Marcato Staccato – A Tribute to Keith Emerson

I met the inspiration for my song “Marcato Staccato – A Tribute to Keith Emerson” backstage on June 11, 1977, after a breathtaking, full orchestra ELP concert in St. Paul, Minnesota (the Works Tour). I still have my caterer’s backstage pass for that show (above) — although the ink is beginning to fade away.

After chatting briefly about my tough decision to sell my Hammond B3 earlier that year (Keith seemed genuinely interested, even replying “What a shame!” in a truly compassionate manner), Keith — without any hesitation whatsoever — offered to take me up onstage and demonstrate an answer to a question I had about a certain “wind” sound he’d make on the Hammond.

Little did I realize at that time the Works Tour was in the midst of financial ruin. Even though that must have weighed heavily on his mind (and pocketbook) that evening, Keith still gave me his personal, undivided attention. 100% attention. He seemed to honestly care about me as a real person during those brief backstage moments we had together. Just Keith and me. No one else was there.

It was Keith’s genuine care for human beings (even no-names like me), coupled with his never-ever-matched keyboard skills, that inspired me to write this song. 

“Marcato Staccato – A Tribute to Keith Emerson” is primarily influenced by Keith’s riveting rendering of Aaron Copeland’s “Hoedown” (Trilogy album), including Keith’s “Shortnin’ Bread” tease before he lays into his massive modular Moog to polish off this particular masterpiece.

While “Hoedown” is clearly my foremost influence, my initial inspiration came from Keith’s Hammond keyboard line underneath Greg Lake’s vocal line “… no computer stands in my way …” on ELP’s “Karn Evil 9 (3rd Impression)” (Brain Salad Surgery album), which I borrowed and paired with Keith’s “Shortnin’ Bread” tease (those two fit together so very well!). And my layered-ending build at the end was inspired by Keith’s spectacular layering work on “Abaddon’s Bolero” (also the Trilogy album).

It is my heart’s desire to honor the memory and legacy of Keith Emerson by composing and recording a new gritty Hammond organ-driven song totally inspired by Keith. So after completing my demo in September 2022, I reached out to Keith’s son Aaron with a copy of my demo, and my simple question, “May I have your family’s permission to entitle my song, “Marcato Staccato - A Tribute to Keith Emerson”?”

Aaron’s reply to me was, “Thanks for sending this over! I can definitely hear my dad’s influence here - very ‘Hoedown’! You have my absolute blessing to name it in his honour.”

Thank you, Aaron, for your family’s permission to name my song as a way to celebrate your father’s superhuman influence and his mind-blowing, unmatched musical legacy. 

And thank you, Keith, for your genuine care and musical inspiration into my life!