The MOST DANGEROUS BAND on TV finally got to show off their talents! Will Lee practically jumping off the stage, Paul, eating up the backing key parts and Sid McGinnis trying to fit and not step on Keith's Hammond parts. I'd never seen this and many thanks for posting it. God, what a talent and sad ending. Keith you made us all better players and listeners just to keep up. Thanks RIP
Keith Emerson is like one of those superb actors who bring the quality of a whole ensemble's performance up several notches by their presence and their example.
Of course I knew it I’m from New York and a huge fan of Keith Emerson met him in 2013 ,i was also at the Emerson lake and Powell. Show that they are talking about here. It was at Madison square garden
Dean but it really sucked for Keith Emerson to get old because they said he committed suicide from his unbearable arthritis pain in his hands and he could no longer play anymore
My brother and I saw "Emerson, Lake, & Powell" on this (1986) tour at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia, PA, with local Philly-area band "Bricklin" opening. Wonderful show! (RIP, Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, and Cozy Powell. Hard to believe they're all gone... time flies.)
Glenn Hecker , I was still living in Philadelphia in 86 and I would have loved to have seen that as Cozy Powell was one of my favorite drummers . No doubt it was an incredible show .
Great to hear you caught them on this tour. This Letterman episode was just before the MSG show in Sept 20, 86. Is was a good turnout given that they also played Brendan Byrne arena in NJ just afterwards.
From a lifelong yes fan .god bless ELP they were amazing too .and only years later did I become aware of how entwined these two sets of musical genius's actually were.
Of all my "rock music heroes", Keith Emerson stands alone. When it came to writng, singing, and conveying emotion vocally in a song , John Lennon will always be tops. When it came to expressing emotion and spirit purely through an instrument and the compositions for it, Keith Emerson was the greatest. I get chills listening to him soar in this one performance, inspiring the band to play their best, who one can see are full of respect for the unparalled master....Keith Emerson. I pray that wherever he is now, that he can feel the love and appreciation we all had for him and the music he gave to us.
To John Foster: This is one of the best comments I have read on TH-cam in any genre of music. I will print and refer to this during the course of my existence. Well done.
Lennon was an asshole. Sorry, folks, but it' true. Gave Julian nothing and said Julian was the result of a whiskey drunken night. Ono should have been shot.
WOW. From tickling the ivories with Keith Emerson (progressive rock) to tearing it up with Brian Setzer (rockabilly) flawlessly from one week to the next with very little rehearsal in between, Letterman truly had THE MOST DANGEROUS BAND on his hands throughout the 80's. Legendary!!! LL
@@DaveH-10 Keith used a lot of 'outside' tones in his soloing and chord comping-in short, he wasn't afraid to go outside the 'musical box'. Wakeman, while a great player as well, tended to stay in the 'safe' zones of music comping and soloing..Wakeman mainly played in Major keys while Keith was always mixing it up Major, minor, augmented, diminished, symmetrical, etc...so yes davh10 I agree the two players are completely different in approach..but Keith's style was more 'adventurous':)
Although proficient on multiple genres, and creating new kinds of music, Keith was clearly a jazzer at heart from an improvisational standpoint. There's a good video somewhere of Keith jamming with Dave Brubeck, and some of ELP's work is amazing jazz piano trio performance.
The treat was watching the band members playing with Keith and how excited they were. Finally something to show off their skills as well. Great performance. And watching the drummer read the music while playing was also very cool.
I do not think anybody realized that at the beginning Emerson plays the beginning of the New World Symphony of Antonin Dvorak. The greatest keyboardist of rock and progressive rock Keith Emerson.
My first concert October 86. ELPowell Charlie NC. I shall never forget it! Unfortunately it wasn't a big crowd but you wouldn't have known it. They still put on a tremendous show. The few thousand of us that were there know it!
Went to see Keith when he was with ‘The Nice ‘ in the early 70s , at Liverpool st George’s Hall , managed to bunk in early to watch them rehearse, and he played the iconic organ they have there , happy days, the memory will live with me always.
HOLY FRICK'IN MOLY !! This is fantastic !! What a absolutely barn burning rendition of this great Bernstein/Nice tune ! Originally in West Side Story so it fit Letterman's show in New York very nicely. And I use to VHS copy Letterman's Late Show musical acts all the time. Got like three full Maxell tapes worth (somewhere). I'm a huge ELP fan, how'd I let this get by me ?!! Very much thank yous to those responsible for posting this !
Everyone looking around like "WTF JUST HAPPENRD???" What happened is you just had a virtuous performance by THE BEST KEYBOARD PLAYER TO EVER WALK THE EARTH, Mr. Keith Emerson. Miss and love you bro, RIP
It is still possible to find I his 17 min. live version of America, when he was still with The Nice. That is truly amazing! As he stabbed the his A-100's keys with knives to hold notes. And tearing off the cover of a grand piano to play the strings with drum sticks! The raunchy feedback that he achieved between the Leslie and A-100 was so delicious and hard to duplicate!
I always worry about genuinely artistic creative people in this present mechanical, digital, mediocre and superficial world because it's full of soulless technicians being called artists, people like Emerson breathed different air from these automatons.
Classic prog rock!! Keith Emerson was such a great showman! I guess Greg Lake missed this gig. Even though Carl Palmer was legendary, Cozy Powell was a great drummer in his own right. RIP Keith and Greg ❤ You blew us away!
you are right, it sounds way better with the motor turning off and on and the reverb being smacked to hell and back. The L screamed through those Marshall powered Leslies. Will Lee looks like he's having fun!
0:57.....jésus..... *that* was an anticlimax , after such a grandiose opening.....sounded like my bloody Colecovision game console........having had that brilliant single since '68.......Anyway......a mere mortal's wrist wasn't made to do these things for very long.......it's a miracle Keith was actually able to do this for as long as he did....maybe he could've had peace of mind by being thankful for the music he was able to give this planet......instead of sulking he wasn't able to do this with his wrist at an age when most people were already walking with canes or in their graves........
Your statement is not wrong, but just to avoid possible confusion the version of "America" YES did was written by Simon and Garfunkel. It has one of the greatest guitar solos ever in the middle.
@@northernlight4614 ELP incorporated it after Fanfare for the Common Man and before Rondo in Black Moon Tour 1992-1993. Before and after it, Emerson performed it solo in different versions, mostly with Rondo as closer.
And people choose folk music and rap over this? Mind boggling what a genius Emerson was as a musician and performer. Thinking mans music supersedes the utter banality of todays sonic tripe!
Wow. I'm seeing notes that don't seem to be in the soundtrack. Emerson seems to have been seriously muted on this effort. Hmmm. I guess it's just nice to see him even being on TV.
Anyone who liked this should watch his version with the Nice eighteen years previously, complete with his dagger routine and playing from the other side of the organ. l always preferred the Nice to ELP who were a bit OTT for me.
Great! One little quibble though, Will should have held the C in the beginning instead of going down to the F and most of it was played up an octave, he didn't do his homework.
They have the best keyboard player in the world on the show and they keep the camera on the most overrated keyboard player in the world. Lmao long live Keith Emerson! ☮️
Keith was a musical genius. There will never be another ELP.
The MOST DANGEROUS BAND on TV finally got to show off their talents! Will Lee practically jumping off the stage, Paul, eating up the backing key parts and Sid McGinnis trying to fit and not step on Keith's Hammond parts. I'd never seen this and many thanks for posting it. God, what a talent and sad ending. Keith you made us all better players and listeners just to keep up. Thanks RIP
Keith Emerson is like one of those superb actors who bring the quality of a whole ensemble's performance up several notches by their presence and their example.
The way Emerson literally conducted the band with his whole body was AMAZING. .... We haven't seen his kind since Mozart and we never will again.
I weep everytime i watch a video of THE GREATEST KEYBOARD PLAYER OF ALL TIME. KEITH EMERSON THE WORLD MISSES YOU.
what is amazing is that emerson did this with the nice in 67 and it still sounded fresh in 86 and still sounds fresh in 2024
I wonder how many American viewers actually knew that arrangement was from 1968 back when he was with the Nice?
Of course I knew it I’m from New York and a huge fan of Keith Emerson met him in 2013 ,i was also at the Emerson lake and Powell. Show that they are talking about here. It was at Madison square garden
Man It Sucks getting old ,and losing all these greats.
Dean but it really sucked for Keith Emerson to get old because they said he committed suicide from his unbearable arthritis pain in his hands and he could no longer play anymore
@@gardensofthegods die young stay pretty.
Keith Emerson is the baddest and craziest keyboard player. Still on top. RIP
My brother and I saw "Emerson, Lake, & Powell" on this (1986) tour at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia, PA, with local Philly-area band "Bricklin" opening. Wonderful show! (RIP, Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, and Cozy Powell. Hard to believe they're all gone... time flies.)
Glenn Hecker , I was still living in Philadelphia in 86 and I would have loved to have seen that as Cozy Powell was one of my favorite drummers .
No doubt it was an incredible show .
Great to hear you caught them on this tour. This Letterman episode was just before the MSG show in Sept 20, 86. Is was a good turnout given that they also played Brendan Byrne arena in NJ just afterwards.
From a lifelong yes fan .god bless ELP they were amazing too .and only years later did I become aware of how entwined these two sets of musical genius's actually were.
The look of happiness he gives Paul at 4:23 is pure gold. I remember that when I saw this in 86
And Sid , Will, Anton
"Man that was impressive".., no shit!!! That was Keith Emerson, what did you expect? RIP Keith, the legend.
Of all my "rock music heroes", Keith Emerson stands alone. When it came to writng, singing, and conveying emotion vocally in a song , John Lennon will always be tops. When it came to expressing emotion and spirit purely through an instrument and the compositions for it, Keith Emerson was the greatest. I get chills listening to him soar in this one performance, inspiring the band to play their best, who one can see are full of respect for the unparalled master....Keith Emerson. I pray that wherever he is now, that he can feel the love and appreciation we all had for him and the music he gave to us.
To John Foster: This is one of the best comments I have read on TH-cam in any genre of music. I will print and refer to this during the course of my existence. Well done.
Lennon was an asshole. Sorry, folks, but it' true. Gave Julian nothing and said Julian was the result of a whiskey drunken night. Ono should have been shot.
@@willoughby1888 his reunion with Greg alone must have been magnificent…..
Paul Schaeffer watching the solo in awe... classic!
Keith Emerson - the greatest instrumentalist in rock full stop. The band got taken on a real musical journey - they were moving in unison at the end
Keither on another level. Bravo,Maestro! RIP.
Ich freue mich über seine vielen Versionen, heißt : große Musikalität!
WOW. From tickling the ivories with Keith Emerson (progressive rock) to tearing it up with Brian Setzer (rockabilly) flawlessly from one week to the next with very little rehearsal in between, Letterman truly had THE MOST DANGEROUS BAND on his hands throughout the 80's. Legendary!!! LL
RIP KEITH - STILL FONDLY REMEMBERED AND MISSED ON THIS YOUR 74TH BIRTHDAY YOUR LIGHT WILL ALWAYS SHINE AND NEVER DIE .
Remember watching this back in the day. Emerson's presence set this episode apart.
Amazing stuff. And kudos to the World's Most Dangerous Band - the best late night tv band ever.
Honestly,the man's chops were beyond anything I've ever heard.
Rick Wakeman was even.
@@BrianLTanner He wasn't
@@DaveH-10 Keith used a lot of 'outside' tones in his soloing and chord comping-in short, he wasn't afraid to go outside the 'musical box'. Wakeman, while a great player as well, tended to stay in the 'safe' zones of music comping and soloing..Wakeman mainly played in Major keys while Keith was always mixing it up Major, minor, augmented, diminished, symmetrical, etc...so yes davh10 I agree the two players are completely different in approach..but Keith's style was more 'adventurous':)
Although proficient on multiple genres, and creating new kinds of music, Keith was clearly a jazzer at heart from an improvisational standpoint. There's a good video somewhere of Keith jamming with Dave Brubeck, and some of ELP's work is amazing jazz piano trio performance.
@@jonbarrett7054 Extremely well put and sums up my thoughts exactly. Emerson had a hard 'edge' that made his music more challenging.
The treat was watching the band members playing with Keith and how excited they were. Finally something to show off their skills as well. Great performance. And watching the drummer read the music while playing was also very cool.
This performance got me into The Nice. The Nice version was released in 1968 and this was performed in 1986, 18 years later.
I do not think anybody realized that at the beginning Emerson plays the beginning of the New World Symphony of Antonin Dvorak. The greatest keyboardist of rock and progressive rock Keith Emerson.
also at 1:49 and at 3:41 there is dvorak ;-)
didn't hear dvorak at the beginning
Sounds more like Tchaikovsky's Marche Slave to me...
I realized the Dvorak in the beginning thanks to my dose of Little Einsteins in my childhood, so I know what did he do in the start.
Yes the beginning is part of the 4th monement of 9th symphonie
See Paul looking at his finger movements in awe. This guy was held in awe by even top end keyboardists
A stellar performance, every last one of them kicked ass.
The look frightened to get it right. Have you ever seen that band so on edge? Legend
With the exception of bass player Will Lee, band is totally lost and hanging on by their fingernails.
My first concert October 86. ELPowell Charlie NC. I shall never forget it! Unfortunately it wasn't a big crowd but you wouldn't have known it. They still put on a tremendous show. The few thousand of us that were there know it!
If there was a rock god, Keith Emerson would qualify. RIP.
Paul Schaffer' s band was incredible! Some charts, a little rehearsal, and they nailed it.
Absolutely. Of course, Emerson knew how to jam with people ;)
You got that right! Their "World's Most Dangerous Band" moniker was no overstatement!!! LL
The best 100 keyboard players in the world:-
1 - Keith Emerson
2 to 100 - others
Went to see Keith when he was with ‘The Nice ‘ in the early 70s , at Liverpool st George’s Hall , managed to bunk in early to watch them rehearse, and he played the iconic organ they have there , happy days, the memory will live with me always.
RIP Keith Emerson & Greg Lake. Read "Lucky Man" Greg's autobiography. Good book. Cheers!
HOLY FRICK'IN MOLY !! This is fantastic !! What a absolutely barn burning rendition of this great Bernstein/Nice tune ! Originally in West Side Story so it fit Letterman's show in New York very nicely. And I use to VHS copy Letterman's Late Show musical acts all the time. Got like three full Maxell tapes worth (somewhere). I'm a huge ELP fan, how'd I let this get by me ?!! Very much thank yous to those responsible for posting this !
If only TV shows were still like this...
Everyone looking around like "WTF JUST HAPPENRD???" What happened is you just had a virtuous performance by THE BEST KEYBOARD PLAYER TO EVER WALK THE EARTH, Mr. Keith Emerson. Miss and love you bro, RIP
Paul and his band did a commendable job on this keynote KE piece.
It is still possible to find I
his 17 min. live version of America, when he was still with The Nice. That is truly amazing!
As he stabbed the his A-100's keys with knives to hold notes. And tearing off the cover of a grand piano to play the strings with drum sticks!
The raunchy feedback that he achieved between the Leslie and A-100 was so delicious and hard to duplicate!
Outstanding Performance !!!!!!!!
I was at thst EL and Powel show
A tribute to Shaffer and the band to only keep up but glide with the legend. Will: Jump a little higher next time?!
A studio musician's nightmare: "you're backing KE, and you're on in ten minutes"..
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH
+tednugentlives Hahahaha!!
Paul Shaffer is no slouch.
@MorbidManMusic ya know nothing
I managed it in 1969. It was fun.
I saw the Nice live in Leister UK in 1968 at the Coop Hall Humberstone Gate. Beat that guys!
2:19 - Even Paul (who's one of the best keyboardists there is) is like "Holy shit..."
You watch this and the acknowledgement of another musician's skill is so obvious.
I always worry about genuinely artistic creative people in this present mechanical, digital, mediocre and superficial world because it's full of soulless technicians being called artists, people like Emerson breathed different air from these automatons.
"Power To The People!" -- the Tooting Popular Front! : D (Your thumbnail.) That was a great show.
Fantastic
This must be the highlight of Paul's career.
Dude...awesome.
Classic prog rock!! Keith Emerson was such a great showman! I guess Greg Lake missed this gig. Even though Carl Palmer was legendary, Cozy Powell was a great drummer in his own right. RIP Keith and Greg ❤ You blew us away!
Maestro!!!
Emerson is...The King.
RIP Mr Emerson
Mind blowing.
Love America!!!!
The Late Show Band can complement anyone, anytime!
Awesome. Band of guys working together. World's Most Dangerous Band in top form, here - indeed - just like their trip with Eddie Van Halen, Panama! LL
Give it up for the band! Guitarist is great! KE is the best keyboardist period.
We know Keith was great. Well done David Letterman band!
Check out the drumming. Nice to see a local lad who suppported many big names in the 70s & 80s - Cosy Powell (born Colin Flooks of Cirencester)
Rare 👍😊🌹
"Sorry Paul, my B3 tone smokes your whole careers worth" - and I have nothing but respect for Paul
0:27 Keith plays on vintage sampler Kurzweil K250 (with organ sound)
awaken77 underneath that Kurzweil (an amazing instrument by the way) is a Hammond B3
I wish he would play it on L100 with his knives
you are right, it sounds way better with the motor turning off and on and the reverb being smacked to hell and back. The L screamed through those Marshall powered Leslies. Will Lee looks like he's having fun!
0:57.....jésus..... *that* was an anticlimax , after such a grandiose opening.....sounded like my bloody Colecovision game console........having had that brilliant single since '68.......Anyway......a mere mortal's wrist wasn't made to do these things for very long.......it's a miracle Keith was actually able to do this for as long as he did....maybe he could've had peace of mind by being thankful for the music he was able to give this planet......instead of sulking he wasn't able to do this with his wrist at an age when most people were already walking with canes or in their graves........
What a nice thing to say.
anyone beside me that Paul Schaffer enjoyed that performance ven more than did the audience?
sorry, tried writing that without glasses... anyone else think that Paul enjoyed that performance even more than did the audience?
Paul and the band must have looked forward to jammin' with big artists when they didn't bring their own ensemble.
At 1:33 when he´s going for the lower manual sweeps and there is no sound :D
It took Keith Emerson about 10 seconds to lose Paul Shaffer.......Paul couldn't handle it.
Algunos trazos con la guitarra suenan como Procol Harum y Focus...lo cual es muy agradable
Interesting how Yes and ELP incorporate music from West Side Story. "Something's Coming" and "America".
aviduser1961 I don't think ELP ever did America. Keith Emerson did it with The Nice but I have never heard a ELP version of it.
Your statement is not wrong, but just to avoid possible confusion the version of "America" YES did was written by Simon and Garfunkel. It has one of the greatest guitar solos ever in the middle.
@@northernlight4614 ELP incorporated it after Fanfare for the Common Man and before Rondo in Black Moon Tour 1992-1993. Before and after it, Emerson performed it solo in different versions, mostly with Rondo as closer.
🙏 ✌ ❤ 🎶 🌎 👏
Why are they not in Hall of fame???????????
And people choose folk music and rap over this? Mind boggling what a genius Emerson was as a musician and performer. Thinking mans music supersedes the utter banality of todays sonic tripe!
RIP Keith. Sniff.
This was a moment of reconciliation with the past famed performance with the Nice, when they set the american flag on fire.
Pre ELP "The Nice" "America"
Mark it on calendar!Magnificent life start tomorrow!
Before augmenting made them less, somehow, Paul Schafer and The World's Most Dangerous Band. And the Master, Keith Emerson. Nice work, guys.
America was pregnant with promise and anticipation but was murdered by the hand of the inevitable.
The band seemed to be enjoying this arrangement
Wow. I'm seeing notes that don't seem to be in the soundtrack. Emerson seems to have been seriously muted on this effort. Hmmm. I guess it's just nice to see him even being on TV.
Anyone who liked this should watch his version with the Nice eighteen years previously, complete with his dagger routine and playing from the other side of the organ. l always preferred the Nice to ELP who were a bit OTT for me.
The Hands of God
you SAID IT Brother!. .... Right on!
KEITH EMERSON OF EMERSON LAKE AND PALMER WAS AS GOOD AS JOHN LORD OF DEEP PURPLE r.i.p GUYS YOU where GREAT Musicians
.
Without the throwing of knives it was still very good.
Paul Shaffer: Hey I can help on this track!
Me: Why? It's Keith Emerson!
According to Letterman at the beginning, Carl Palmer changed his name to Cozy Powell!
Ever the showman.
“West Side Story.”
Powell was the only drummer they could have had..Not a shade on Palmer but a great drummer
Powell's work with Rainbow was really stellar.
Rick Wakeman Keith Emerson Jon Lord...the BIG 3 !!!
I just wish I could go back in time and tell to not bounce around on his wrists so much.
might be alive today...
Great! One little quibble though, Will should have held the C in the beginning instead of going down to the F and most of it was played up an octave, he didn't do his homework.
Bob shut the fuck up
They have the best keyboard player in the world on the show and they keep the camera on the most overrated keyboard player in the world. Lmao long live Keith Emerson! ☮️
Notice Paul came in a little early but covered it up pretty well. 🤭🤫
0:28 KE
I prefer the arrangement from The Nice. It just seems a smoother blend of notes.
Why i played in a band
Never ever any close to this man
predating Trans-Siberian Orchestra and their blending of classical and hard rock
Keith Emerson never played the keyboards, he would force notes out of the keyboard.