Writer: Greg Lake
Producer: Greg Lake
Recorded: October, 1970
| Players: | Greg Lake — bass, vocals Carl Palmer — drums Keith Emerson — keyboards |
| Album: | Emerson, Lake & Palmer (Rhino, 1970) |
Emerson, Lake & Palmer was one of the first progressive rock supergroups. The classically-trained Keith Emerson came from the Nice, Greg Lake played in King Crimson, and Carl Palmer was a veteran of '60s one-shots like the Crazy World Of Arthur Brown (of "Fire" fame) and Atomic Rooster.
ELP gave newfound meaning to bombast, overkill, self-indulgence, and pretense with standard fare like Palmer's $25,000 drum set and Emerson's spinning, lights-flashing keyboard set up and exploding pianos.
The band's elaborate stage shows required 36 tons of equipment.
The single "Lucky Man" peaked on the pop chart at Number 51. The song was re-promoted in conjunction with the group's U.S. tour in 1973.
The strength of "Lucky Man" sent the group's debut album to the gold mark. The song's simple acoustic tone was atypical of the band's full-blown (and drawn out) classical mutations. ELP's next eight albums went gold as well.
Not one to overstay their welcome, the boys broke the band up shortly after Love Beach failed to go gold in 1978. It was the group's first album not to hit that mark.
