A Biography Of Greg Lake

Few names have achieved true legendary status in the rock'n'roll pantheon. Among them: Greg Lake. 

From his initial days in the explosive London music scene of the late 1960s, through his tenure with rock innovators King Crimson, and finally, in his place as one third of the legendary British rock band, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Greg Lake has established himself and his music at the forefront of rock's hierarchy. 

Today, nearly 31 years after he first burst onto the international music scene, Greg Lake remains a driving force in contemporary music. As he did in the mid 1980s, Greg Lake is actively returning to a solo career, after finishing his last run with ELP in 1998.

Greg Lake has also begun work on his first non-ELP album since 1983's Manoeuvres, and has returned to record production for both other acts and his own projects. This is a natural part of Greg Lake's music industry profile, since record production is something he  has done on all of his own musical projects. 

In addition, Greg Lake has ventured off on other non-musical paths, primarily as a national spokesperson on behalf of missing and exploited children, and the various organizations affiliated with this cause.

"ELP was a great band, and in some ways almost a musical institution", says Lake. "For the future, I look forward to stepping outside of my well known musical comfort zone and trying some different things. The time has come for me to return to doing what I do best - that is simply writing and performing good, well structured songs. This time, I am working in a new and creatively different environment. That has always been my most important contribution to the music of ELP, and that is what people associate the most with me." 

Though he has worked within the structure of established bands such as King Crimson, ELP and Asia, Lake has also been able to work as a solo act, as well. He recorded one of the biggest records of his career, I Believe In Father Christmas as a solo single in 1975, and recorded as a solo artist from 1981 through 1983. In 1994, while still with ELP, Greg Lake toured with his own band,  which he took out to perform a series of charity shows to benefit The  National Center For Missing and Exploited Children and The Sara Anne Wood Rescue Center, based in Upstate New York. 

Greg Lake's involvement with the plight of missing and exploited children came about strictly as a fluke. After watching a segment on The Fox Network's America's Most Wanted about the August '93 abduction of 12 year old Sara Anne Wood, Lake was compelled to write the song "Daddy", which eventually ended up on the newest ELP record, "In The Hot Seat." The record was played last fall on New York City's WPLJ-FM who, in turn, put Lake together with Wood's father, Rev. Robert Wood. 

From there Lake (with ELP) became involved in the cause. A check for $5,000 (and the future royalties from "Daddy") were donated to Rev. Wood's organization The Sara Anne Rescue Center, a support center for the plight of families whose children have been abducted or exploited. Next came an introduction to America's Most Wanted host, John Walsh, whose own son, Adam, was abducted and murdered 14 years ago. 

"It wasn't until after I had written and recorded "Daddy" did I realize we could do a lot of good with it", said Lake. "At that point, I also found out just how big a crisis this is. Over 4,600 children are abducted each year in the U.S. alone. All through ELP's history we had never done any public charity events, but this time, I knew that a difference could be made, not only financially, but by celebrities such as myself bringing awareness to this issue". 

During the solo tour in November and December of 1994, Greg Lake raised money and awareness for this cause. Each show was a sell out (including Syracuse, New York's 3,000 seat Landmark Theater), nearly $100,000 was generated to benefit the charity. 

"The response from both the public and the various city officials was overwhelming", said Greg. "To have so many people come up to me and tell me how much the song moved them, emotionally, was really gratifying. I hope to continue to be able to use my position in the music industry to help bring awareness to this very serious and important social problem."
 

Greg Lake's musical biography reads like a lesson in rock history. Born and raised in Dorset, England, Lake made a name for himself in a series of London based club bands. In 1968, he formed (with guitar virtuoso Robert Fripp) the experimental King Crimson. Greg fronted the band as lead singer, bassist and co-songwriter.

King Crimson's debut album, In The Court Of The Crimson King (Atlantic Records, 1969), was a huge international hit, and featured the nihilistic anthem, "21st. Century Schizoid Man". It is regarded by most rock historians as one of the most pivotal albums of all time since it effectively blended hard rock, jazz, and classical music into a cohesive, commercial context. 

In The Court Of The Crimson King is also regarded as the birth of the progressive rock movement that paved the way for such other acts as Genesis, ELP, and Pink Floyd. 

Lake remained with King Crimson through its second album (In The Wake Of Poseidon) before leaving in 1970 to form Emerson, Lake & Palmer with ex-Nice keyboardist Keith Emerson and drummer Carl Palmer, who came to the group by way of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown.

From their debut at the 1970 Isle Of Wight Festival, it was clear that ELP would be one of the few major supergroups of rock. Their debut LP, Emerson, Lake & Palmer (Atlantic/Cotillion Records, 1971) was an instant, platinum smash, and became a staple on FM radio, with the Lake-written hit single, "Lucky Man." 

With the classically trained Keith Emerson on keyboards, and Greg's own songwriting ability, ELP was able to blend hard and soft rock music from an intricate and compelling classically influenced base. The result was a musical genre that remains in a class all its own today. 

From their inception and throughout the 1970s, ELP remained at the top of the charts. A series of Greg Lake produced albums followed, including Tarkus, Pictures At An Exhibition, Trilogy, Brain Salad Surgery, Works Vol. 1 and 2, and two different live albums. These albums also spawned a series of hit singles, most of which were written and sung by Lake. Among them: "Still, You Turn me On", "From The Beginning", "Karn Evil 9", "C'est La Vie" and the hugely successful, holiday single, "I Believe In Father Christmas." 

Their live show became one of rock's most visually and musically exciting events. ELP often combined spellbinding visual stunts with their compelling music to make for a brilliant concert experience.

But by 1980 ELP had burned out and stopped working together. Greg Lake used this period to launch an acclaimed solo career that included two powerful albums (Greg Lake and Manoeuvres, both released on Chrysalis Records) and featured collaborations with such icons as Bob Dylan, Clarence Clemmons, and the members of Toto. His touring band featured, among others, guitar powerhouse Gary Moore. During this period, Lake also performed briefly with Carl Palmer's band, Asia. 

In 1986, Emerson and Lake recorded an album with drummer Cozy Powell, and in 1992, ELP proper regrouped. They returned with the well received Black Moon LP, followed by 1993 Live At the Royal Albert Hall and the 4 CD anthology Return Of The Manticore, and 1994's In The Hot Seat ( all released on Victory Music/ Polygram Records.). 

In July 1995, The King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents: Greg Lake In Concert, was released worldwide. The album is Lake's legendary 1981 solo concert recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon in London with his all-star backing band that included guitar ace Gary Moore. 

The album features material from Crimson, ELP, Lake's first solo album, as well as an exciting remake of the Motown classic, "You Really Got A Hold On Me." 

During the Summer/Fall of 1996, Greg Lake reunited with ELP while they toured the US, Canada, and Japan with Jethro Tull. In 1997, a 2 CD career retrospective, FROM THE BEGINNING; THE GREG LAKE RETROSPECTIVE which includes studio tracks and rare tracks from Lake's entire career, was released on Rhino & Castle Records. It was followed in 1999 with a companion album, FROM THE UNDERGROUND: THE OFFICIAL GREG LAKE BOOTLEG which featured many rare and previously unreleased tracks.

ELP toured the US, Europe and South America in 1997 and in 1998 toured in a line up that also included Dream Theater and Deep Purple. The group attempted to write and record a new studio album in late 1998, but the project never materialized.

In late 1998, Greg Lake announced he was moving forward to resume a solo career that would include his own records and producing records for  others. In 1999, he produced WATCHING OVER YOU, the first serious  music album for British TV comedian, Jim Davidson. He is also working on a new solo project for the near future.

"I am very proud of the music I made in both King Crimson and ELP, and I am very grateful for the success that I achieved, thus far", says Lake.  "But, I also feel the time has come to stretch out, try some different things, and basically, re-invent Greg Lake. My focus now is to return to writing good, well structured songs with thought provoking lyrics. I also look forward to getting back into record production." 

"There is still much I have to accomplish as a musician, now and in the future," says Lake, currently preparing material for his new studio solo album, "and I honestly feel there are still a lot of important things for me to say with my music."

To see more about Greg, check his website:  http://www.greglake.com