Emerson, Lake and Palmer are a British progressive rock band that combines classical music with rock. The group was named after three of its members. The team is considered a supergroup, since all members were very popular even before the unification, when each of them participated in other groups.
The History and Rise of the Emerson, Lake and Palmer Collective
The band was formed in 1969 by Keith Emerson and Greg Lake, who found a common interest after working on other projects and decided to work together. The guys quickly became friends and began to work fruitfully.
After a while they started looking for a drummer and they chose Mitch Mitchell. This offer did not seem interesting to him, and he decided to tell Jimi Hendrix about it. Hendrix thought it was a good idea and offered to work together.
Shortly thereafter, Carl Palmer joined the band. After several joint concerts, the group decided to call itself HELP after the first letters of the names of all its members. But that didn't happen because of Jimi's death.
The first years of the group's existence were the most productive and eventful. The group was engaged in creativity, self-discovery and musical development, released 6 albums and recorded several world hits. Nevertheless, after the last tour in 1974, the musicians decided to disperse and reunite only three years later.
Reunion and joint activities until 1991
In 1977, the musicians met again, as agreed. During long vacations, the members of the group engaged in solo activities. Lake has made significant progress. After the reunion, the band recorded the albums Works, Vol. 1, Works, Vol. 2. The collections included personal creations of each participant, as well as their joint singles. The band then made changes to the sound of their compositions and added an orchestra.
In the same year, the team went on tour with a symphony orchestra. Then the musicians had big problems, and the band lost more than $2 million. Because of this, the group decided to leave the orchestra and perform concerts as a familiar trio.
In 1978, the band released the Love Beach compilation album. And decided not to work together for several years. However, under the terms of the contract, the group had to release another new album. The musicians recorded it in a short period of time. But the group did not become successful, as it was the weakest album in the history of the group. Many fans believe that this is due to the haste in the work of the musicians.
In 1979, the team nevertheless spoke about its collapse, as each of the participants decided to continue their solo career. Emerson began to write songs for films, Palamer created his own group. And Lake released albums, thanks to which he was very popular.
After 6 years, Lake approached Emerson with an offer to reunite as a trio. Lake happily accepted the offer, while Palmer was unable to join due to his contractual obligations. He was briefly replaced by the famous Cozy Powell. With the updated line-up, the group recorded an album and toured the United States, after which the group ceased to conduct joint activities.
Emerson, Palmer and Robert Berry re-formed the group in 1987. They also toured the US and released an album that was not successful.
Collaboration of the legendary trio from 1991 to 2016
Emerson, Lake and Palmer were able to work together again in 1991. The musicians returned to their previous activities and reunited as a legendary trio. The guys released the Black Moon album, in which the sound of their compositions was supplemented with new instruments and technologies. And the songs have become much shorter compared to the previous ones. This update attracted new fans and drew huge concert halls.
The group has been actively performing with concerts for two years, even wanted to release another album. However, Emerson underwent major surgery at the time, and the album was weak. After some time, the team again decided to take a two-year break so that the members could improve their health and prepare for productive work.
Emerson recovered in 1996 and the band reunited to tour Japan, Canada, the United States and other countries together. This tour was commercially successful for the musicians, although the band had to perform in small venues. They were filled with a lot of spectators, the team added a lot of new "fans".
For two years, the group actively performed with concerts, even planned to work on albums. But disputes and disagreements regarding the album led to further separation of the group.
After an extended hiatus in 2009, Palmer revealed that the band would reunite that same year. But Emerson's health problems prevented this event.
A few years later, the group still got together and was active until 2016, performing concerts, releasing new albums and touring countries.
In 2016, disaster struck. Keith Emerson decided to commit suicide and put a bullet in his head. The reasons for such a drastic act are still unknown to fans. A few months later, Lake died of cancer.
An unusual scene on stage with Emerson, Lake and Palmer
Once Emerson, when his colleagues went backstage to rest, began to solo on the organ after the concert. Half an hour later, the musicians looked at the stage, and there Keith gathered a lot of spectators and played his instrument all the time, although it was time to end.
To inform the musician that it was time to end this performance, the band sent the band's technician. But he argued for a long time and did not want to leave, but nevertheless agreed under the threat of dismissal.
The band became very famous for their combination of classical music with rock. The guys were able to combine productive work with leisure and have a good time. Thanks to the vibrant creativity of these musicians, we can now enjoy their legendary and memorable music.
