Pick a Day

Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake & Palmer is born in Todmorden, Yorkshire, England, where his family has been evacuated during World War II. He grows up in Worthing, Sussex, learning classical piano but later expanding into rock and jazz.

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & Palmer is born in Poole, Dorset, England.

Drummer Carl Palmer is born in Birmingham, England. At age 20, he gets the gig with Greg Lake and Keith Emerson, who choose him over Mitch Mitchell for their band Emerson, Lake & Palmer.More

At the Fillmore West in San Francisco, Keith Emerson's band The Nice shares a bill with Greg Lake's band, King Crimson. The pair enjoy a jam session before the show and discuss a partnership, which with the addition of Carl Palmer from Atomic Rooster, becomes Emerson, Lake and Palmer.

The Isle of Wight Festival hits its stride on Day 4 (of 5), with performances by Miles Davis, The Doors and The Who. Joni Mitchell's set is interrupted by a hippie named Yogi Joe who has to be removed by security. It also features Emerson, Lake And Palmer in only their second live performance, which is later released as the album Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970.More

At Plymouth Guildhall in England, Emerson, Lake & Palmer perform for the first time. They play to a far larger audience four days later at the the Isle Of Wight Festival.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer play their adaptation of Mussorgsky's classical piece "Pictures At An Exhibition" at Newcastle City Hall in England. The performance is released as a live album later that year.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer release their second album, Tarkus. The creature on the cover is a weaponized armadillo.More

Emerson, Lake and Palmer keyboard player Keith Emerson injures his hands when a rigged piano explodes prematurely during a San Francisco gig, leaving him with minor cuts and a broken fingernail.

The Emerson, Lake & Palmer film Pictures At An Exhibition, taken from a 1970 performance at the Lyceum in London, opens in theaters. The album of the same name is taken from a later performance.

Emerson, Lake, & Palmer release their fourth studio album, Brain Salad Surgery, featuring the live showstopper "Karn Evil 9."

The Eagles, Earth, Wind & Fire, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Emerson, Lake and Palmer play to a crowd of 200,000 at the California Jam in Ontario, California.

At Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky, Emerson, Lake & Palmer begin an extravagant, 11-month tour with a 70-piece orchestra, 63 roadies, a choir and a karate instructor for drummer Carl Palmer. The tour is a stunning spectacle, but a financial disaster.

Emerson, Lake And Palmer publicly announce their breakup.

Emerson, Lake And Palmer receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Keith Emerson, the keyboard player and primary music composer in Emerson, Lake & Palmer, dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at age 71.