Hello faithful followers of this site. We have a lot to cover in the next few days, which is great, but it has put us behind in our Fantasy Band discussion. This week we had you thinking about Keyboardists. Not every band had one, not every band "needed" one. In some bands the Keyboardist did dual duty, adding it to their regular tasks in the band; such as John Paul Jones (bassist) in Led Zeppelin and Freddie Mercury (singer) in Queen. And if these two were your favorites, because they were in your favorite band, fine. The multi-talented individual has always been and still is a valuable asset to any group or any team. How many times in the world of sports have you heard that the player made the team because they were multi-faceted? Or someone got the job/contract because they brought more to the table than their competition? So neither Jones or Mercury will be dismissed from this conversation---no way.
But you probably want to know where our head is at on this subject (or you're just reading along because you're incredibly bored) and unfortunately there's no great story of meeting this individual, getting their autograph or anything like that. What was similar was that I was unexpectedly blown away. As many of you have probably guessed by now by his picture, our Keyboardist for our Fantasy Band is Keith Emerson. The Emerson of Emerson, Lake & Palmer fame.
Now by the time I saw E.L.P. I had already seen Elton John. Was a HUGE Elton fan through high school and in many ways still am. To me Elton was the pinnacle of what a Keyboardist can and should be and when you add that he is the Lead Singer of his band it took A LOT to push him to a very, very close second.
Actually I had gone to E.L.P. to see the drummer Carl Palmer. Palmer at the time was supposedly THE drummer in rock and roll. I had to see that for myself because by that time I had already seem Roger Taylor of Queen and Neil Peart of Rush and if this guy was better than them, he had to prove it to me. And not to give away our choice for fantasy drummer, Palmer WAS great but...well, you'll see.
But I stood in awe of Keith Emerson! I still had not seen Jon Lord play yet (most notably with Deep Purple but also Whitesnake) so Keith was the first person I had ever seen play "multiple" keyboards at one time. Remember the first time you saw Jimmy Page play a double neck guitar? THAT feeling came over me. And when you add the sounds he could make moving and rocking his instrument (not destroying it ala Who) it wasn't noise, it was a rock and roll symphony! I later met some Yes enthusiasts who tried to convince me of their music with Rick Wakemen, but it was never the same.
Believe me it took a lot to put Elton at second and keep Jon Lord (who I have seen multiple times since then) there as well. I read once that Keith Emerson had the vision of one day writing a modern day symphony and his respect for the classics I found refreshing. Keith has done several soundtracks for film since then, the first I believe was Nighthawks with Sylvester Stallone and Billy Dee Williams. Soundtracks are an integral part of any film and if you doubt that just look what John Williams did for Jaws, Star Wars and the Indiana Jones Trilogy, just to name a few. So there it is, our nomination for Fantasy Band Keyboardist, Keith Emerson!
But you probably want to know where our head is at on this subject (or you're just reading along because you're incredibly bored) and unfortunately there's no great story of meeting this individual, getting their autograph or anything like that. What was similar was that I was unexpectedly blown away. As many of you have probably guessed by now by his picture, our Keyboardist for our Fantasy Band is Keith Emerson. The Emerson of Emerson, Lake & Palmer fame.
Now by the time I saw E.L.P. I had already seen Elton John. Was a HUGE Elton fan through high school and in many ways still am. To me Elton was the pinnacle of what a Keyboardist can and should be and when you add that he is the Lead Singer of his band it took A LOT to push him to a very, very close second.
Actually I had gone to E.L.P. to see the drummer Carl Palmer. Palmer at the time was supposedly THE drummer in rock and roll. I had to see that for myself because by that time I had already seem Roger Taylor of Queen and Neil Peart of Rush and if this guy was better than them, he had to prove it to me. And not to give away our choice for fantasy drummer, Palmer WAS great but...well, you'll see.
But I stood in awe of Keith Emerson! I still had not seen Jon Lord play yet (most notably with Deep Purple but also Whitesnake) so Keith was the first person I had ever seen play "multiple" keyboards at one time. Remember the first time you saw Jimmy Page play a double neck guitar? THAT feeling came over me. And when you add the sounds he could make moving and rocking his instrument (not destroying it ala Who) it wasn't noise, it was a rock and roll symphony! I later met some Yes enthusiasts who tried to convince me of their music with Rick Wakemen, but it was never the same.
Believe me it took a lot to put Elton at second and keep Jon Lord (who I have seen multiple times since then) there as well. I read once that Keith Emerson had the vision of one day writing a modern day symphony and his respect for the classics I found refreshing. Keith has done several soundtracks for film since then, the first I believe was Nighthawks with Sylvester Stallone and Billy Dee Williams. Soundtracks are an integral part of any film and if you doubt that just look what John Williams did for Jaws, Star Wars and the Indiana Jones Trilogy, just to name a few. So there it is, our nomination for Fantasy Band Keyboardist, Keith Emerson!
The Lamocu Productions Fantasy Band
Bass Player - Joe Bouchard, Blue Oyster Cult
Keyboardist - Keith Emerson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer
So let us hear from you! The forum is always open. Thanks for reading along and stay tuned, we got lots happening in our next installments.
4 comments:
To start I would have to agree with your pick. I have never seen ELP live but what I have seen in movies instills the same kind of admiration for Keith as you seen to have. When I saw him play it reminded me of Jimi Hendrix in that he truly "played" the keyboard/piano not just hit the right keys st the right time. And I too have been and still am a big fan of Elton and Rick Wakeman and all the other keyboardists you have spoke of but I do believe that you have forgotten one of the best Billy Joel. If by no other standard but longevity he needs to be mentioned and considered if not for first place then for second. So after some long thought I believe I would once again call this a tie with Mr.Emerson taking the first step on the podium followed closely by Billy and Elton sharing the second step and Rick on the third.
The first keyboardist that came to my mind was Jon Lord. I got to see him with Deep Purple once and he was rocking!! Now a good friend of mine was a huge ELP fan so I thought of Emerson second. Than Al had to go and mention Elton John. Now I didn't even think of Elton because I was thinking for a rock band. But of course like everyone else growing up in the 70's Elton was a huge inspiration. But I will stick with Jon Lord. Also for an honorable mention don't forget about Al Kooper. And for any jazz B3 players there is a great player named Jimmy McGriff and also I like Bruce Katz who has played with one of my favorite Blues guitarist Ronnie Earl. Check them all out.
I was just looking at this again and realized I forgot some one that needs to be mentioned and that is Sly Stone often under rated but hopeful not forgotten. If you ever saw "Woodstock the Movie" then you have to admit he was and still is a great keyboardist. Just though I had to bring him up here.vorstra
Jonathon Cain from Journey and the Baby's- great introductions to many memorable 80's tunes.
LAst night was listening to old Journey. Walks like a Lady, etc. I know the original keyboardist also played with Santana, but I can't remember his name- any ideas?
I thought someone would say
EDGAR WINTER can you say FRANKENSTIEN or is it FRANKENSTEEN for any of you Gene Wilder fans out there.
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