Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Formed in London in 1970, Emerson, Lake & Palmer brought together Keith Emerson, formerly of The Nice, Greg Lake, who had come from King Crimson, and Carl Palmer, from Atomic Rooster. This English trio is associated with progressive rock and art rock, with compositions that combine long suites, emphatic riffs, borrowings from classical music, touches of jazz and more stripped-down acoustic passages. Emerson, Lake & Palmer quickly attracted attention after their appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970, and they established the foundations of their style on Emerson, Lake & Palmer (1970), Tarkus (1971), Pictures at an Exhibition (1971, live), Trilogy (1972) and Brain Salad Surgery (1973). The central role of Keith Emerson’s keyboards — spanning organ, piano and synthesizers — interacts with Greg Lake’s voice and bass, while Carl Palmer contributed precise and highly mobile drumming essential to the group’s balance. After Works Volume 1 (1977), Works Volume 2 (1977) and Love Beach (1978), Emerson, Lake & Palmer split in 1979, before reforming in the early 1990s for Black Moon (1992) and In the Hot Seat (1994). They then continued touring until 1998 and returned to the stage one last time in London in 2010 for the High Voltage Festival.