Keith Emerson Dead at age 71: A Traumatic Loss

The rock and roll world has lost one of the greatest keyboardist and composers of all time. Keith Emerson passed away on March 11th 2016. His death has been attributed to a single gunshot wound to his head. The news of Keith Emerson’s death is a shock to Keith Emerson fans and traumatic loss to the those millions of fans that followed Keith Emerson’s legendary career as the leader of the legendary classical rock trio Emerson,Lake & Palmer.

The band announced his death on Friday March 11th on their official Facebook page.

“We regret to announce that Keith Emerson died last night at his home in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, aged 71. We ask that the family’s privacy and grief be respected,”
Carl Palmer who has performed with Keith Emerson as part oft heir iconic musical trio Emerson Lake & Palmer released a statement  about the passing of Keith Emerson.

“I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of my good friend and brother-in-music, Keith Emerson. Keith was a gentle soul whose love for music and passion for his performance as a keyboard player will remain unmatched for many years to come. He was a pioneer and an innovator whose musical genius touched all of us in the worlds of rock, classical and jazz. I will always remember his warm smile, good sense of humor, compelling showmanship, and dedication to his musical craft. I am very lucky to have known him and to have made the music we did, together. Rest in peace, Keith.”
Carl Palmer
March 11, 2016

 

As a fan of classic rock and roll, Emerson, Lake and Palmer were one of my favorite groups. I saw them perform at Madison Square Garden in New York City during the Sumner of 1977. They had performed at the Garden as part of their “Works Tour.” They had an eighty piece orchestra perform with them on that tour. It was one of the greatest concert performances I ever witnessed in my life. I actually traded my second set of Led Zeppelin tickets to see Emerson Lake and Palmer perform that Summer. Nobody in the rock and roll world could play the piano and organ as well as Keith Emerson. He was a pioneer in the field that influenced many piano players and keyboardists. Its difficult to hear of his passing and hard to believe that he is no longer with us.

Written by Brian Kachejian

 

photo by By Gorupdebesanez (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons