Robert Fripp stopped Elton John from joining King Crimson: “I cancelled the sessions”
For decades, Elton John has been a national treasure, beloved for tracks like ‘Your Song’, ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’ and ‘Rocket Man’. With many classic hits under his belt, John has also been praised for his extravagant performances, often wearing over-the-top outfits covered in glitter or feathers. He’s enjoyed so much success that he’s cemented himself as one of the world’s best-selling artists – it’s rare you’ll meet someone who is not familiar with his music.
Whether you’re actually a fan or not, John’s impact has been pretty sizeable and hard to ignore. Not only is he known for his iconic pop hits, but he’s also honed a successful career in the film music industry, most notably creating the songs for The Lion King with his longtime songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin.
However, when John was just starting out and trying to make a name for himself, he almost joined a band that made music starkly different to what we associate with him. John had initially begun as a songwriter, partnering up with Taupin after they both answered the same advertisement in an issue of NME. Writing for Dick James’s DJM Records, the pair penned tracks for pop artists like Lulu before working on songs specifically for John to sing.
Then, John released his debut album, Empty Sky, although it didn’t make much of an impact. The soft rock record wasn’t even given a release in the United States until 1975, six years later. Needing more opportunities to get himself out there, he ended up doing some session work, leading him to cross paths with King Crimson.
The prog rock band had just released their debut, In the Court of the Crimson King. It helped kick this new genre into action, blending classic rock instruments like guitars and drums with an amalgamation of other influences, using flutes, harpsichord, vibraphone, organ, and saxophone to create a textured palette. One of the best-known tracks from the album is ‘21st Century Schizoid Man’, a powerful and unforgettable number that has even been sampled decades later by Kanye West.
The band were a pioneer, but after the release of In the Court of the Crimson King, they were in a tricky position. Two members, Ian McDonald and Michael Giles, left suddenly, leaving King Crimson in the lurch. They didn’t know what to do, so vocalist Greg Lake decided to leave, too, forming a new outfit – Emerson, Lake and Palmer. King Crimson needed new members, and they also needed to figure out the direction the band was going to take.
Here’s where John enters the picture. As a session singer, he was considered by a studio executive to be the band’s new singer for their second album, In the Wake of Poseidon. Robert Fripp wouldn’t agree to anything until he’d heard John’s music, so he listened to Empty Sky. Unfortunately for John, Fripp was not a fan. He just couldn’t get on board with John’s music, writing in the liner notes of A Young Person’s Guide to King Crimson, “Elton had been booked to sing all the songs on Poseidon for £250. […] But his style didn’t seem right for Crimson and the album was poor, so I cancelled the sessions.”
In the end, Lake came back to do the vocals, and John continued to hone a successful pop career.
