Remembering Greg Lake

Gregory Stuart Lake was born November 10, 1947, somewhere in England. Speaking about his childhood, Lake said he was “born in an asbestos prefab housing unit” into a “very poor” family, and remembered several cold winters at home. We froze in the winter, we suffocated in the summer and starved all year long. Besides that, he described his upbringing as a happy one.

Lake discovered rock and roll in 1957 when he bought Little Richard’s “Lucille”. At the age of 12, he first learned to play the guitar and wrote his first song, “Lucky Man”, which he didn’t write down, simply committing to memory. Wait, his first song was Lucky Man? The smash hit song for ELP that is still in constant rotation at classic rock stations all over the world 50 years later? Most kids are still eating paste at age 12.

King Crimson

Greg played in a series of $hitty cover bands and was eventually asked to join King Crimson by his friend Robert Fripp. Lake was asked to sing and play Bass so they didn’t have to waste additional money on a proper Bass player. This marked Lake’s first time playing the instrument as he had primarily been a guitarist for the previous eleven years. This proves that if you can play 6 strings, then you can play 4.

Emerson Lake and Palmer Illustration — ELP Illustration By Paul King Art

King Crimson Released their debut album in October 1969, In the Court of the Crimson King. The album was an immediate commercial and critical success. While on tour, Lake struck up a friendship with Keith Emerson, the keyboardist for opening band, The Nice.

Welcome Back My Friends

In April 1970, Lake left King Crimson. Emerson, Lake, and drummer Carl Palmer of the Crazy World of Arthur Brown and Atomic Rooster, to form the progressive rock supergroup, Emerson, Lake & Palmer. ELP became one of the most successful groups in the 1970s. What a group it was! Songs and albums like: “Karn Evil 9 First Impression Part 2”, “Brain Salad Surgery”, “From The Beginning”, “Still You Turn Me On” & many more. An ELP concert was an air drummers wet dream. Emerson had a team of technicians to program his wall of synthesizers, and Lake sang like an angel. They don’t make bands like that anymore. The band split up in 1979 but reformed on occasion.

Lake and his wife Regina had one daughter, the famous talk show host and actress, Ricki Lake. Greg Lake died in London on December 7, 2016, at the age of 69. He was a true talent and is missed dearly.