Greg Lake, a cofounder of the British rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, died at the age of 69 on Wednesday, December 7, manager Stewart Young confirmed.
Young announced the news on Lake’s official Facebook page on Thursday. “Yesterday, December 7th, I lost my best friend to a long and stubborn battle with cancer,” he wrote. “Greg Lake will stay in my heart forever, as he has always been. His family would be grateful for privacy during this time of their grief.”
Lake’s bandmate Carl Palmer also spoke out about his longtime friend. “Greg’s soaring voice and skill as a musician will be remembered by all who knew his music and recordings he made with ELP and King Crimson,” the 66-year-old drummer told Rolling Stone in a statement. “I have fond memories of those great years we had in the 1970s and many memorable shows we performed together.”
Lake’s death comes just nine months after the passing of their fellow bandmate Keith Emerson. Emerson, the group’s keyboardist, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at his Santa Monica, California, home in March. He was 71.
“Having lost Keith this year as well has made this particularly hard for all of us,” Palmer added in his statement. “As Greg sang at the end of Pictures at an Exhibition, ‘death is life.’ His music can now live forever in the hearts of all who loved him.”
The trio formed the progressive band in 1970, with Lake as the singer and bassist. They released six platinum-selling albums and sold more than 48 million records. They briefly disbanded in 1979, reunited in 1991 and went on to tour in 2010.
Some of their greatest hits include “Lucky Man,” “Karn Evil 9,” “Fanfare for the Common Man” and “From the Beginning.” In 1975, Lake released the single “I Believe in Father Christmas” as a solo artist.
Lake is survived by his wife, Regina, and daughter, Natasha.
