Greg Lake was born in Poole, Dorset, and first learned to play guitar aged 12. He came to prominence as a founding member of King Crimson. He was a school friend of guitarist Robert Fripp, who invited Lake to join the new band and take on the tasks of lead singer and bass player. Lake was primarily a guitarist, but agreed to switch to bass at Fripp's request. Lake had some involvement in writing the lyrics for King Crimson's debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King, although Peter Sinfield was the primary lyricist. Aside from being the lead singer and bass player, Lake also ended up producing the album after their contracted producer, Tony Clarke, walked away from the project.
"In the Court of the Crimson King", released in 1969, made King Crimson far more successful than any of Fripp and Lake's earlier projects (such as the Shy Limbs or Giles, Giles and Fripp), and became a key influence and landmark in the emerging progressive rock genre. Lake's vocals, which ranged from serene and soothing to acerbic and distorted, were a striking element of the album. However, Lake stayed with King Crimson for only about a year, leaving soon after their debut album to start the rock trio Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Though at Fripp's request, Lake provided the vocals for King Crimson's second album, In the Wake of Poseidon.
King Crimson played a couple of venues with The Nice, during which Lake struck up a friendship with The Nice's precocious keyboardist Keith Emerson. Lake and Emerson eventually teamed up and brought in the drummer from The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and Atomic Rooster, Carl Palmer—forming the progressive rock 'supergroup' Emerson Lake & Palmer (ELP). Lake contributed acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, lyrics, vocals and production work to the band. The trio did not make use of external producers for any of their albums in the 1970s, nor did they employ session players for studio work or live performances. During concerts, Lake would play acoustic guitar, electric guitar or bass as required. Beginning with the 1973 album Brain Salad Surgery, Lake did collaborate with Peter Sinfield to write lyrics.
ELP sold more than 30 million albums in the 1970s, and made a significant musical contribution to the evolution of progressive rock. Lake co-wrote many of ELP's songs but was known for his guitar-oriented, soulful ballads. On their debut album (Emerson, Lake & Palmer), Lake included an acoustic song (with a keyboard outro hastily recorded by Emerson) called "Lucky Man", based on a poem he had written at the age of 12. In determining the direction of the band, Lake's focus on ballads, radio-friendly material and "down-to-earth" compositions contrasted sharply with Emerson's desire to create rock symphonies and polyphonic, poly-rhythmic suites. Their collaboration led to ELP creating albums with an eclectic mixture of classical pieces, ballads, hard rock songs and epic-length suites.
In 1975, while still a member of ELP, Lake achieved solo chart success when his single, "I Believe in Father Christmas", reached number two on the UK Singles Chart. It has become a Yuletide perennial.
Lake subsequently joined Asia, briefly replacing fellow King Crimson alumnus John Wetton, and then co-formed Emerson, Lake & Powell.
In 2005, Lake toured Germany and the United Kingdom with his "Greg Lake Band" which included David Arch, Florian Opahle, Trevor Barry on bass, and Brett Morgan.
Lake performed "Karn Evil 9" with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra at several shows. He was a special guest on the album Night Castle (2009).
In 2010, he toured with Keith Emerson, from which came the live album Live from Manticore Hall. In 2012, Lake toured England, The United States and Italy with the "Songs Of A Lifetime" show. He played a career retrospective, along with select covers, for small audiences.
On 25 July 2010, Lake joined Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer for what was to be the final live concert by Emerson, Lake and Palmer, at the High Voltage rock festival, in Victoria Park, London. The entire concert was later released as the double-CD live album, High Voltage.
In late June 2013 Lake was invited to star at Genoa's International Poetry Festival where he performed a reading of "Pirates", a drama piece in music he wrote with Peter Sinfield, then performed some of his classic songs.
On 9 January 2016 he was awarded an honorary degree in music and lyrics composition by Conservatorio Nicolini in Piacenza, Italy, the first degree awarded by the conservatory.
Lake died following a lengthy battle with cancer on 7 December 2016 at the age of 69.
Discography
Solo
Greg Lake with Gary Moore (1981) US #62; UK No. 62
Manoeuvres with Gary Moore (1983) US No. 209
Ride the Tiger with Geoff Downes (2015)
Live albums
King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Greg Lake in Concert (aka Nuclear Attack/Live/In Concert) with Gary Moore (1995)
Greg Lake (2007)
Songs of a Lifetime (2013)
Live from Manticore Hall with Keith Emerson (2014)
Compilations
The Greg Lake Retrospective: From The Beginning (1997)
From The Underground: The Official Bootleg (1998)
From The Underground 2 : Deeper Into The Mine : An Official Greg Lake Bootleg (2003)
Singles
I Believe in Father Christmas (1975)
C'est La Vie (1977)
Watching Over You (1977)
Love You Too Much (1981)
Let Me Love You Once (1981)
It Hurts/Retribution Drive (1982)
Famous Last Words (1983)
DVDs
Greg Lake: Live In Concert (2006)
Welcome Backstage (2006)
with the Shame
singles
Don't Go Away Little Girl/Dreams Don't Bother Me (1967)
with Shy Limbs
singles
Reputation/Love (1968; side B only)
with King Crimson
In the Court of the Crimson King (October 1969); US No. 28 UK No. 5
In the Wake of Poseidon (May 1970); US No. 31 UK No. 4
Epitaph (1997)
with Emerson, Lake and Palmer
The discography of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, an English progressive rock band, includes 9 studio albums, 17 live albums, 13 compilation albums, and 13 singles.
with Asia
Enso Kai (2001), Recorded live at the Budokan in Tokyo, Japan, on 6 December 1983.
with Emerson, Lake and Powell
Emerson, Lake & Powell (1986)
The Sprocket Sessions (2003(An Official Bootleg), 2010(Reissue))
Live in Concert (2003(An Official Bootleg), 2010(Reissue))
Live in Concert & More... (2012), 2CDs Contains 2 previously released official bootlegs, Live in Concert and The Sprocket Sessions
Lucky Man
Greg Lake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And ladies by the score
All dressed in satin
And waiting by the door
Ooh, what a lucky man he was
White lace and feathers
A gold covered mattress
On which he was laid
He went to fight wars
For his country and his king
Of his honor and his glory
The people would sing
A bullet had found him
His blood ran as he cried
No money could save him
So he laid down and he died
The song "Lucky Man" by Greg Lake is a reflection on the brevity of life and the fleeting moments of happiness that one may experience before passing away. The singer of the song is wealthy and privileged, with white horses and ladies in satin by his side. He lives a life of luxury, surrounded by white lace and feathers, and sleeps on a gold-covered mattress. However, his life is cut short when he dies on the battlefield. The lyrics convey a sense of loss and regret for the things the singer will never experience again, such as the love of his ladies and the beauty of his possessions.
The central message of "Lucky Man" is that life can end abruptly and without warning, even for those who seem to have it all. The chorus, "Ooh, what a lucky man he was," is a ironic statement, implying that material wealth and external validation do not necessarily equate to true happiness or fulfillment. The singer's honor and glory are reduced to the people's singing, and ultimately, he dies alone and helpless. The song serves as a commentary on the fragile nature of life and the importance of cherishing the moments that truly matter.
Line by Line Meaning
He had white horses
He had the privilege of owning valuable possessions
And ladies by the score
He was surrounded by a lot of women
All dressed in satin
The women he was surrounded with were well-dressed
And waiting by the door
The women were eagerly waiting to meet him
Ooh, what a lucky man he was
He considered himself fortunate with his life's events
White lace and feathers
Luxurious materials that made up his bed
They made up his bed
He rested on an extravagant bed
A gold covered mattress
His bed had a mattress with a gold cover
On which he was laid
He used to sleep on that bed
He went to fight wars
He joined the army to fight in wars
For his country and his king
His patriotism was the reason he went to war
Of his honor and his glory
The fame he got after winning wars were reasons for people's praise
The people would sing
People would celebrate him for his bravery
A bullet had found him
He was shot by a bullet
His blood ran as he cried
He was in pain and had lost a lot of blood
No money could save him
The wealth he had couldn't save him from his wounds
So he laid down and he died
He couldn't survive the injury and died laying down
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, BMG Rights Management
Written by: Gregory Lake
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
TheNumberisSix
Imagine a musician with a great voice, actually playing an instrument and really singing. No Auto-Tune. No lip-syncing. No recorded backing tracks. REAL music. Awesome beautiful music. What a concept.
ALEX CHIMIENTI
Imagine that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stanis Louse
It's always been that way.
Robert Pickguard
Far too much reverb.
TheNumberisSix
It has always been that way...for real musicians. But in many cases, today's music industry no longer has a need for musicians. "Music" is created with beat tracks and sampled sounds. Singing is processed through Auto-Tune so a good voice is not needed. And live "concerts" for almost all "pop stars" are essentially dance performances with "singers" lip-syncing to backing tracks. I few years ago, I used to say that if you were watching more dancers on the stage than musicians, then you are not attending a "concert." Now, you don't even see musicians on the stage in the first place. The backing tracks are more than enough for the dancers at the "concert."
Joe Baxley
That would be Greg.
Whitdogg D
An acoustic guitar, a mic, a stool and a Rock God
Photo Not Available
and a piece of chewing gum.
Lisa Moroney
Yes. And gum. Go figure . What a voice he had 😓
Sundancer6
Ooooooo ... what a lucky man he was. RIP Greg