Keith Emerson

Keith Emerson (born November 2, 1944) is a British keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of The T-Bones, V.I.P.s and as backing band to P.P. Arnold (which evolved into The Nice), he went on to start

Keith Emerson (born November 2, 1944) is a British keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of The T-Bones, V.I.P.s and as backing band to P.P. Arnold (which evolved into The Nice), he went on to start Emerson Lake and Palmer (ELP), one of the first supergroups, in 1970. Following the first breakup of ELP circa 1979, Emerson went on to modest success with other bands including Emerson, Lake & Powell, Three and subsequent ELP reunions during the early 90's. He reunited The Nice in the mid-'90s to go on tour and currently tours (through 2005) with The Keith Emerson Band.

Emerson was born in Todmorden, England. As a child, he learned western classical music, from which he derived a lot of inspiration to create his own style, combining classical music, jazz, and rock themes. As a performer on the Hammond organ, Emerson jumped at the opportunity to collaborate with Robert Moog, and work with his invention, the Modular Moog, an analog synthesizer, in 1969. While other artists such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones had used the Moog, Emerson was the first artist to tour with one.