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Greg Lake dead: Emerson, Lake and Palmer bassist, King Crimson member was 69

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Greg Lake

Emerson Lake and Palmer member Greg Lake is pictured in a Gibson Guitar NYC video.

British prog rock musician Greg Lake is dead at 69, his manager Stewart Young announced Thursday.

Lake, best known as the bassist for Emerson, Lake and Palmer, died Wednesday after a “long and stubborn battle with cancer,” Young said. “Greg Lake will stay in my heart forever, as he has always been. His family would be grateful for privacy during this time of their grief.”

Lake left King Crimson after appearing on the group’s second album to form Emerson, Lake and Palmer with keyboardist Keith Emerson and drummer Carl Palmer. Emerson died earlier this year of a self-inflected gunshot wound.

ELP went on to sell more than 48 million albums, according to the BBC, but Lake, also known for the UK holiday hit “I Believe in Father Christmas,” downplayed his success.

“The greatest music is made for love, not for money,” Lake said on his website. “The early ELP albums were pioneering because there is no standing still; time is always moving forward.”