Keith Emerson (Photo by Jorgen Angel/Redferns)
Keith Emerson died from what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, police confirmed on Friday afternoon. He was 71.
“At about 1.15 a.m. [PT], officers were called to his home on the 400 Marine Avenue block of Santa Monica, and his body was found with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head,” Sgt. Camarena of the Santa Monica Police told TheWrap.
“His death is being investigated as a possible suicide.”
Friday March the 11th, 2016
Emerson, Lake & Palmer keyboardist and co-founder dies in Santa Monica
Emerson, Lake & Palmer keyboardist Keith Emerson has died at the age of 71.
The news was confirmed by on the band’s Facebook page and their official website.
A statement reads: “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.”
Bandmate Carl Palmer adds: “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.
Read More HERE
There are reports that Keith had the same disease as Dudley Moore..degenerative so he could not play the keyboards anymore.
Very tragic end to a brilliant musical visionary.
I saw EL & P three times in the ’70s and was floored each time at how three musicians could pump out such a glorious and thunderous menagerie of sound. (Their heyday was long before musicians could use tape loops to expand their sound. Greg Lake handled vocals plus bass or guitar so the heaviest instrumental lifting was left to Keith–who stood between two banks of keyboards–and Carl Palmer with his phalanx of drums, gongs and other percussive delights. (Keith probably used foot-bass to fill in when Greg switched to guitar.)
The trio found itself routinely pilloried by critics who found them pretentious. Bollocks to that charge. They balanced riveting originals with outstanding transformations of classical fare by the likes of Bach, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky and Aaron Copland, to name a few. A visual highlight was seeing Keith plunge a knife into his Moog synthesizer. At the time, I thought he was doing a Pete Townshend-like instrument thrashing. Years later, I learned that it was to control the synthesizer.
For all the electronics, Keith was a superb acoustic pianist. Check out Take A Pebble on EL & P’s debut album.
RIP dear prince.