On November 2nd, ELP keyboarder Keith Emerson would have celebrated his 75th birthday. For many progrock fans, the Brit, who put an end to his life on 11 March 2016, is regarded as the most brilliant representative of his guild in terms of playing technique. But Emerson also set standards in other areas: as a top-class showman, as a groundbreaking composer and as an ingenious mediator between classical music and rock. Critics liked to accuse him of gigantomania, while his artistic achievements were swept under the carpet. Therefore, it is time to pay tribute to the merits of this great musician once again
Born in 1944 in Todmorden, the Englishman was the only child of a middle-class family. For a decade he was to be the rock keyboardist par excellence. Keith Emerson freed the organist from the corset of the sitting bureaucrat, who stoically pressed chords on a nut-brown box. The "King of Keyboards" took organ playing to a new level of sex, violence and ecstasy. In private rather shy, Emerson on stage turned into an aggressor who shook his Hammond like a stubborn lover, maltreated her with his elbows, stood on her and performed a wild ride. With this fascinating and disturbing performance, the dandy type early became the "Hendrix of keyboard instruments". However, he had not copied his wild stage show from the guitarist of the century, but from Don Shinn, whom he had seen at the Marquee Club in the autumn of 1966: "In the middle of one piece he began to shake his organ and poking around with a screwdriver. I was so impressed, I had a lot of ideas in my head afterwards."
DEEP PURPLE
milestones in hard rock history
With Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath they formed the troika of British 70s hard rock. The cult band Deep Purple, founded 40 years ago, had to struggle with personnel problems right from the start: musicians came and went. On the occasion of their anniversary and as an appetizer for the upcoming tour, we take a close look at the different line-ups (Marks) - with the emphasis on the great time.
YES
Game without Borders Part II
