RIP Keith Emerson

Another one. 
 
http://ultimateclassicrock.com/keith-emerson-dies/
 
I have wonderful memories of ELP. I got to see one of only 3 or 4 shows they did with the 51-piece orchestra for the Works tour, before cancelling after losing several large outdoor dates. They came back around about 6 months later, thanked us for attending the previous show (in Madison, WI) and told us straight up that the current tour was to make up all of the money they lost.
 
The orchestra was special. Each instrument had been fitted with a custom contact mic. The live sound was fabulous. ELP's stage was surrounded on 3 sides big a C-shaped second story stage with the orchestra. The conductor scissored up on a lift. Very cool. Keith's grand piano was on a lift. Various keyboards would rise and fall, depending on the song.
 
What a memory!
 
Rest is peace, my keyboard friend!

A legend. Sad news indeed. RIP

That's a shock! Don't know what to say.

Possible suicide?  Double ouch...
 

Damn. They've been dropping like flies this year.
 
And especially sad that he was driven to suicide because he couldn't play anymore. Sh*t, that's every musician's nightmare.

A very generous and gifted musician. He will be missed.   

Saw them back in '76 I think during the "Pirates" tour - amazing.  Then sometime during the late 80s/early 90s a guy on the internet had transcribed a lot of their stuff (pretty accurate too) and offered it with the stipulation that you send $10 to cover copyright.  I remember I received back my paper check and Keith had countersigned it!  Still have it.  One of my childhood musical heros......  RIP Mr Emerson

So sad... R.I.P. Keith.

'Self inflicted gun shot wound to the head'. That's just too awful for words. How dreadful for his family.

Sad if not being able to play any more was the reason....especially considering how many opportunities for making music there are for non-players these days. I mean I've played guitar since I was 14 to the point where it's like an extension of my brain, but I can spend days in the piano roll in Sonar or experimenting with hundreds of other music making tools without so much as picking up a real instrument. You can compose full orchestral pieces with a mouse for crying out loud! I think there was probably a lot more to his depression tbh.....

Sad to hear that he could see no other way, I hope he finds rest.

I first saw Mr. Emerson in early 1969. I'd just joined a band in Oxford, after arriving in England only a few weeks earlier. The drummer had taken it upon himself to introduce me to the local music scene, so we'd go see bands on weekends. One of them was The Nice. "You're gonna love this band " he said. "The organ player's the star of the show...they don't even have a guitarist."
 
The gig was at a community hall in a nearby town. Admission was 50p and there were perhaps 200 people there ("America" wouldn't start getting radio play for another month, so they were still relatively obscure). Of course, we went right up to the edge of the stage. I'd not been told about Keith's onstage antics, not warned of the possibility of physical injury from falling M3s and thrown knives. Needless to say, I was absolutely delighted. And extremely jealous that he had not one, but two Leslies.
 
So the following year, when ELP was formed, I knew who he was and couldn't wait to hear the new band. I'd also become completely enamored with In the Court of the Crimson King, which Greg Lake had produced, so I was a fan of his, too. We scored tickets to their second gig ever, in Frankfurt. 
 
The concert didn't start on time, and there was no opening act. So a thousand hippies sat patiently on the floor, passing joints around for 4 hours. A roadie came out to explain that the holdup was Keith's brand-new Moog modular synth was held up in customs. Having had my own surreal experiences with German customs, I was sympathetic. And having never actually seen a synthesizer in person before, I reckoned it was well worth the wait.
 
I was a little disappointed that the synth was barely used. I think just on two songs, as Emerson had only bought it a few weeks prior. But it was still very cool. A technician in a white lab coat did the patching and constant re-tuning.
 
This was before ELP got a reputation for being the world's loudest band. Amplification was scaled to the venue perfectly, and even though I was only 20 feet away the sound was excellent. Keith was more reserved in this Serious Band, but he did throw a knife into the Leslie, which the Germans went nuts over. 
 
That was on a Friday night. The following night we went to see Deep Purple perform Deep Purple in Rock. Between Jon Lord and Keith Emerson, I felt finally vindicated for choosing to be an organ player.
 

dmbaer
 
No more fitting a tribute that this remarkable performance of Tarkus by a brilliant young woman virtuoso who happens to be blind.  If you have not seen this, you owe it to yourself to watch.  If you already have seen it, then you know what I'm talking about:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLT3Cb96-Mk

Wow!!
 
I dare anyone to listen to this and NOT start singing !Has the dawn ever seen your eyes? Have the days made you so unwise?" at about 2:56
 
I absolutely love this album, I bought it when it came out in 1971, I never got to see them!!
 
Favourite track of all time is the eponymous Trilogy, never heard piano playing like that before and probably never will.
 
RIP Keith
 
I'm going to listen to Pictures at an Exhibition

Dude.   NOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooo!
 
ELP were more responsible than any other band for opening my eyes to a whole world of music outside of TOTP when I was a kid.  I heard their first album when I was 11 and it blew me away.
 
I've just been reading some articles regarding the circumstances surrounding his death and that has really pissed me off.  [massive rant deleted]
 
Sh1t.  Gonna crank up the Karn Evil Nine at work this morning, I haven't felt like this about the death of a musician since Zappa passed away.

bitflipper
Damn. They've been dropping like flies this year.
 
And especially sad that he was driven to suicide because he couldn't play anymore. Sh*t, that's every musician's nightmare.

Yeah, I am not sure, but I think  that he has had some bad issues with arthritis in his hands ... not sure though. That could be a bad thing for a keyboard player ... I think I will sit and enjoy the first 3 ELP albums today.