Biography of King Crimson

If The Moody Blues provided a heavenly Mellotron-soaked soundtrack for millions of late-'60s cosmic rockers, King Crimson (formed by Robert Fripp on January 13, 1969) balanced the scales with disturbingly dense and explosive sonic trips into the darkside. Even when the band was playing something relatively peaceful, there was a sense that something wasn't quite settled.Their debut effort, In the Court of the Crimson King, made quite a splash on both sides of the Atlantic. The bizarre face painted on the cover enhanced the band's potential for grandly jarring music. The album went Top Five in England and #28 in the US. The title track was the band's only charting single, at #80.The second album, In the Wake of Poseidon (#31 US), generally repeated the formula of the debut, but the following two efforts, Lizard (#113 US) and Islands (#76 US), lost some of their initial audience. A new lineup (including ex-Family John Wetton, ex-Yes Bill Bruford) and a darker, colder sound emerged with Larks' Tongues in Aspic. The next two studio efforts, Starless and Bible Black and Red progressively intensified the dissonance.Fripp disbanded Crimson in 1974 and pursued solo and side projects, most notably with Brian Eno (No Pussyfooting and Evening Star), Andy Summers (I Advance Masked and Bewitched), and Fripp's own The League of Gentlemen. Crimson reformed in 1981, this time with Adrian Belew on guitar/vocals, Tony Levin on bass, and Bill Bruford on percussion. Between 1981 and 1984, they released a trio of fine efforts, particularly Beat. -- Rick ClarkMost ambitious and successful of the late 60s British art-rock bands and one of the most maddeningly unstable. Founded by guitarist Robert Fripp and saxophonist Ian MacDonald, the group burst forth with an ornate, majestic and savage sound and an approach that owed a greal deal to modern jazz. MacDonald was gone after the first tour followed by the rest of the band except for Fripp, who proceeded to reform the band in ever-changing configurations up through 1974 when the final break-up came. The latter day King Crimson, with Adrian Belew on guitar with Fripp, is the most daring version, but has virtually no connection with the original expect its name. ~ Bruce Eder