. Lake's voice had by this point noticeably deepened from years of heavy cigarette smoking. The bands 1992–93 world tours were successful, culminating in a performance at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles in early 1993 that has been heavily bootlegged, but reportedly, Palmer suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome in one hand and Emerson had been treated for a repetitive stress disorder. In 1994, the band released a follow-up album, In the Hot Seat.

Emerson and Palmer eventually recovered enough to start touring again, beginning in 1996. Their tour schedules took them to Japan, South America, Europe, the United States and Canada, playing new versions of older work. They played in significantly smaller venues compared to their heyday (sometimes fewer than 500 people, as in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil). Their last show was in San Diego, California, in August 1998. Conflicts over a new album led to another breakup.

In April 2010, Emerson and Lake embarked on a North American tour, presenting an acoustic repertoire of their work. On 14 May 2010, Shout! Factory released A Time and a Place, a 4-CD collection of Emerson, Lake & Palmer live tracks.

On 25 July 2010, Emerson, Lake & Palmer played a one-off 40th anniversary concert, headlining the High Voltage Festival event in Victoria Park, London. The entire concert was later released as the double-CD live album High Voltage. On 22 February 2011, Shout! released Live at Nassau Coliseum '78, a 2-CD set live recording of an Emerson, Lake & Palmer concert on 9 February 1978 at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

On 29 August 2011, Emerson, Lake & Palmer released on DVD and Blu-ray ... Welcome Back My Friends. 40th Anniversary Reunion Concert. High Voltage Festival – 25 July 2010, the film of the 40th anniversary concert in Victoria Park, London.[56] A Blu-ray and SD DVD of the concert was produced by Concert One Ltd, together with a definitive documentary of the band's 40-year history.

On 6 December 2011, Shout! Factory released Live at the Mar Y Sol Festival '72, a single-CD set live recording of an Emerson, Lake & Palmer concert on 2 April 1972 at the Mar Y Sol Festival, Vega Baja, Puerto Rico.[57]

ELP signed a worldwide licensing deal with Sony Music Entertainment.[58] In North America, the band moved to Razor & Tie.[59] In 2015, Emerson, Lake & Palmer changed their worldwide distributor to BMG Rights Management.[60]

Emerson died on 11 March 2016 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.[61] Lake died from cancer on 7 December 2016.[62]