Greg Lake

When I was 12 years old, back in 2009, my guitar teacher introduced me to the band Pink Floyd. That band marked the start of a musical journey that has made me the music fan I am today. My dad saw how much I enjoyed the music of Floyd, so he decided to encourage me to check out more bands that fell under this genre called “progressive rock.” One day he called me into his office. He sat me down and put on a song called “C’est La Vie,” by this band called Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, or ELP. Instantly, I fell in love with every aspect of that song, particularly the vocals. I learned that the name of that singer was Greg Lake. I was struck by the uniqueness of his voice, and it became very obvious to me that it was a voice you could not mistake for any other. I decided to look further into this band and, soon enough, discovered albums like Tarkus and Trilogy. I was hooked. I could not get enough of their music. I had never heard of a successful band dominated by keyboards. Early the next year, I learned that Greg Lake and Keith Emerson were going to be performing at my now favorite concert venue, the Orpheum Theatre. It was an opportunity we could not pass up, so we went for it. That night proved to be a game changer for me, not just musically, but personally as well. A few people who were at that show are now good friends of mine, though we discovered each other on Facebook. The show was unique to me because it was a chance for me to get to hear Keith and Greg talk about their experiences over the years. It was a joy getting to hear them perform and speak, but I was particularly excited to see Greg. I had developed a soft spot for him and felt a sense of warmth and ingenuity whenever he spoke. After that night, I had developed a dream of someday meeting him.  In the summer of 2010, my musical soundtrack was devoted entirely to ELP. It seemed as though I could not get through an entire day without playing the Tarkus suite or Brain Salad Surgery. In October of that year, I found Greg’s website and his Q &A page. Because we had balcony seats for Keith and Greg’s show, I was not able to ask him a question during the Q&A portion of the show, so I felt I would take a chance and see if he would answer. I wasn’t getting my hopes up though, since I figured he had a lot of questions from people. But then, one day, I got an unexpected surprise: he replied. It went like this:

Question

Hello Greg. I am a 13 year old girl who has been playing guitar for almost two years and am greatly influenced by your music. Getting the chance to see you and Keith in concert on your recent tour was very important to me and a night I will never forget. I wanted the opportunity to ask you a question during the Q&A part of the show but sadly could not because I was located on the upper level. My question was: What was your inspiration for Tarkus (my favorite ELP album)?

Answer

Dear friend,

Firstly I am most impressed that at such a young age you are able to appreciate and enjoy such a complex piece of music as Tarkus. The initial inspiration for this record came from the music that Keith had written. Following on from this I wrote various songs and worked together with Keith and Carl as a producer to create the record you now hear. Tarkus has been the backbone performance piece for ELP for almost four decades now and has certainly stood the test of time. It is one of the best examples of the musical genius of Keith Emerson as a composer and of the band ELP working and performing together at the very top of their game.

Thank you for you interest and support and next time you come along to see a show just make sure you write to Eileen at this website in advance, ( with your name) and she will arrange for you to come back stage and I will introduce you to Keith and you can ask him about the piece personally.

Best wishes,

Greg.

(Oct-09-10)

I couldn’t believe it. Greg Lake had answered MY question. It totally made my night, and I had developed a new appreciation for him. After that, I was determined to meet him. At the end of 2011, a devastating year for me, I received some happy news: Greg would be coming to the US in spring of 2012 with a tour called Songs of a Lifetime. Now is my chance, I thought. I immediately contacted Eileen and showed her the transcript of my exchange with Greg. She replied that she would be happy to help me out. We scored sixth row seats for his show on May 18, 2012 at the Orpheum. I was also thrilled to hear that some of my best music friends were also going to be attending.

May 18, 2012 remains today as one of the best nights of my life. That night, I, along with my dad and good friends, got to hear stories from a voice that contained so much wisdom and a lifetime of experience. That same night, at 15 years old, my dream to meet Greg was realized. We waited about 2 hours for him, so by the time he came out, it was well after midnight. However, I will never forget the love, warmth and generosity he showed my friends and me. Even though it was 12:30 am and quite cold outside, he kept on smiling and made sure he met everyone.  For a precious 5 minutes, I was able to talk to Greg as a person. That is something that I would never forget.

I knew that, one day, I would have to write this entry. I knew one day, I would wake up to the news that Greg was no longer with us. This has to be the most difficult entry I have ever written, because I was fortunate enough to experience Greg as more than just a musician. I was able to see what he was like as a person, as another human being. Meeting him remains one of the highlights of my life, and I will always remember the big hug he gave me before and after our conversation. It is bittersweet to be writing this, since the last thing he told me was that we would see each other again someday. I cry at the realization that there is no possibility of that now. I also cry at the realization that I will never know the answer to why Trilogy was his most cherished ELP album. To be honest, in spite of everything bad that is going on in the world, I always took comfort in knowing that Greg was still with us. If anything bad ever happened, I always told myself, “Well, it’s not all bad. Greg Lake is still alive.” I realize that the days of me saying such a thing are over now.

Grief is a feeling that I have grown to be very familiar with in the last 5 years. In that time, I have experienced the loss of family, friends, and certain musicians that I looked up to. I guess it’s the price I pay for loving these older rock bands as much as I do. I get less time to enjoy them while they are still here. However, at the same time, I am eternally grateful to have been able to see many of them perform live. The Emerson and Lake show as well as the Songs of a Lifetime are now very special memories for me. I will always remember the love, warmth, and grace Greg put into each song, and each lyric. I will always remember the fact that his music managed to bring so many people into my life. Through his music, we connected with one another and formed some truly special bonds that I hold dear to me. That is what continuously blows me away about the power of music.

Today had me thinking of the famous ELP line, “Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends.” To me, the show truly will never end, as long as the music continues to be played. The same can be said about Bowie, Prince, Chris Squire, Keith, and all the other musicians that have left us, or who eventually will leave us. The artist may be gone, but the art lives on forever.

Rest in eternal peace, Greg. There will truly never be another one like you. I will never forget you.

Love,

J Michelle