Girlfriend of Emerson, Lake and Palmer keyboardist says health conditions affecting his live performances had ‘made him depressed, nervous and anxious’

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Keith Emerson's playing was in stark contrast to my troglodyte brutality Read more

Keith Emerson’s death has been officially ruled suicide. The co-founder and keyboardist of the influential prog-rock group Emerson, Lake and Palmer died last week at the age of 71.

An autopsy by the Los Angeles coroner confirmed that Emerson shot himself. Ed Winter, a spokesman for the coroner, said that there were also signs the musician was suffering from a heart condition.

Emerson’s girlfriend, Mari Kawaguchi, had told the Daily Mail that nerve and muscular pain may have contributed to his death. She said: “His right hand and arm had given him problems for years. He had an operation a few years ago to take out a bad muscle but the pain and nerve issues in his right hand were getting worse.”



She added: “He had concerts coming up in Japan and even though they hired a back-up keyboard player to support him, Keith was worried. He read all the criticism online and was a sensitive soul. Last year he played concerts and people posted mean comments such as, ‘I wish he would stop playing.’ He was tormented with worry that he wouldn’t be good enough.

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“He was planning to retire after Japan. He didn’t want to let down his fans. He was a perfectionist and the thought he wouldn’t play perfectly made him depressed, nervous and anxious.”

Along with vocalist and guitarist Greg Lake and drummer Carl Palmer, Emerson comprised one of prog-rock’s most successful groups, releasing six platinum-selling albums.

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