Steve Porcaro talking about Keith Emerson

This happened after he sang 'Bend' in Osaka (Archaic Hall, Amagasaki, Japan) on March 12th 2016, 2 days after Keith Emerson passed away.

[@christophermooney9492]

I love toto There are keyboard players, but Keith Emerson was a force of Nature, way beyond most people's way of thinking. It's nice to see someone of Steve Porcaro's standing to acknowledge such a rare talent.

[@PhillipLandmeier]

I'm speechless. I know exactly what he's talking about. One of my best friends in high school attended that concert and told me about it the next day. He knew I was already a huge fan of Keith Emerson, since The Nice and was studying piano, pipe organ, and violin. And yes, Emerson was my primary musical inspiration for years, from 1970 to about 1978. 40-plus years later, I'll put on ELP and realize that no, I wasn't crazy, I wasn't imagining things or caught up in a cult mentality. This thing I was crazy about was truly genius at work. There had never been anything like this before or since.

[@bastidface]

Wow, he's really choked up. Very heartfelt. Keith Emerson was amazing.

[@mosiprop]

I loved hearing this story, Steve.. Keith was such an amazing musician and wonderful man .. he shone so brightly, it's hard to believe he's gone now .. but the sweet echoes of his wonderful life will ring through the cosmos forever.

[@robertmuske7939]

Keith was mentor. Total genius. A challenge to attempt to copy. Brilliant magical wizard of keyboards and creativity

[@toomanycats13]

Such a lovely tribute. Thank you Steve! Keith will always be my hero, too.

[@mtnnoel63]

I heard tarkas when I was 18 years old. I'd had played keyboards, and organ my mom had bought. After that Emerson Lake and Palmer changed my life. I enrolled in community college and begin taking piano lessons. After 2 years of hard practice I learn to play tarkus. And then something terrible happened, music got dumb down. No longer was anybody looking for virtuosic keyboard players.

[@scubatarkus]

A wonderful remembrance... thank you so much for sharing.

[@johnkru1295]

Nice comments Steve. I attended about 70 ELP concerts beginning in 1971 and never missed a tour.

[@StewartNicolasBILLYCONNOLLY]

Steve Porcaro, you achieved something that even Keith could not have done. You, your brothers and your band were inspirational in your own right! I saw Keith with ELP seven times and loved them as innovators and supremely talented musicians. Your band TOTO later on inspired my band Perfect Strangers, we played "ROSANNA" across Europe to US Forces during the late 80's.

[@rman52]

The goat of rock keith.

[@kmsmith49]

This is a great tribute and it speaks to the influence great musicians have on others. Too bad Keith wasn't around to hear this.

[@DaveH-10]

An amazing tribute. thanks for sharing.

[@29577gman]

What a wonderful story, wonderful tribute. Emo you are missed.

[@tahootz1]

+Gordon Chickering Hello, Gordon. That we both came to this page might suggest that we are both keyboardists. That the Chickering name is shared by both of us probably indicates we are both descendants of the famous piano family. Just want to say hello, and send my best wishes.

[@charlesnolan7602]

Thanks Steve, for this. It has been a tough several days. Thanks for sharing...

[@ian0071]

Fantastic Tribute thank you Steve Porcaro Keith influenced such a lot of people and that was a heartfelt tribute much love to you Steve

[@Majnun74]

Absolutely amazing!

[@markmarsh27]

I was also 13 when I first saw ELP. .... it was life changing experience for me too. .... They will always be irreplaceable.

[@Wulfcry]

It's good to have someone doing great things inspires someone whom recognize this greatness wanting to make his own.

[@ladyblackstardust390]

Very moving words in memory of an amazing man, musician, and magician of music.

[@musicplateau1]

There truly is the 'Emerson' scale.

[@earlthornton5689]

Thank you. Be well, stay bold

[@didierperrusset6386]

RIP Keith one of my very fav keyboardist

[@ricever1]

That was a beautiful story honoring our keyboard hero and teacher Keith Emerson. Well said , and I think you were talking about the opening notes from Keith's Moog synthesizer, maybe he played Hoedown that night in 1971 ?

[@Epistrat22]

I think he played the Barbarian for the opening number. But from the bootlegs from back then he or someone plays the Moog not really a song just different notes and patches tuning it.

[@adam872]

Well said Steve, that was a lovely tribute. Keith was one of my musical heroes too and by all accounts a top bloke as well. If it's any consolation, I reckon Steve and Dave are fantastic in Toto as well.

[@kathywheeler4679]

Beautiful tribute

[@tose917]

Steve has always been to me in a class by itself. Not only as a brilliant musician but also as a human being. Thanks Steve for that beautiful tribute to your amazing brothers and the legendary Keith Emerson. God Bless.

[@warrenrayledbetter9957]

Keith is proud of you, Steve!

[@diehard-schenker-fan7233]

Heartbreaking......

[@philging]

Very nice tribute from Steve . . Keith Emerson was a musical genius and one of my favourite artists of all time . . only just saw this on my KZbin feed.

[@roderashe]

This is so cool!

[@iluvpepi]

Steve, you’re a truly talented musician. My eyes filled with tears when you mentioned yours brothers and Keith. Thank you all for such great music. ❤️🙏🏼

[@williamhoffman2731]

in 1976 I lived in Clarence NY, a suburb of Buffalo, NY. I knew and played with Ben Luce, the son of Dave Luce. Ben was an accomplished keyboardist. Dave, Ben's father, worked with Bob Moog of "Moog Synthesizer" fame. In fact, the original Karn Evil Nine album had a poster in it, were Bob and Dave are called out specifically by the band who by then had changed the world of music using the tools developed with Emerson in Clarence/Buffalo. Rick Wakeman tells a hilarious story about the monophonic MOOG in a documentary about Bob Moog leading of course into the development by Bob, Dave, and Keith of the polyphonic instrument.Net-net, Keith Emerson and ELP were my hero's and I was given the privilege to a front row seat to the story that is announced in the beginning of the Isle of Worth concert of this documentary. I thank God for these men, and I have wept for the passing of Keith. I am also very thankful for the others who passed through those doors, Greg Lake, Carl Palmer, Rick Wakeman, Jon Anderson, the "Late" Chris Squire, and the best guitarist I know, Steve Howe. Thank you, thanks Ben, and Thanks Christ Jesus for it all. - ChipWilliam Hoffman1 second agoin 1976 I lived in Clarence NY, a suburb of Buffalo, NY. I knew and played with Ben Luce, the son of Dave Luce. Ben was an accomplished keyboardist. Dave, Ben's father, worked with Bob Moog of "Moog Synthesizer" fame. In fact, the original Karn Evil Nine album had a poster in it, were Bob and Dave are called out specifically by the band who by then had changed the world of music using the tools developed with Emerson in Clarence/Buffalo. Rick Wakeman tells a hilarious story about the monophonic MOOG in a documentary about Bob Moog leading of course into the development by Bob, Dave, and Keith of the polyphonic instrument.Net-net, Keith Emerson and ELP were my hero's and I was given the privilege to a front row seat to the story that is announced in the beginning of the Isle of Worth concert of this documentary. I thank God for these men, and I have wept for the passing of Keith. I am also very thankful for the others who passed through those doors, Greg Lake, Carl Palmer, Rick Wakeman, Jon Anderson, the "Late" Chris Squire, and the best guitarist I know, Steve Howe. Thank you, thanks Ben, and Thanks Christ Jesus for it all. - Chip

[@hubbsllc]

Yep - Dave Luce, the madman who designed the Polymoog! I used to have one. It was an attempt to make a synthesizer out of a transistor organ, basically, and it was blown out of the water by the Prophets, Oberheims, Rolands, Yamahas, Korgs, etc. that came roaring up from behind but even so, the Polymoog was special and with all those different stage outputs you could take up a few mixer channels and effects buses to pull stunts nothing else could match.

[@jlmurphy253]

Love your story! I live in Clarence, NY now!

[@williamhoffman2731]

Thanks Mr Murphy.. the studio was in old town Clarence. In fact the commuter plane that crashed in Clarence on final approach about 20yrs ago landed in the backyard.. a few lost their lives,, but the home/studio survived.

[@dennismanzardojr9920]

Thanks for sharing this, very cool.

[@Mredman2023]

Nice Steve - :)

[@GilreathDental]

Great story Steve. I saw them on The Works tour right after they lost the orchestra. Still one of the best shows I ever saw. Like 1000s of other keyboardists, he was quite the inspiration. I could never play like him, but I loved the look of his modular so icy, that I built this giant box out of plywood, used stenciling and prismatic tape and made “fake” modules and then put a bunch of knobs and 1/4” plugs all over it. It did nothing basically, but as an 8th grader, I just thought it looked so cool. Looking back now, it was terribly geeky. But he and Wakeman started me on a path of playing multi keyboards in Atlanta when there weren’t many of us. Then to music school. Then to USC for my masters, then to signing w an agent and then as a composer in LA for 5 years. Nice little career before I became a dentist. Those two made me start down that path. And bands like Toto get the fuel burning a very beautiful tribute to a wonderful and inspiring musician Steve. -Paul

[@artysanmobile]

Don’t worry, Steve. To this day, no one can play like Keith Emerson. We must be close to the same age, as I too saw ELP in 1971, in my case just having turned 16, at Pirate’s World in S. Florida. I was perhaps 20’ from him, almost touching the edge of downstage right, and my musical life changed that night, forever. I went on to record many of the world’s great musicians, including even Vladimir Horowitz, who must have been a source of great fascination for Keith Emerson, and I can honestly say no one ever actually eclipsed the great Keith Emerson. He will one day achieve that dubious distinction of familiarity that merits only a single word; Emerson.

[@colinwhite5355]

Wonderful tribute. I was straight back to around ‘73 and Leeds. I knew Keith would be vaulting over his battered Hammond at some point. Camera at the ready. Keith in mid-air. Click! Got it. Not got it. I’d left the lens cover on. Still there in my minds eye, though.

[@paulmason6470]

What is all of this problematic moisture suddenly obscuring my vision...? ♡ ♫ ♪ ♬

[@scottklingaman244]

most keyboardist can tell this story, Keith had that effect on the world

[@JazzKeyboardist1]

Something reminds me of Wizard of oz almost every day

[@buzzcrushtrendkill]

touching

[@KyleWhitlock-Music]

Nice story !

[@robertcowart1]

This speech get me emotional everytime i hear it. When i think of the punk ass thugs that rule the scene now with their monotone anti-music verbal spewage, i remember a time when actual musicianship was something to strive for, i think of Keith Emerson. The absolute greatest musician ever in rock music. Fck the dumbass crap that dominates today, ELP will never be drowned out!

[@gwensciora8516]

MIss you Keith and Greg. Birthday celebration on wusb.fm NY - WAXX TRAXX TO THE MAXX. 11/21 8-10 PM

[@sftnetts]

Just found Steve also mentioned Keith here. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZDTfn1pmL-gjdU

[@victorrodriguez2435]

Awful that have no captions. Dislike.

[@stews9]

Inaudible.