Excellent list. I would have included Rick van Der Linden (Trace, Ekseption). He was a keyboard monster with a persona land musical style that is a cross between Emerson and Wakeman
I don't like Wakeman's work outside of Yes that much but I agree with you. He is clearly more talented than Wright, who I also greatly admire for his elegant, bold style and unusual timbres perfectly integrated into Floyd's music.
@@uppityloser9087I agree - Brian Auger was one of the first great (and underappreciated) keyboardists that I recall catching my intention and set me on the path to eventually make my way to Emerson and ELP. Brian also had that wonderful collaboration with Julie Driscoll ... In the later 60's there were two female vocalists who totally grabbed me as a young man....Julie Driscoll and Grace Slick.
With my deepest respect, Tony Banks below Elton John or Richard Wright stands never in a lifetime! It's clear they voted for the band, not for the keyboardist!
@@hibee72agreed, what crap! I guess you tube lists are going to be popularity contest and personal opinion anyway, without actually knowing music. The guitar and drummer lists are just as bad😤
Kind of held my breath on this until the end... And then there was justice for Keith Emerson. For some reason he has been dissed in this category for a long time and now recently he seems to be getting his well-deserved due at the Top Spot. RIP Keith ... the greatest Keysrider of my long life. As an aside, I think Rick Wakeman should've placed a bit higher, but at least he's near the top of the heap.
Karl Jenkins - Soft machine Peter Bardens- Camel Graham Bond Thjs Van Leer - Focus Dave Greenslade Kerry Minnear - Gentle Giant Francis Monkman Vangelis
Vince Crane (Crazy world of Arthur Brown/Atomic Rooster). Matthew Fisher (Procol Harum) Verden Allen, Morgan Fisher & Ian Hunter (Mott the Hoople) Roger Hodgson (Supertramp) Ken Hensley (The Gods /Uriah Heep) Blue Weaver (session/Bee Gees) Dave Kaffinetti (Rare Bird/Spinal Tap) Allen Lanier (Blue Öyster Cult) Peter Hammill (Van der Graaf Generator) Ian McDonald (King Crimson) Dave Greenfield (The Stranglers) Roger Manning (Jellyfish/Imperial Drag/The Lickerish Quartet) Mark Stein (Vanilla Fudge)
@@bricefleckenstein9666 yeah there are some keyboard players that I can see being ahead of him, but I also love Jon for his skills as a classical composer. His solo Albums like Gemini Suite, Sarabande and Pictured Within are brilliant.
Really, what's up with that? Paich and Porcaro have played on so many albums other than Toto. Steve even worked as a programmer for other keyboardist. David was a masterful songwriter as well. Just like the R&R hall of fame, they get no respect.
@@ronstucker3550 How many rock bands efficiently used two piano/keyboard/synthesizer players within their songs. Knowing how Toto's musicians gets snubbed, what's next, keeping Jeff Porcaro and Steve Lukather off the top 100 greatest rock drummers and guitarists list?!
Soy un fan de Vangelis, sin embargo en esta lista se hace referencia a géneros del Rock, su estilo orientado a musicas nuevas con fusión, no todo lo que compuso y ejecutó está dentro del rock, pero es verdad que hubo álbumes con estilo de rock progresivo, pero en general no es rock, es muy amplio el surtido de géneros que hizo, debe estar dentro de los músicos clásicos de la electrónica, y excelente como músico integral, solo pudo hacer una banda con la grabación en pistas en sus comienzos y midi posteriormente, otros músicos no llegaron a destacarse componiendo solos, siempre es con la banda, por ej soy seguidor también de Rick Wakeman,muy bueno en sus teclados como rock sinfónico, pero lo prefiero con una banda sinfónica, ya que con sus álbumes solistas no llega al nivel de Vangelis, que grabó hasta la percusión y otros instrumentos, haciendo muy bien el estilo para bandas sonoras de películas, que requiere de variedad musical en el acompañamiento de la imagen del cine, comparable solo con compositores de calidad del género clásico, Williams, Ennio Morricone.
Weird list ! Some of these aren't really keyboardists, just people who can play some piano. And don't get me started on the ranking, which seems totally random in several cases, like you suddenly remembered a name and just dropped it in there.
I fully agree. As an example, Geddy Lee is a fabulous bassist and a good keyboard player. But putting him before John Evans, Dennis de Young or Rick Davies, amongst others, does not make sense to me.
@@michaeloconnor5084 And when he googled keyboard players, he saw the guy from Focus and though "What kind of name is Thjs Van Leer?" and left him off the list.😉
I'm pretty happy with this list! Emerson at #1 was a given, but like everyone else I would have changed a few placements. Very good amount of variety and really covered the all bases for players influenced by funk, soul, jazz, blues, classical and psychedelia.
RIP Richard Tandy, passed away less than 2 weeks ago. Amazingly talented keyboardist but also guitarist and bassist. Should be much higher up on this list.
Good list though I was totally expecting to see Burton Cummings, Eddie Jobson, and Brian Eno. Glad to see John Evan and Jan Hammer on there. Really can't dispute Keith at #1.
Thank you for acknowledging Rick Wright in the top 5. Without him The Pink Floyd may never have made it big. Most people don't see it that way, but David Gilmour does. And that counts more than all the others in the world. Keith Emerson is an easy number 1. Thanks for a great video.
My favorite keyboardists (not necessarily the most technically talented) will always be Roy Bittan, Danny Federici, Elton John, Tony Banks, and Richard Wright. Talent should not be evaluated only by the speed at which keys are played, but by the emotions they creates.
Emerson, Wakeman and Lord are the three kings, but my favourite Moog solo is on Welcome to the Machine.... Van Halen had great sounds and Final Countdown is iconic too...
Love the videos, thank you. I would humbly suggest it's not so much a 50-1 ranking, more like here's 50 awesome rock keyboardists who at any given moment were a 50 or a 1 or anywhere in between. =)
@@Jovolution Oh yes of course, everything he did was brilliant. His playing on Rolling Stones “Winter” is another one that stood out to me for being beautiful.
HONORABLE MENTIONS?? Here are some possible runners-up. I'm sure at least a few could be deserving. Kerry Minnear (Gentle Giant) / Andy Clark (Be-Bop Deluxe; Others) / George Duke (Zappa; Others) / Robert Lamm (Chicago) / Ian Underwood (Mothers Of Invention) / Mike Garson (Bowie) / Jürgen Fritz (Triumvirat) / Edgar Winter (Solo) / Keith Tippett (King Crimson) / Mark Kelly (Marillion) / Ryo Okumoto (Spock's Beard) / Roger Powell (Rundgren; Bowie) / Jools Holland (Squeeze) / Geoff Downes (Yes; Asia) / Eddie Jobson (Roxy Music; UK)
Egregious omission of not seeing Billy Payne of Little Feat at the top of this list. I played in a band with him for 3 years before he joined Little Feat. The guy’s a genius.
Most people don't realize that Elton John is the piano player on the great rock song "Redneck Friend" from Jackson Browne's 2nd LP. On that tune he proves that he is right up there with Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis in the pantheon of great Rock and Roll pianists.
Bill Payne of Little feat has got to be on the list. He was one of the greatest to tickle the ivories. But really enjoyed the video. Great content! Thanks
You got most of them. I saw Wakeman, Emerson and Patrick Moraz live in the same venue at different times. Moraz and Wakeman with Yes and Emerson with ELP. It was Moraz by a considerable margin in my opinion.
I met Manzarek years ago when the Doors movie was just passed playing in theaters. Early 1990s. He was with one of Morrison's poet buddies, Michael McClure. Great guys.
These are all great and deserving selections. I'm disappointed though that Chuck Leavell (Allman Brothers, Sea Level, Rolling Stones) and Reese Wynans (Captain Beyond, Stevie Ray Vaughn's Double Trouble, and many other sessions works), weren't recognized. Thank you.
One of my favorites of all time: Colin Towns from the Gillan band is missing, I would have replaced at least 10 suggestions with him. And of course there were a couple of suggestions in the list that I would not call keyboard players. But I like this list. It's great inspiration to see all kinds of musicians who have used keyboards in a very artistic way. :-) And I'm sure these 50 were not in any particular order. So I have no comments on the order.
I wanted to mention Floyd Cramer. Edgar Winter was thankfully mentioned below. These “Top” lists should just forget numbering people. Just list them and let commenters say who they prefer. Still, thanx for the work put into this list👍🏻
My number one is Jon Lord but I am glad you mentioned him at all. BTW: In my opinion Rick Davies is very underrated. Just listen to "Bloody Well Right", "Crime Of The Century" and "Child Of Vision" ...
Pretty good list, I would have had 1-3 as Emerson, Wakeman, and Banks. Dennis DeYoung should have been higher IMO. Jon Tout (Renaissance) should have been on the list, Geoff Downes as well.
Michael Quatro, Joe Vannelli - Gino's Brother, Stevie Wonder, Dave Greenslade, Roger Powell of Utopia, Bayete of Automatic Man, Dave Stewart of Egg and UK, Eddie Jobson of Curved Air, UK, Jethro Tull, Alan Park of Beggars Opera, Ton Scherpenzeel of Kayak, Ken Elliott of Seventh Wave, John Tout of Renaissance , Hugh McKenna of SAHB, Tommy Eyre of SAHB, Richard Anthony Hewson of RAH Band, Jürgen Fritz of Triumvirat, Jean Jacques Kravetz of Frumpy, Zeus B. Held of Birth Control, Michael Ponczek of Ethos and not to forget those brilliant Rock-Jazz/Fusion Musicians like Chick Corea, Lyle Mays, Joe Zawinul and Brian Auger!
@@jeffseven2194 The lack of recognition of Ken Hensley as one of rock's greatest keyboard/pianists parallels the underappreciation of Uriah Heep as one of the greatest rock bands in history. In music the value of the composition is greater than that of the execution, that is, an excellent composition, executed in a mediocre way, but faithfully and correctly, offers much more pleasure than the best execution of a bad composition. In this sense, it must be said that Ken Hensley was the great writer of the wonderful Uriah Heep songs, in addition to the prominence he gave to the keyboard in the musical ensemble. If this list values the composition and the prominence of the keyboardist in the rock songs, instead of simple virtuosity, it is inexcusable that Ken Hensley does not appear on it.
As much as I love Wakeman I believe Keith should get the number one spot due to his fluency in literally all styles including Jazz and free improv whereas Wakeman fluency is mainly in the areas of Classical and Blues. Also Keith has the ragtime stride background as well further cementing is position at the top.
Honorable mention to Tom Waits. He deserves it for "The Piano Has Been Drinking" if nothing else. Nice list, I've seen at least half of them live at least once and find it fair. We're all going to have some objections, but it's very cool, well done! George Duke! Billy Preston! Sly Stone!
"Top 50 greatest Keyboardists / Pianists of all time"....... and no Ken Hensley? Kinda like "Top 50 greatest quarterbacks of all time".... without Joe Montana. Well done, guys! You really put a lot of thought into this one.
Nice variation on the selection. Relieved/pleased to see the stride-power manic genius of Ray Manzarek represented in the top 5. The man was so much more than Morrison's musical co-conspirator-- he bridged classical/jazz/blues/rock and roll and cabaret with close to preternatural mastery.
These are in no particular order, right? So many great artists who do so many different things really well. Virtuosos, songwriters, artists who know just the right parts for a song. Hard to rank them but this is a great list for creating playlists.
Wakeman at #6....We have a problem.......A BIG one!!!!!
I Agree 100%. He is number one by far
I agree. Rick Wakeman has works of provenance.
I agree.
Definite agreement there
Excellent list. I would have included Rick van Der Linden (Trace, Ekseption). He was a keyboard monster with a persona land musical style that is a cross between Emerson and Wakeman
Even being a hard Pink Floyd fan, I can't see how Wright can be considered greater than Wakeman.
I don't like Wakeman's work outside of Yes that much but I agree with you. He is clearly more talented than Wright, who I also greatly admire for his elegant, bold style and unusual timbres perfectly integrated into Floyd's music.
....muito pior é colocar Billy Joel em 2o. lugar....e Rick Wright na frente de Wakeman com certeza!!!
My favourite. Jon Lord😊😎
he was good, but predictable, there were no surprises
@damirhlobik6488 so was Ritchie Blackmore
Jon Lord (R.I.P.) was the best.
So glad you recognized Keith Emerson as number 1. He was the KING OF KEYS. Many are close, but none can surpass him.
Rick Wakeman. No one better
There are keyboard players on this list that would ask why is Jan Hammer is only 29 and Brian Auger is not even on it. C’mon man!
@@davidutnikExcept for Keith. 😊
@@uppityloser9087I agree - Brian Auger was one of the first great (and underappreciated) keyboardists that I recall catching my intention and set me on the path to eventually make my way to Emerson and ELP. Brian also had that wonderful collaboration with Julie Driscoll ... In the later 60's there were two female vocalists who totally grabbed me as a young man....Julie Driscoll and Grace Slick.
Jon lord was his equal
Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman tie for #1. Both amazing virtuosos
Totally Agree! How could they not be? They were the Kings!
Put Jon Lord there as well
@@zdenkonouzovsky6947
Beat me to it!
Top two for me. I'd put Keith Emerson just a slight cut above. I was expecting to see Keith Emerson # 1 & Rick Wakeman # 2 on this list.
Was fortunate enough to see ELP in Athens, Ga. in 1971-72. Was magical.
Emerson, Wakeman &Lord - 3 way tie for #1
Tony Banks is like a magician
His solos on Firth Of Fifth and The Cinema Show are my favourite
With my deepest respect, Tony Banks below Elton John or Richard Wright stands never in a lifetime!
It's clear they voted for the band, not for the keyboardist!
@@hibee72agreed, what crap! I guess you tube lists are going to be popularity contest and personal opinion anyway, without actually knowing music. The guitar and drummer lists are just as bad😤
Dancing with the moonlite too ❤❤
Keith Emerson, Tony Banks and Rick Wakeman, in that order, IMHO
@@marsupialmicron I’d switch 2 & 3, but yeah, those 3 names should be in the top 3 every time.
Kind of held my breath on this until the end... And then there was justice for Keith Emerson. For some reason he has been dissed in this category for a long time and now recently he seems to be getting his well-deserved due at the Top Spot.
RIP Keith ... the greatest Keysrider of my long life.
As an aside, I think Rick Wakeman should've placed a bit higher, but at least he's near the top of the heap.
Karl Jenkins - Soft machine
Peter Bardens- Camel
Graham Bond
Thjs Van Leer - Focus
Dave Greenslade
Kerry Minnear - Gentle Giant
Francis Monkman
Vangelis
Vince Crane (Crazy world of Arthur Brown/Atomic Rooster).
Matthew Fisher (Procol Harum)
Verden Allen, Morgan Fisher & Ian Hunter (Mott the Hoople)
Roger Hodgson (Supertramp)
Ken Hensley (The Gods /Uriah Heep)
Blue Weaver (session/Bee Gees)
Dave Kaffinetti (Rare Bird/Spinal Tap)
Allen Lanier (Blue Öyster Cult)
Peter Hammill (Van der Graaf Generator)
Ian McDonald (King Crimson)
Dave Greenfield (The Stranglers)
Roger Manning (Jellyfish/Imperial Drag/The Lickerish Quartet)
Mark Stein (Vanilla Fudge)
Agreed !
Yes for Vangelis and the others. Another miss Mike Ratledge...
That list is FANTASTIC !
Klaus Schultze!
Very happy that Kieth Emerson was put at #1. That man was incredible to watch
Jon Lord at number 3 is based. He’s my favourite musician of all time. RIP.
Agreed. He was the reason i love Deep Purple until now
Jon Lord on the organ there.... Jon Lord...
And love Billy Powell of Lynyrd Skynyrd too.😊
Jon Lord , Emerson and Wakeman what a trío , My favorite is Jon Lord
I can picture Jon at #3.
I would put him behind Wakeman, and I can see some argument for Emerson being ahead of him.
@@bricefleckenstein9666 yeah there are some keyboard players that I can see being ahead of him, but I also love Jon for his skills as a classical composer. His solo Albums like Gemini Suite, Sarabande and Pictured Within are brilliant.
Oh yes Keith Emerson numero uno! Definitely agree!
Don't forget Steve Porcaro and David Paich from Toto
Really, what's up with that? Paich and Porcaro have played on so many albums other than Toto. Steve even worked as a programmer for other keyboardist. David was a masterful songwriter as well. Just like the R&R hall of fame, they get no respect.
100% correct I was expecting at least one of them.
@@ronstucker3550 How many rock bands efficiently used two piano/keyboard/synthesizer players within their songs. Knowing how Toto's musicians gets snubbed, what's next, keeping Jeff Porcaro and Steve Lukather off the top 100 greatest rock drummers and guitarists list?!
@@EvilTheOne Yes Probably. No RRHF either
@@EvilTheOne All encompassed and revealed emphatically on 'Rosanna '
I won't argue with the ranking. I will only say thank you to all these great artists ( and many more) for making my life much better!!
Wakeman at only # 6? He should be at least #2. And where is Tony Kaye or Vangelis? Was Geoff Downes mentioned?
Well, Tony Kaye wasn't that good, certainly not above about #40
Soy un fan de Vangelis, sin embargo en esta lista se hace referencia a géneros del Rock, su estilo orientado a musicas nuevas con fusión, no todo lo que compuso y ejecutó está dentro del rock, pero es verdad que hubo álbumes con estilo de rock progresivo, pero en general no es rock, es muy amplio el surtido de géneros que hizo, debe estar dentro de los músicos clásicos de la electrónica, y excelente como músico integral, solo pudo hacer una banda con la grabación en pistas en sus comienzos y midi posteriormente, otros músicos no llegaron a destacarse componiendo solos, siempre es con la banda, por ej soy seguidor también de Rick Wakeman,muy bueno en sus teclados como rock sinfónico, pero lo prefiero con una banda sinfónica, ya que con sus álbumes solistas no llega al nivel de Vangelis, que grabó hasta la percusión y otros instrumentos, haciendo muy bien el estilo para bandas sonoras de películas, que requiere de variedad musical en el acompañamiento de la imagen del cine, comparable solo con compositores de calidad del género clásico, Williams, Ennio Morricone.
Keith Emerson was an absolute genius
I like Manfred Mann....
1 rick wakeman
2 keith emerson
3 john lord
4 tony banks
John Paul Jones can seemingly play every instrument ever made.
Simultaneously, in some cases.
@@edzeppelin1984
Quando era alle tastiere di certo il basso a pedale
Yeah….Rain Song alone puts him at better than 35! Geezy
No Irmin Schmidt? Insane!!
Check out No Quarter from Earls Court May 24 1975.
Weird list ! Some of these aren't really keyboardists, just people who can play some piano. And don't get me started on the ranking, which seems totally random in several cases, like you suddenly remembered a name and just dropped it in there.
It could not get more uneven. There are masters rated lower than hobbyists.
It's a great list, but it should be called, " 37 Keyboard players that I heard of and 13 more that I had to look up, listed in no particular order".
I fully agree. As an example, Geddy Lee is a fabulous bassist and a good keyboard player. But putting him before John Evans, Dennis de Young or Rick Davies, amongst others, does not make sense to me.
@@michaeloconnor5084 And when he googled keyboard players, he saw the guy from Focus and though "What kind of name is Thjs Van Leer?" and left him off the list.😉
Rick is my favorite Pink Floyd member and is number one for me
DEFINITELY
RICK IS ALSO MY FAVORITE FLOYD MEMBER HE IS THE ABSOLUTE NUMBER ONE FOR ME
My favorite and top 10 for me
Keith Emerson absolutely number one.
👋👋👋
Absofragginposilutively 👍👏
How about Ken Hensley? WTF
He is missed and Tony Banks no 10 ? Just underrated !
I was about to write and saw your post. No Ken Hensley absolutely ridiculous !
I'm not shure is ever heard of Uriah Heep ! And the guy allows himself to make a ranking... So funny !!😄 I'm going back to listen to july morning !
@@magalirouard8441 July morning, Salisbury, The park, Easy living, Free me, many more.....
@@janne_1954
th-cam.com/video/HCJCB7vOVlg/w-d-xo.htmlsi=XsuFk5wTiFQGGiF5
I'm pretty happy with this list! Emerson at #1 was a given, but like everyone else I would have changed a few placements. Very good amount of variety and really covered the all bases for players influenced by funk, soul, jazz, blues, classical and psychedelia.
Thanks for putting Ray Manzarek, he is one of my favorite American keyboardists.
Love the list! Another great is Allen Lanier!! RIP
RIP Richard Tandy, passed away less than 2 weeks ago. Amazingly talented keyboardist but also guitarist and bassist. Should be much higher up on this list.
He was truly amazing. May he RIP.
Don't think he ever was given the time to really shine.
Same with Mike Pinder.
Great to see Nicky Hopkins on the list so high up!
"Edward the Mad Shirt Grinder" from the 3rd LP by Quicksilver Messenger Service "Shady Grove" is my favorite Nicky Hopkins song.
You forget to place 3 crucial, fully applicable words in the title of this video: "IN MY OPINION"
It's implied, since there is no objective way to determine who is the greatest
I agree 100%! The list looks somewhat strange in some points.
@@VovaHookyes, missing some musicians who are not American or British.
RAY MANZAREK no 1 for ever
TRUE.
Good list though I was totally expecting to see Burton Cummings, Eddie Jobson, and Brian Eno. Glad to see John Evan and Jan Hammer on there. Really can't dispute Keith at #1.
Jon Lord ❤
Irmin Schmidt for knowing when not to play!
ELP probably had the number one drummer as well.
Great to see Dave Greenfield get some love at #24.
Dave Greenfield and lesser known Keys player Andy Clark (Be-Bop Deluxe) should be in the top 10.
@garyhitchcock3828Greenfield was a monster creativity wise and no slouch but the prog rock snobs will slag off his technique!
Steve Porcaro, David Paich, Geoff.Downes, Oliver Wakeman, Igor Koroshev, Tony Kaye, Jonathan Caín, Dave Stewart, Geoff Nichols
and Chris Stainton
@@TheMarzamat Anf Jon Cleary (maybe more funk than rock) and "Poppa" Funk Art Neville and Kenny Kirkland with Sting
Chuck Leavell should be in the top ten.
Thank you for acknowledging Rick Wright in the top 5. Without him The Pink Floyd may never have made it big. Most people don't see it that way, but David Gilmour does. And that counts more than all the others in the world. Keith Emerson is an easy number 1. Thanks for a great video.
Brian Auger ist missing!
Agree
oui, complètement oublié....
I was about to mention this outrageous thing, and I saw your post. Excellent my friend
My favorite keyboardists (not necessarily the most technically talented) will always be Roy Bittan, Danny Federici, Elton John, Tony Banks, and Richard Wright. Talent should not be evaluated only by the speed at which keys are played, but by the emotions they creates.
Love ELP.
Emerson, Wakeman and Lord are the three kings, but my favourite Moog solo is on Welcome to the Machine.... Van Halen had great sounds and Final Countdown is iconic too...
No ken hensley😢
Love the videos, thank you. I would humbly suggest it's not so much a 50-1 ranking, more like here's 50 awesome rock keyboardists who at any given moment were a 50 or a 1 or anywhere in between. =)
Nicky Hopkins is my favourite, that man played beautifully.
because he's the real number one👍
@@Jovolution Absolutely, I mean “Jealous Guy” and “She’s a Rainbow” who can top that realistically? No one.
@@j.c985 and: We love You, Symphathie for the devil, Kinks, Who, Cocker, John Lennon and for many many world hits and stars.
@@Jovolution Oh yes of course, everything he did was brilliant. His playing on Rolling Stones “Winter” is another one that stood out to me for being beautiful.
@@j.c985 if you hear the first line: She's like a Rainbow, you can hear Santana's Samba Pa Ti
Good list. I think the top 5 should be: 5. Wright, 4. Banks, 3. Lord, 2. Emerson, 1. Wakeman. These folks are better than Billy Joel and Ray Manzarek.
Hard to classify Billy Joel as Rock
Wright isn't top 50
I certainly agree with Emerson at #1, but I have Wakeman at #2 and Jon Lord #3. And, yes, Ken Hensley should be there somewhere.
Agreed. I had the honor of seeing Rick and Jon play (not together unfortunately ) They, along with Emerson, were great showmen!
Ric wakeman from Yes smokes them all
Definitely not Emerson, Jan Hammer or Jordan Rudess.
Nope! Wakeman is very tacky..
HONORABLE MENTIONS?? Here are some possible runners-up. I'm sure at least a few could be deserving. Kerry Minnear (Gentle Giant) / Andy Clark (Be-Bop Deluxe; Others) / George Duke (Zappa; Others) / Robert Lamm (Chicago) / Ian Underwood (Mothers Of Invention) / Mike Garson (Bowie) / Jürgen Fritz (Triumvirat) / Edgar Winter (Solo) / Keith Tippett (King Crimson) / Mark Kelly (Marillion) / Ryo Okumoto (Spock's Beard) / Roger Powell (Rundgren; Bowie) / Jools Holland (Squeeze) / Geoff Downes (Yes; Asia) / Eddie Jobson (Roxy Music; UK)
Greg Phillinganes as well
Eddie Van Halen too!
Andy Clark, yes! Bebop Deluxe!
Chick Churchill (Ten Years After) too
The absence of Kerry Minnear of Gentle Giant just underlines how spurious this (and probably any) list must be.
Bill Payne definitely deserves a mention. His work both as a member of Little Feat and as a session musician is fantastic
True.
Yep!
Agree
Legendary keyboardist. Sad omission
Absolutely. His iconic piano on "China Grove" (Session work for Doobies) should get him on this list.
Tom Scholz, Larry Fast, Tony Kaye...
Rick wakeman was outstanding with Yes and his own incredible solo albums. Rick wakeman deserve s be at the top position
Don't forget Rick Wakeman and David Bowie. Rick's playing on the Hunky Dory album is phenomenal, see Life on Mars for example.
@@silgen. Oh yes, Rick was brilliant on that album
👍
@@laurencelevene4333”Morning Has Broken,” as well.
@@RobJMeronek I didn't know he played on that👍
Wakeman can’t be lower than #2 and have list taken seriously
Egregious omission of not seeing Billy Payne of Little Feat at the top of this list. I played in a band with him for 3 years before he joined Little Feat. The guy’s a genius.
Not sure I’d have Billy Joel over Elton John.
How is it that they put him above Rick Wakeman????
Most people don't realize that Elton John is the piano player on the great rock song "Redneck Friend" from Jackson Browne's 2nd LP. On that tune he proves that he is right up there with Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis in the pantheon of great Rock and Roll pianists.
Bruce Hornsby, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder.
I didn’t expect Emerson to be number one but that’s a very welcome surprise. I agree with that placement
He’s almost always #1 on every list
Especially if you have seen ELP live!!
I expected Emerson to be number one. I didn't expect Billy Joel #2.
John Lord
Jon Lord above Tony Banks? Whatever
The flying piano video alone makes Keith deserve number one
Bill Payne of Little feat has got to be on the list. He was one of the greatest to tickle the ivories. But really enjoyed the video. Great content! Thanks
You got most of them. I saw Wakeman, Emerson and Patrick Moraz live in the same venue at different times. Moraz and Wakeman with Yes and Emerson with ELP. It was Moraz by a considerable margin in my opinion.
I like that both Gary Brooker and Greg Rollie gets respect here 😊
I would have had Gregg Rolie higher myself, but glad he is on the list.
...and then they go and disrespect Steve Winwood by putting him at #13 🙄🙄
GARY et M .FISHER ...aussi!
My vote Steve Winwood saw him this summer just a generational talent
Ray Mazanrek is a bloody legend. R.I.P
You know it Brother!!!!!
I met Manzarek years ago when the Doors movie was just passed playing in theaters. Early 1990s. He was with one of Morrison's poet buddies, Michael McClure. Great guys.
It was a McClure poetry reading and Manzarek was providing background music.
Robby Krieger, Ray, and Jim Morrison are the best musicians ever
Overrated but i still love him
Great top 50 !! My own TOP 5 is Wright, Jones, Wakeman, Lord and Manzarek ; they are also my favorites because they played in bands I love very much !
These are all great and deserving selections. I'm disappointed though that Chuck Leavell (Allman Brothers, Sea Level, Rolling Stones) and Reese Wynans (Captain Beyond, Stevie Ray Vaughn's Double Trouble, and many other sessions works), weren't recognized. Thank you.
No Chuck Leavell is a travesty
@MichProgNerd My bad. Knew that and got sidetracked. That alone says a lot about his talent. Thanks for the heads up.
Goddamn right, Keith Emerson, hands down........composition, performance, ability to think on his feet and in action, and sheer balls and showmanship!
Proud of see Ray Manzarek in top 4
One of my favorites of all time: Colin Towns from the Gillan band is missing, I would have replaced at least 10 suggestions with him. And of course there were a couple of suggestions in the list that I would not call keyboard players.
But I like this list. It's great inspiration to see all kinds of musicians who have used keyboards in a very artistic way. :-)
And I'm sure these 50 were not in any particular order. So I have no comments on the order.
I was surprised nobody seemed to remember Colin Towns.. totally agree with you, pal!
Richard Wright ahead of Wakeman? Because holding out chords is extremely difficult...
Right?!
HA - True - I get it
Glad to see Nicky Hopkins in the top 10
oui! yes..
No way Don Airey is No. 37! He‘s at least top 5!
Don A. and Jon Lord are my two favorites; very different styles and quite interesting that they are/were both in Deep Purple.
I saw hum Live in July. The only thing I can say is: OH GREAT HEAVEN. He has literally drunk a glass of wine while soloing.
I think Little Richard should be higher on the list, he did some crazy things on the piano at times! He definitely deserved the 15th place!
As much as I love Billy Joel, I'm really glad Keith Emerson got the number 1 spot. He's a keyboard virtuoso
What a great list, but it should be called, " 37 Keyboard players that I heard of and 13 more that I had to look up, listed in no particular order".
Ken hensley?
can’t miss him on hard rock
Too right!
Would be my number 1 for sure.
I wanted to mention Floyd Cramer. Edgar Winter was thankfully mentioned below. These “Top” lists should just forget numbering people. Just list them and let commenters say who they prefer. Still, thanx for the work put into this list👍🏻
Donald Fagen is extremely underrated
My number one is Jon Lord but I am glad you mentioned him at all.
BTW: In my opinion Rick Davies is very underrated. Just listen to "Bloody Well Right", "Crime Of The Century" and "Child Of Vision" ...
Rip Mr Jon Lord an absolute legend who should be number one👍
Lord the best!! R.I.P.
Assolutamente John Lord, su un altro pianeta rispetto agli altri.
Non c'è n'è per nessuno. Unico w inimitabile. RIP.
WHAT?
Vincent Crane was a very important pioneer of electronic keyboards.
Pretty good list, I would have had 1-3 as Emerson, Wakeman, and Banks. Dennis DeYoung should have been higher IMO. Jon Tout (Renaissance) should have been on the list, Geoff Downes as well.
Michael Quatro, Joe Vannelli - Gino's Brother, Stevie Wonder, Dave Greenslade, Roger Powell of Utopia, Bayete of Automatic Man, Dave Stewart of Egg and UK, Eddie Jobson of Curved Air, UK, Jethro Tull, Alan Park of Beggars Opera, Ton Scherpenzeel of Kayak, Ken Elliott of Seventh Wave, John Tout of Renaissance , Hugh McKenna of SAHB, Tommy Eyre of SAHB, Richard Anthony Hewson of RAH Band, Jürgen Fritz of Triumvirat, Jean Jacques Kravetz of Frumpy, Zeus B. Held of Birth Control, Michael Ponczek of Ethos and not to forget those brilliant Rock-Jazz/Fusion Musicians like Chick Corea, Lyle Mays, Joe Zawinul and Brian Auger!
Came here looking for a mention of Brian Auger. I can now leave in peace.
Nice. Jon lord 3rd. Id put him 1st tho
Deffo contender
He's a bit one-dimensional!
Also #1, Steve Nieve who plays with Elvis Costello, from The Attractions forward. And somewhere up there, Bruce Hornsby
😢 I MISS KEN HENSLEY FROM URIAH HEEP!!!!! 😢
If Hensley isn't on it it's no list
TOTALLY AGREED, WITH ANTONIOpiano man, and jeffseven.....yup. SHOULD BE MANY # 1 's .....all bunched together, as ! ...er 1
@@jeffseven2194 The lack of recognition of Ken Hensley as one of rock's greatest keyboard/pianists parallels the underappreciation of Uriah Heep as one of the greatest rock bands in history. In music the value of the composition is greater than that of the execution, that is, an excellent composition, executed in a mediocre way, but faithfully and correctly, offers much more pleasure than the best execution of a bad composition. In this sense, it must be said that Ken Hensley was the great writer of the wonderful Uriah Heep songs, in addition to the prominence he gave to the keyboard in the musical ensemble. If this list values the composition and the prominence of the keyboardist in the rock songs, instead of simple virtuosity, it is inexcusable that Ken Hensley does not appear on it.
Billy Joel at the 2 place????? Before JON LORD & WAKEMAN??? NO COMMENT. 😖😖
If you're sticking strictly to rock:
Keith Emerson
Rick Wakeman
Tony Banks
Eddie Jobson
.
.
.
everybody else
Where is Alan Clarke from Dire Straits?
#51
Alan Clarke is a living legend. He should be in top 10.
At home in Whitley bay 😂😂😂
Great list. I'm a big Jon Lord fan. RIP.
Chuck Leavell❓
It isn't a true list with out Chuck Leavell the tree man
What about Steve Wonder??
Fairly obvious omission.
Anyone who does not have Rick Wakeman at the top of this list, has not heard what he is capable of. He deserves number one hands down.
As much as I love Wakeman I believe Keith should get the number one spot due to his fluency in literally all styles including Jazz and free improv whereas Wakeman fluency is mainly in the areas of Classical and Blues. Also Keith has the ragtime stride background as well further cementing is position at the top.
Keith was a far superior composer and player.
@@kratino come on.. he was DIFFERENT. far more OUT THERE. Wakeman hit more notes accurately.
@@michaelbeerbados3291 he hit far fewer notes.
He is good but he can't beat Keith Emerson, the King of Keys.
Honorable mention to Tom Waits. He deserves it for "The Piano Has Been Drinking" if nothing else. Nice list, I've seen at least half of them live at least once and find it fair. We're all going to have some objections, but it's very cool, well done! George Duke! Billy Preston! Sly Stone!
Thanks for not forgetting Dave Greenfield ❤
Saw Don Airey twice with Deep Purple. He can do anything.
I agree....Keith Emerson the best.....
"Top 50 greatest Keyboardists / Pianists of all time"....... and no Ken Hensley?
Kinda like "Top 50 greatest quarterbacks of all time".... without Joe Montana.
Well done, guys! You really put a lot of thought into this one.
If it's simply a list of 50 keyboardists it's very good. If the numbering is supposed to equal how good they are, it's horrible.
Exactly
Nice variation on the selection. Relieved/pleased to see the stride-power manic genius of Ray Manzarek represented in the top 5.
The man was so much more than Morrison's musical co-conspirator-- he bridged classical/jazz/blues/rock and roll and cabaret with close to preternatural mastery.
You got it right . The late great Keith Emerson at 1 . Nuff said.👍
Where is Vincent Crane (Atomic Rooster) and Ken Hensley (Uriah Heep)???
While these lists mean nothing, Keith is also my number one. However, I’m thankful for all these wonderful keyboardists 💕
Eddie Jobson, George Duke, Peter Jones, Peter Bardens, Bo Hansson & Lyle Mays……
Eddie Jobson should be in top 5, imho.
These are in no particular order, right? So many great artists who do so many different things really well. Virtuosos, songwriters, artists who know just the right parts for a song. Hard to rank them but this is a great list for creating playlists.
Great, you don't forget Patrick Moraz