King Crimson is a rock band founded in 1969. Although typically categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band has incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during its history. The band has been influential on many contemporary musical artists and gained a large cult following despite garnering little radio or music video airplay.
The band's lineup (centred on guitarist Robert Fripp) has persistently altered throughout its existence, with eighteen musicians and two lyricists passing through the ranks. A greater degree of stability was achieved later on in its history (with current frontman Adrian Belew having been a consistent member since 1981).
In the Court of the Crimson King released in 1969 is their debut album. It is generally viewed as one of the strongest of the progressive rock genre, where King Crimson largely stripped away the blues-based foundations of rock music and mixed together with jazz and European symphonic elements. In his 1997 book Rocking the Classics, critic and musicologist Edward Macan notes that In the Court of the Crimson King "may be the most influential progressive rock album ever released".
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