Emerson Lake and Palmer
Many fans of progressive rock claim YES were the soul of the genre. If this is so then Emerson Lake and Palmer were certainly the power, the glory, the spectacle – the so-called first supergroup of prog rock.
As soon as the news hit that Keith Emerson, the keyboardist for Nice; Greg Lake, the bassist/vocalist of King Crimson; and Carl Palmer, the drummer for the Crazy World of Arthur Brown and Atomic Rooster, had joined forces as ELP, the press had dubbed the band a supergroup – before they’d played a single note. The band was “supersize” in everything. ELP were super fast and boasted super-human virtuosity, superegos, and super pedigree. Perhaps sensing the weight and responsibility of such a mantle being handed to them, Emerson Lake and Palmer performed as though they had something to prove to themselves and the world.
The band’s shows were some of the mos
