Rick Wakeman

One of the premier rock keyboardists of the progressive era, Rick Wakeman is best known for his numerous stints as a member of prog rock superstars Yes. In the mid-'70s he forged a solo career with a trio of ambitious classical rock albums that proved highly successful: The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, and The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. During the '80s he produced the film score for Ken Russell's Lisztomania and co-wrote a musical version of George Orwell's 1984 with lyricist Tim Rice. Wakeman subsequently recorded a series of acclaimed new age albums, recorded and toured intermittently with Yes, and maintained a prodigious recording and touring schedule, balancing his rock, new age, religious, and solo piano work. In the 21st century, albums like 2017's Piano Portraits and 2020's The Red Planet earned Wakeman critical acclaim and even a return to chart success.