Performers
unit as one of most progressive o era' From
this point on, groUp Were dogged by series o
personnel changes/upheavals.
An
'1
-day US tour in November/December
969 took its toll; on return to London both
Giles and McDonald quit. While seeking
permanent line-up, Fripp employed a number
o session men/friends to complete second
Poseidon. Giles
LP ln The Wake
0f
returned as bassist, jazzer Keith lippett
played piano, Mel Collins added saxophone
and Gordon HaskeIl contributed vocals' Sinield
was by this time credited as lyricist, light
show operator and synthesiser player. Prior
to atbum's release Frlpp had declined invila-
US
Sin$es:
---
,l ls Gone,
UK
1E
970
{selected}:
-: lhe Regale (MCA/HMV),
965
King (MCA/
1
The Electric B B
1S69
:,-i Well {MCA/ABC), 1970
:.,::
":-
ttu,- - ::ely Well (MCA/ABC), I 970
hr; :: look County Jail {MCA/Probe),
r" . - TL^
tIrni /^Dnl I o7Q
(l\ilCA/ABC),
tul,
The Alley
^il^,,
]I_t ::st 0 B. B' King
{-iAce
around 13 million units over course of next
1971
r,; i,re Tender {MCA), 1982
firili . London {with the Crusaders)
(MCA),
It
York,
oar:er: Played piano from age
our; smitten
':,-( 'n' roll in early teens, started hanging
in
rome0 own group l|
ur- :]'cck'n'r0llsnows.
ur!.'
: -lck'n'roll shows, Formed
illtr.
Ater school' attended oueen's
':hool.
'k ;;:, where she met aspirant songwriter
I
ilr :- - ar h usband) Geny G offin. Personal and
-:i collaboration ollowed, resulting
in
You Still Love Me Tomorrow;
mil:-::d by Shirelles, song made No. 1 in US
un: rr:. 3 in UK.
_:='n and King then became part o'Btill
_g'
stable o writers under aegis o
nr:-' :'eneur/publisher Don Kirshner. During
1rri ::riod pair wrote seemingly endless
m':: of classic hits, including Up 0n The
;nfl when My Little Girl !s $miling
rnri _':ers()), Take Good Carc 0 My Baby
rrlr : _ :by Vee{)), One Fine Day or Chifons
i} rlallway To Paradise or Tony 0rlando
ur:: : ]y Fury()), Every Breath l Take or
)itney{)) and The Locomotion or
Itr ; i , a (actually pai/s babysitter, Eva Boyd).
:
L-.
- :. Kirshner launched King as solo record-
llu .:ist in 1962 with !t Might As Well
furrn Until $eptember. Despite this internr' __al hit, follow-ups were not successul
ifi: '
tig was not to make serious attempt to
mr-:-e artist as well as writer until end o
mi,.::. Having moved to West Coast, in l 970
lt,,-: ':corded irst solo album, Writer.
--:ugh
not huge success, it Paved waY
oerinq, Tapestly, which was to
fie.]]-e one o most successul albums ever'
;. : :sed in I 971, Tapestry stuck chord with
mi:.sychedelic generation with its emphasis
ll' ' -ple lie and values' Spawning clutch o
:'
-=(
nri : :gles, it wenl on to sell somewhere
about a possible 'cash in' on the King Crimson
name.
McCullough quit.
Fripp and SinieId again restructured group,
with Mel Collins, lan Wallace {drums) and Boz
Burrell, a singer whom Fripp taught to play
bass. Following release of lslands, SinieId
let to reappear as Roxy Music's()) producer.
Their work continues to command respect,
attracting younger audiences as well as the
old die-hards. Though unlikely to make any
impact on the development o rock at this
stage, Crimson have demonstrated that
reJormation need not necessarily imply
o remaininO members, leaving live Earthbound as
final comment.
lhe ever-eccentric hipp returnedto England
and, following period o hibernation, intro'
duced another unit, comprising Bill Bruord
{ormer Yes drummer), bassist John Wefton
retrogression.
Less than successfuI US tour kilIed
curent line-up: Fripp, guitar, keyboards;
Bil| Bruord, drums; Adrian $g|gW, guitar;
Tony Levin, bass.
Albums:
tunateIy, Muir quit, leaving our-piece Crimson
2
S
to record acceptable $tarless And Bible
Black.
ln July 1974, Crimson closed tour with
concert at NY's Central Park, captured or
posteity on second live album, U$A' ln
September, Fripp officially announced that
Crimson no longer existed. A posthumous
album, Red, was released in 1974 and saw
return o original member lan Mc[)onald.
Few would disagree that Crimson split at
th e
right time; they would have been in danger
o losing
Thoroughbred (0de), 1 976
'1977
Simple Things lCapitol),
Welcome Home (Capitol), 1978
credibility had they continued. Unlike
their contemporaries, group managed
Greatest Hits (0de), 1 978
Touch The Sky {Capitol), I 979
Pearls
Songs 0f Gofin & King (Capito|)'
980
982
King Crimson
UK group ormed 1 969'
Original line-up: Robert Fripp,
then, group have laid any misconceptions
Tapestry [0de), 1 972
'1972
Music {0de),
Rhymes And Reasons {0de), 1 972
Fantasy {0de), 1 973
Wrap Around Joy (0de), 1974
band, or both. Beat, released following year,
was first Crimson studio album to have same
personnel on two consecutive releases. Since
Albums:
{guitar/lead vocal), Bobert Fripp (guitar/
devices!), Tony Levin {bass/vocals) and Bill
Bruord (drums}. Album Discipline was released in September 1981 amid critical
arguments about whether Crimson were an
anachronism, a seminal progressive rock
ln The Wake 0 Poseidon {lsland)'
Writer (0de), 1970
()ne To ()ne (Atlantic),
ln 'l981, Fripp took unusual step o reforming King Crimson with Adrian Belew
promise o Iine-up was ully revealed on
excellent Lark's Tongue ln Aspic and
vindicated in concert perormances. Unor-
14
mlr
i_
'l
ollowing recording sessions Haskell and
Bowie()) also attracted great interest, leading
nelrrfound respect rom previous detractors'
to
ln The Courl 0f The Crimson King (lsland),
UK
22
:ry 9, 1 942.
': lVill
September,1962
noticeable improvement on predecessor, but
orated on No Pussyooting and Evening
Star). Work with Peter Gabriel{)) and David
{ex-Family())), percussionist James Muir and
Davrd Cross (violin/mellotron). The power and
Might As Well Rain Untll
1971
So Far Away, 1971
Sweet Seasons, 972
Jazzman,1974
Nightingale, 975
-rposer, vocalist, pianist.
lrrn_'
US
It's Too Late,
role King
1l'l_
974,
good pop songs' Not one o the great singers,
King is nevertheless convincing interpreter of
Hit Singles:
S70
larole Klein, Brooklyn, New
seltpenned material.
Searching 0ut"
-:ia Mississippi {MCA/ABC),
in
and equally valid body of work from early '60s
ensue continued veneration among ans of
lh':- ::bby Bland;
lltu;; :r For The First Time (MCA), 1S74
lfimqr er Asain {MCA}, 1976
-'
Uazman
Nightingale in 1975). However, Tapestry
,az
rmi
decade.
After Tapestry, King never quite achieved
same heights. Despite recording and working
live with varying success, she only had two
urther major hits as artist
973
Cadet)'
',:
Above: Carole King exchanged a caree
as a top notch songwriter or equal fame
in the t 970s as a ocording artist in he]
own right.
tions to ioin Yes()) and Aynsley Dunbas
Blue Whale. Lukewarm response afforded
Poseidon meantthat onlY Collins and Haskell
Were retained or third album, aided by
drummer Andy JMcCullough. Lizard was
innovative progressive rock groups was aided
by Fripp's forays into avant garde3nd ambient
music. Between 1 S74 80, Fripp worked with
number o artists, most notably Eno{)) {collab-
guitar,
mellotron; lan McDonald, reeds, keyboards;
Greg Lake, bass, vocals; Peter Sinfield,
lyricist; Mike Giles, drums.
Carcel:
Evolved rom Giles, Giles And Fripp'
recorded
two singles and one barely noticed album,
a pop_influenced trio rom Dorset that
The Cheerful Insanity 0f Giles Giles And
Fripp, Group split in November 1 968, Peter
Giles temporarily quitting business; brother
Mike and Fripp ounded King Crimson' With
new members McDonald and Lake {aided by
lyricist Sinield) rehearsals were compIeted
below cae in Londons Fulham Road. Debut
,1969)
gig at Speakeasy (April
established
small cult ollowing, dramatically increased
ollowing appearance at Rolling Stones'{)}
celebrated Hyde Park concert in July, First
album ln The Couft 0 The Ctimson King
received ecstatic response and established
to
avoid worst excesses o self-indulgent '70s
art rock. Their reputation as one of truly
S6S
1
970
Lizard {lsland), 1970
lslands (lsland), 1 971
Earthbound {lsland), 1 972
Lark's Tongue ln Aspic {lsland), 1973
Starless And Bible Black (lsland), 1974
Red {lsland), 1974
USA {lsland), 1 975
A Young Person's Guide To King Crimson
(lsland), 1 976
Discipline {EG/Polydor), 1 981
Beat {EG/Polydor), 1 982
flobert Fripp with Andy Sunners:
I Advance Masked {A&M}, 1982
Below: 0ne o the many line'ups ol King
Crimson' ormed in the'60s by guitalist
Bobert Flipp' let.
