Courtesy of Popdose.

Minutes before leaving for the airport to return to D.C., my mom – shoutout to Pam – wrote me a list of the music she grew up listening to. Of course, as a teenager in the 1970s, she loved Fleetwood Mac, Jethro Tull, and Genesis, to name a few, but for her one group in particular stood out among the rest: Emerson, Lake & Palmer. 

While waiting to board the plane, I did some research on the group and listened to their most famous songs. Formed by Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, and Carl Palmer, the British trio found major success in the early ’70s, playing major stadiums and famous venues across the world. Though primarily known as a rock band, their sound was influenced by other major genres, including classical and jazz, which they incorporated with organs and synthesizers, two sounds that would become popular in ’70s rock.

Perhaps their most famous song to date is “Lucky Man,‰” released in 1970 on their self-titled debut album. Although it didn‰’t rank as high on the charts as “From the Beginning,‰” a single released on their third album Trilogy, its popularity stemmed from the unique songwriting approach the band used that would ultimately set the song apart from mainstream rock and roll.

The story of “Lucky Man” story is this: close to completing their first album in 1970, the band realized they did not have enough material to complete the contract requirements of 21 minutes of music per LP side. However, the band had already recorded all of the songs they had. With no new material and a deadline coming up quick, Greg Lake began to play a song he wrote when he was just 12 years old. The song sounded very different than what the band had been used to playing, but with no other choice, Emerson, Lake and Palmer began improvising the arrangement to the lyrics and eventually completed the track. According to the band, Emerson‰’s unique Moog synthesizer solo toward the end was his first take and was recorded without Emerson‰’s knowledge of the tape running. It became one of the earliest instances of a Moog synthesizer solo in a rock song.

The piece itself is relaxing yet uplifting, unique yet familiar. Though Emerson, Lake & Palmer would never receive the type of attention that other rock groups like the Stones or the Beatles would enjoy, their music and specifically “Lucky Man‰” certainly contributed to the growing influence of rock and roll on the music industry and society itself in the early 1970s.