2016 has proven itself to be the year of the Reaper, with another major icon from the 60's and the 70's, typically from music, dying every other week. The latest victim of the scythe is Greg Lake, a bassist/singer from two major progressive bands, ELP (Emerson, Lake, and Palmer), and the legendary King Crimson. With these two acts, Lake played an essential role in the creation of progressive and symphonic rock, helping to introduce jazz and classical influences into popular music at large.

My personal connection with Greg Lake goes back to when I left high school. That was the summer when I first discovered King Crimson, and started listening to their debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King (sadly, the only album which featured Greg Lake as the band's bassist/singer). After a couple of months at college, I ran into psychological problems that required me to drop out and take a break from school for a couple of years. During this time, I became obsessed with In the Court of the Crimson King, regularly listening to the entire album. This really helped me to get through a difficult time, and also gave me an early influence for bass, which I had just recently taken up. For that, I'm always going to be grateful to Greg Lake.