Emerson Has Early Lead In Keyboard Poll
Thursday May 18, 2006
Keith Emerson (Emerson Lake & Palmer) holds a commanding lead (42%) in the voting so far in our About Classic Rock poll of your favorite keyboard players. The nearest contender (15%) is the Doors' Ray Manzarek. You can give your favorite keys player some recognition by voting for your favorite. If your favorite isn't listed, you can post your comment here or in the About Classic Rock Discussion Forum.
(Graphic © 2006 Dave White, licensed to About.com)
Comments
A poll of Classic Rock Keyboardists without the name Rick Wakeman? Absurd.
you also forgot to put ken hensley, ex-uriah heep, in your poll
I think Garth Hudson from “The Band” should be on the list he was the greatest keyboardists ever and all around music genuis!!!!!!!
And where’s Tony Banks from Genesis?
Dropping the ball on classic rock man!
Elton John is the best of them all. Just go see him live in concert.
Elton John is a songwriter, not a great rock keyboardist…lmao
You forgot to put in the list a lot of great keyboardists such as Rick Wakeman, Tony Banks, Rick Van Der Linden, Vittorio Nocenzi and many many others.
my personal list is Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson, Patrick Moraz, Ray Manzarek, Rick Wright, Tony Banks, John Lord, Tony Kaye, Vangelis, Steve Winwood, Mike Pinder .. and there are a bunch of others thatI’m bound to have forgotten. Elton John is a brilliant Rock Keyboard player, but I feel the guys on my list really established the role of the Keyboard player as something way more exciting than just an accompanist for the rest of the band.
Well, well, well, that old fight again about who is THE best keyboard player of all time. But when will people realise that every musician deserves respect from us fans. May it be Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, Geoff Downes or Igor Korouschev, each and everyone of them have done some great music and left their mark on the rock list, so they all deserve to be on the best keyboard poll. I mean, I remember when albums like
Well, well, well, that old fight about who is THE best keyboard player of all time, when will people realise that each musician deserves the title in its own right ? May it be Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, Jurgen Fritz or Igor Korouschev, each and everone of them has left his mark on the rock scene and none should be left apart. I mean, I remember when I discovered music way back when, I set my eyes on records by EGG for instance with David Stewart on keys, or Triumvirat with the wizard Jurgen Fritz, and how about Mike Ratledge from the late Soft Machine ? If there was such a thing as a poll for the best keyboard player of all time, what would happen to the memory of all the others who were forgotten, would it mean that their work was less important than the one chosen ? As the title of a Nice album said it ; ” Ars Longa Vita Brevis ” , time passes but the work remains…
keith emerson no doubt i’m a player myself and i know what means playing with both hands(by the way rick wakeman plays as if he had only one hand instead)but there are some other who should appear on top of the list. how about kit watkins of happy the man or duncan mackay or mark robertson of cairo.listen to believe…
Hi ! Well, here we go again with that ” Who is the best keyboard player ” thing, don’t you get it ? There is NO such thing as THE best pianist or keyboardist of all time, simply because each and everyone of them has talent and something really personal that belongs to no one else. Just like everyday people that you cross on the street, musicians are different from each other and they all have something important to say, it is to us to sit back and listen… In our everyday lives, there are some people that we like and we are glad to meet them and listen to whatever they have to say, and there are other people that we will never even talk to because we are not interested in them, but that doesn’t mean that they are no good or anything, it’s just that we choose who we go to, it is a question of choosing the right people for each and everyone of us. You see, I’ve just listened to an old song by Emerson, Lake & Palmer called ” Take a pebble “, what a bautiful piece of art, the long piano improvisation in it makes me chiver even after 37 years that it’s been written, does that mean that I should say that all the rest of those pianists are no good because I like a certain kind of music ? This would be ridiculous, wouldn’t it, so yes Keith Emerson remains a great pianist and keyboardist, but so are Rick Wakeman, Elton John or the guy who lives next door and that we may never hear of, simply because they all have something in common, the love of art and they want to share it with somebody else, at whatever level whatsoever, so please let’s open our mind a bit and give them the respect and recognition that they all deserve. Thank you…
No Tony Bank or Rick Wakeman. Lame list, I vote no one.
On the level of composition and impromptu you are right Daniel. I know how feel about these comparisons it tends to make art into a sport. Having said that there are keyboardist whose abilities are harder to copy than others, For example if my band wanted me to learn a difficult Wakeman piece it would be hard work but I could do it however if they wanted me to do Keith Emerson’s 2nd impression I’d tell them straight It’s not gonna happen. I think this is what people are talking about degree of difficulty. Having these abilities doesn’t always make beautiful music.
To Crabber – Elton John has written some good songs but as a keyboardist there is nothing to learn from him. He’s just a keyboard banger. His mock classical style is unrefined. I would except Billy Joel before Elton John.
There is something wrong with the people who vote in this ‘poll’. Billy Preston getting only 5% of the votes? He has been part of or did major touring with The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Brother Ray, Clapton, Little Richard, The Band and many other R&R HOF’ers. For Gods sake, he was known as ‘The King of The Hammond B-3! I’ll bet that if he played cRap music he’d be in the R&R HOF!