CHAIRMAN OF THE KEYBOARD

With a new illustrated account of his life, Keith Emerson, out now, the partner of ELP's keyboard virtuoso, Mari Kawaguchi, and his son, Aaron Emerson, tell us his story via 12 key images from the book, all the way from 1966 right up to his death in 2016.

Gary Farr and T-Bones in 1966. From left to right: Keith Emerson (keyboards), Lee Jackson (bass), Alan Turner (drums), Gary Farr (vocals), David "Cy" Langston (guitar).

Mari Kawaguchi: Gary Farr and T-Bones were a Brighton-based British rhythm and blues band who had a Friday residency at the famed Marquee Club in London. Gary Farr (19441994) was the third child of Tommy Farr, a Welsh champion heavyweight boxer. Keith stayed in the band from September 1965 until the end of 1966. During his tenure with the band, they toured with Manfred Mann and The Yardbirds. Keith and Lee Jackson went on to form The Nice, and David "Cy" Langston became a long-time tour manager of The Who. Keith remained friends with Jackson and Langston until his death. Cy often met up with Keith at the Rainbow Bar and Grill in Los Angeles. Cy passed away in 2021.

Keith waving an American flag during The Nice’s rendition of Leonard Bernstein’s America at The Eighth National Jazz and Blues Festival at Kempton Park Racecourse in Sunbury, UK, August 1968.

MK: It was a protest against the violence in the United States, such as the assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy, civil rights unrest and Vietnam war. A month earlier, in July 1968, Keith famously set the paper-drawn American flag on fire at the antiapartheid concert at the Royal Albert Hall in attendance of the American ambassador to Britain. The band was immediately taken offstage and indefinitely banned from the venue. On the eve of their US tour in 1968, Keith and The Nice manager Tony Stratton Smith had to swear to the US Embassy that no more flags would be burnt. The incendiary incident helped the single, America, to reach No 21 in the UK chart.

Rehearsing or recording on his Hammond organ with The Nice.