Lucky Man (Emerson, Lake & Palmer song)
| "Lucky Man" | |||||||||
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| Single by Emerson, Lake & Palmer | |||||||||
| from the album Emerson, Lake & Palmer | |||||||||
| B-side | Knife-Edge | ||||||||
| Released | 1970 | ||||||||
| Format | 7" | ||||||||
| Length | 3:33 (single version) 4:36 (album version) |
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| Label | Cotillion 44106 | ||||||||
| Writer(s) | Greg Lake | ||||||||
| Producer(s) | Greg Lake | ||||||||
| Emerson, Lake & Palmer singles chronology | |||||||||
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"Lucky Man" is a song by the English progressive rock supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer, from the group's 1970 self-titled debut album. Written by Greg Lake when he was 12 years old and recorded by the trio using improvised arrangements, the song contains one of rock music's earliest instances of a Moog synthesizer solo. "Lucky Man" was released as a single in 1970 and reached the top 20 in the Netherlands. The song also charted in the United States and Canada. The single was re-released in 1973 and charted again in the U.S. and Canada.
The origin of the song, as stated by Greg Lake in interviews, is that it was the first song he wrote, when his mother bought him a guitar at the age of 12. With the first chords he learned (D, A minor, E minor, and G), he wrote an acoustic version of the song. The song came to be used on ELP's debut album when they needed one more song. Greg played the version he had written from childhood, and the rest of the band did not like it, or feel it would fit. Lake then worked on it in the studio with Carl Palmer. Lake added numerous overdubs of bass, triple-tracked acoustic guitars, electric guitar, and harmony vocals until it sounded like a record. This version of the song is featured on the deluxe edition, it has a second electric guitar solo in place of where Emerson would later overdub his Moog solo. Keith Emerson was impressed enough to feel he could contribute. He used his newly purchased Moog synthesizer to experiment and come up with the now famous Moog solo at the end of the song, which was recorded in one take.
Unlike several songs on the album, which use a distorted fuzz bass to sound like a guitar, "Lucky Man" is an acoustic ballad. The lyrics tell the story of a man who had everything, went to war, and died. A Moog synthesizer solo, recorded in one take, is performed by Keith Emerson at the end of song, making it one of the first rock compositions in which a Moog was a featured solo instrument. The solo begins as an ominous drone on a low D before leaping up two octaves and using the glide control throughout.
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