Died On This Date (January 31, 2017) John Wetton / King Crimson; Asia

John Wetton
June 12, 1949 – January 31, 2017

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John Wetton was an English bassist and singer who is best remembered for his time with King Crimson and for fronting his own popular prog-rock band, Asia.  After several years of playing and singing in local bands, Wetton was invited by Robert Fripp to join King Crimson as bassist and lead singer.  The year was 1972, and over the next two-plus years, he performed on the band’s critically acclaimed Larks’ Tongues in AspicStarless and Bible Black, and Red.  Following the release of Red, King Crimson went on hiatus, s0 Wetton worked with several other groups, including Roxy MusicWishbone Ash, and Uriah Heap.  In 1980, he formed Asia, a super group with Geoff Downes, Steve Howe, and Carl Palmer.  The band’s self-titled debut of 1982 reached #1 on the US and UK charts and went on to sell over 8 million copies worldwide.  In later years, Wetton released several solo albums while collaborating with the likes of Steve Hackett and Renaissance. In 2006, he reunited with the original members of Asia to release Phoenix, their first since 1983.  They went on to release a handful of new studio albums over the next several years.   John Wetton died of colon cancer on January 31, 2017.  He was 67.

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Died On This Date (December 7, 2016) Greg Lake / Emerson, Lake & Palmer; King Crimson

Greg Lake
November 10, 1947 – December 7, 2016

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Photo by David Plastik – Click To Order Quality Prints – Discount code: 10OFF

As founding lead singer of both King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Greg Lake was an early architect of what would become known as progressive rock – a style that borrowed heavily from classical and jazz for its sound, and poetry for its lyrics.  Born in Dorset, England, Lake began playing the guitar as a young teen.  By high school, he was friends with another musical schoolmate, Robert Fripp, who later asked Lake to change to bass and sing lead for his own new band, King Crimson.  The year was 1968 and the group quickly found a sizable audience thanks in part to their acclaimed debut, In the Court of the Crimson King. Produced by Lake, it is one of earliest and most influential prog rock albums.  After leaving the group in 1970, Lake joined up with Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer to form one of rock’s early supergroups, Emerson, Lake & Palmer.  The band would become one of the most successful British bands of the era with such mind-bending albums as Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Tarkus, Trilogy, and Brain Salad Surgery, before parting ways in 1979.  During the ’80s, Lake played with Asia and Emerson, Lake &  Powell with drummer, Cozy Powell. Emerson, Lake & Palmer reunited for another album and a world tour during the early ’90s, and continued on in one form or another into 2010.  Greg Lake was 69 when he died of cancer on December 7, 2016.

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Click to find at amazon.com