Biography of Emerson, Lake & Palmer

This progressive-rock "supergroup" was formed by Keith Emerson of The Nice on keyboards, Greg Lake of King Crimson of bass, guitars and vocals, and Carl Palmer of Atomic Rooster on drums. Their mixing of classical melodies with science-fiction lyrics made them stars, and Emerson's frenzied, flamboyant stage preformances turned them into a major concert draw for most of the '70s, while Lake's crystal-clear, attractive vocals made them easier on the ear (and more attractive to girls) than Yes, their major rivals. Palmer was the most talented and inventive member of the trio, however, and probably the fastest drummer in rock. Having mixed the popular classical repertory to exhaustion, they faded away under the combined weight of punk and disco in the late '70s, with Emerson going off to write film scores. ~ Bruce Eder