Keith Emerson was recently found dead in his home of Santa Monica, Los Angeles. He was 71. The cause of death was a gun shot wound to the head, although police can not confirm if it was suicide. Emerson had been battling depression after a form of nerve degradation in his right hand was diagnosed.
Although Emerson is widely known as the legendary keyboard player of Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP), Godzilla fans are familiar with his work as the lead composer for Godzilla: Final Wars. Director Ryuhei Kitamura approached Emerson to score the film after attending many of his concerts. Emerson had two weeks to write the material and was given little to no restriction from Kitamura. However, a great deal of his work was passed in favor of pieces by co-composers Nobuhiko Morino and Daisuke Yano. (Yano was responsible for Godzilla's new theme for the film.)
Emerson's more notable contributions included the battle between Manda and the Gotengo, Rodan's attack on New York and the end credits theme. One of his pieces left out of the movie was a synthesized rendition of Akira Ifukube's Godzilla March. It was included on the initial soundtrack release for the film.
Thoughts and prayers go out to Emerson's friends and loved ones.
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Sources:
TMZ
Rolling Stone
