The Court of the Crimson King
| "The Court of the Crimson King" | |||||||
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| Single by King Crimson | |||||||
| from the album In the Court of the Crimson King | |||||||
| A-side | "The Court of the Crimson King, Pt. 1" | ||||||
| B-side | "The Court of the Crimson King, Pt. 2" | ||||||
| Released | October 12, 1969 (album) | ||||||
| Format | 7", 45rpm | ||||||
| Recorded | July 21–23, 1969 | ||||||
| Genre | Progressive rock[1] | ||||||
| Length |
9:25 7:16 (Abridged version) | ||||||
| Label |
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| Writer(s) | Ian McDonald, Peter Sinfield | ||||||
| Producer(s) | King Crimson | ||||||
| King Crimson singles chronology | |||||||
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"The Court of the Crimson King" is the fifth and final track from the British progressive rock band King Crimson's debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King. Also released as a single, it reached #80 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Along with "Heartbeat", it is one of the band's only two charting singles in the United States.
Background
The track is dominated by a distinct riff performed on the Mellotron in D major. The main part of the song is split up into 4 verses, divided by an instrumental section called "The Return of the Fire Witch". The song climaxes at seven minutes, but continues with a little reprise (called "The Dance of the Puppets"), before ending on an abrupt and free time scale. The music was written by Ian McDonald and the lyrics by Peter Sinfield.
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"The Court of the Crimson King" (1969)
 37 second sample from King Crimson's "The Court of the Crimson King", demonstrating the sound of the first incarnation of the band, with its classically-influenced style and use of the Mellotron instrument. |
| Problems playing this file? See media help. | |
Personnel
- Robert Fripp – guitar
- Greg Lake – bass guitar, lead vocals
- Ian McDonald – mellotron, harpsichord, organ, flute, backing vocals
- Michael Giles – drums, percussion, backing vocals
- Peter Sinfield – lyrics
Covers
- Doc Severinsen covered the song for his 1970 album Doc Severinsen's Closet.
- It has been covered by British heavy metal band Saxon on their 2001 album Killing Ground.
- The song has been covered by Asia on their 2006 reunion tour.
- The song was covered by King Crimson members Ian McDonald and John Wetton with Steve Hackett on Hackett's Tokyo Tapes and by Greg Lake featuring Gary Moore on Lake's Live at Hammersmith Odeon 1981 live album released by King Biscuit Records in 1996.
- The song was covered live by Howard Stern's in-studio band The Losers. Their performance won a Battle of the Bands contest against Tina Yothers and her band Jaded, who performed one of their original songs.
- The song was featured in the set list on the 2001 tour of the Seventh Edition of Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band which featured original lead vocalist Greg Lake.
- Eläkeläiset covered the song on their 2012 album Humppasheikkailu as Humpan Kuninkaan Hovissa.
- Connecticut-based AOR band Arc Angel (band) covered the song on their debut album, Arc Angel (album).
In popular culture
The track was used in the 2006 dystopian film Children of Men, appearing on its soundtrack. It is also heard briefly in the first episode of the Red Riding trilogy. The song is also used widely in the Canadian television series Kenny vs. Spenny. The instrumental part of the song can be heard in the French movie Cinéman. The song has been recently chosen as the ending theme for the videogame Natural Doctrine.
References
- ↑ Murphy, Sean (22 May 2011). "The 25 Best Progressive Rock Songs of All Time". PopMatters. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
