Greg Lake, founding member of UK prog rock group King Crimson, and the mastermind behind Emerson, Lake, & Palmer passed away yesterday, December 7th, at the age of 69 after an extended battle with cancer. His manager Stewart Gordon broke the news this morning with a simple post accompanied by a photo on Lake’s Facebook page:
Yesterday, December 7th, I lost my best friend to a long and stubborn battle with cancer. Greg Lake will stay in my heart forever, as he has always been. His family would be grateful for privacy during this time of their grief. Many thanks, Stewart Young
Best known for his work with virtuosic prog rock band Emerson, Lake, & Palmer, Lake also sang and played bass for King Crimson on their most famous album, 1969, In the Court of the Crimson King. By 1970, his role in the band was already starting to wane, with his contribution of just vocals to Crimson King‘s followup In the Wake of Poseidon.
At the end of 1970, Lake had teamed up with his friend Keith Emerson to form ELP, who would spend the remainder of the 70’s prolifically recording and releasing music to much critical acclaim, five albums charting in the Top 10 charts in the UK.
We entered 2016 with the entirety of ELP intact, and we close the year out with only Carl Palmer remaining, Lake’s passing coming just months Keith Emerson’s suicide in March.
