My Favorite Keyboard Players (Part Three)

So far I’ve chosen, Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, Eumir Deodato, Gershon Kingsley, Jon Lord, Elton John, Billy Joel, Nicky Hopkins, John Paul Jones, Richard Wright, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Billy Preston. Let me chose some more to consider.

Roger Joseph Manning Jr. was born May 27, 1966, in Los Angeles, California, the son of Roger Manning, a businessman, and Jane DeLara, a schoolteacher, and later grew up in Valencia and Pleasanton, California. His fascination with music began when he was very young; he became interested in ragtime, took piano lessons, learned to play drums, and developed an enduring obsession

with records, keyboards and the mechanics of recorded sound. His musical tastes expanded to include Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, Herbie Hancock, Frank Zappa, Brian Eno and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He attended Amador Valley High School, where he met future Jellyfish drummer

and songwriting partner Andy Sturmer, and subsequently studied musical composition at the University of Southern California. Manning is an exceptionally versatile keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist, playing piano, Hammond organ and numerous

analog and digital synthesizers, and he has become especially respected for his ability to create unusual keyboard textures, elaborate arrangements and vintage electronic sounds. He began his professional career with Beatnik Beatch before forming Jellyfish with Sturmer and Jason Falkner in 1989.

Jellyfish released Bellybutton in 1990 and Spilt Milk in 1993, combining power pop, psychedelic pop, progressive rock and sophisticated vocal harmonies, with Manning providing keyboards, vocals, songwriting and arrangements. Although Jellyfish lasted only a few years, the group became one of the most influential cult bands of its era. After Jellyfish broke up, Manning formed Imperial Drag with Eric Dover and, with Brian Kehew, created the Moog Cookbook, a deliberately humorous but musically serious

project that used vintage Moog synthesizers to reinterpret familiar rock songs in the style of early electronic novelty records. He subsequently became an in-demand session musician, arranger, producer and touring keyboardist, working with Beck, Air, Morrissey, Blink-182, Johnny Cash, Green Day, Sheryl Crow, Jay-Z and many other artists;

he also participated in TV Eyes and became a member of Beck’s backing band, where his extensive collection of vintage keyboards became an important part of his live sound. His solo career began with Solid State Warrior in 2005, released internationally in 2006 as The Land of Pure Imagination, followed by Catnip Dynamite in 2008 and Glamping in 2018;

Radio Daze & Glamping appeared in 2023. He has also continued working with former Jellyfish associates through The Lickerish Quartet. Manning has received no major Grammy or similar mainstream award, but his accomplishments as a keyboardist, songwriter, arranger, studio musician and collector of vintage synthesizers have earned him a devoted international following and considerable respect among fellow musicians.

Richard Tandy was born March 26, 1948, in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, and became best known as the keyboardist whose playing helped define the distinctive orchestral and futuristic sound of the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). He attended Moseley School in Birmingham,

where he met future ELO drummer Bev Bevan, and began classical piano lessons at the age of nine; while still at school he also played guitar in a Birmingham group called the Chantelles. During the late 1960s he became increasingly interested in keyboards, influenced by musicians such as Alan Price and Georgie Fame, and his early professional work included playing electric

harpsichord on The Move’s 1968 British No. 1 single “Blackberry Way.” He subsequently worked with The Uglys and Balls before joining ELO in 1972, initially as a bass guitarist. Following the departures of Roy Wood and keyboardist Bill Hunt, Tandy moved permanently to keyboards, a decision that became crucial to ELO’s musical identity.

His remarkable keyboard abilities included piano, electric piano, Hammond organ, Mellotron, Minimoog, Hohner Clavinet and numerous other synthesizers, including the Yamaha CS-80, ARP 2600 and Oberheim instruments. His playing and arrangements were particularly important on such classic ELO albums as ELO 2, On the Third Day, Eldorado, Face the Music, A New World Record,

Out of the Blue, Discovery and Time, contributing to songs including “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Evil Woman,” “Livin’ Thing,” “Telephone Line,” “Mr. Blue Sky” and “Shine a Little Love.” Tandy was also involved in ELO’s elaborate string arrangements and helped translate Jeff Lynne’s ambitious studio productions into a powerful live sound. He remained with ELO until its breakup in 1986 and later formed the Tandy Morgan Band with

Dave Morgan and Martin Smith, releasing the concept album Earthrise in 1985. Tandy maintained a close musical relationship with Lynne, collaborating with him on projects outside ELO and returning for ELO’s Zoom album and performances in the early 2000s; when Lynne revived the group as Jeff Lynne’s ELO in 2014, Tandy again became a member and participated in the band’s later recordings and performances, including the 2019 album From Out of Nowhere.

In 2017, Tandy and his ELO bandmates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, one of the highest honors of his career. Tandy was married twice, first to Carol “Cookie,” whose marriage ended in divorce, and later to Sheila, whom he met after an ELO concert in Los Angeles in 1981; he spent his later years living quietly in Wales.

Richard Tandy died at age 76 on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Albany, New York, from undisclosed causes, and was survived by his wife, Sheila, and other members of the Tandy family. His death marked the loss of a musician whose sophisticated keyboard work was fundamental to ELO’s blend of rock, pop and classical music and whose sound influenced generations of musicians.

Stevie Wonder, born Stevland Hardaway Morris on May 13, 1950, in Saginaw, Michigan, is one of the most influential singer-songwriters, musicians and recording artists in popular music history. Born prematurely and blind from complications involving oxygen treatment, he moved with his family to Detroit as a child and became an extraordinary musical prodigy,

learning piano, harmonica and drums at a very young age. He attended Fitzgerald Elementary School in Detroit and later Michigan School for the Blind, where his musical abilities continued to develop. Discovered by Ronnie White of the Miracles when he was about 11, he auditioned for Berry Gordy and was signed to Motown’s Tamla label, initially being promoted as “Little Stevie Wonder.”

His first major success came with the live recording “Fingertips,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963 when he was only 13, making him one of the youngest artists ever to top the chart. Wonder became an extraordinary keyboard player, mastering piano, electric piano, Hammond organ, clavinet and synthesizers while also becoming highly accomplished on harmonica, drums and other

instruments; his pioneering use of synthesizers and electronic keyboards, particularly during the 1970s, helped transform the sound of soul, R&B and pop music. His artistic peak produced a remarkable sequence of albums including Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness’ First Finale and Songs in the Key of Life, containing such enduring songs as “Superstition,” “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” “Higher Ground,” “Living for the City,”

“Sir Duke,” “I Wish” and “Isn’t She Lovely.” He has also been an important social and political activist, most notably campaigning for the creation of a national holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. His personal life has included several marriages and long-term relationships, and he is the father of nine children. Among his many honors are

25 Grammy Awards, including three Album of the Year victories, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Kennedy Center Honors, the Library of Congress Gershwin

Prize for Popular Song and recognition as a United Nations Messenger of Peace. Wonder has remained an active recording and performing musician well into the 2020s, and his extraordinary combination of songwriting, singing, keyboard virtuosity, musicianship and humanitarian work has established him as one of the true giants of twentieth- and twenty-first-century music.

Geoffrey Downes, known professionally as Geoff Downes, was born August 25, 1952, in Stockport, Cheshire, England, and grew up in a musical family, with his father playing organ and his mother singing, which helped inspire his lifelong fascination with keyboards. He studied at Leeds College of Music, where he developed his skills as a composer, arranger and keyboardist, and during the 1970s worked with various bands and musicians before moving into the progressive-rock scene.

Downes is an exceptionally accomplished keyboard player, known for combining traditional piano and organ with an extensive collection of analog and digital synthesizers, and he became particularly associated with elaborate banks of keyboards that allowed him to reproduce complex studio arrangements onstage. His breakthrough came when he and Trevor Horn wrote and recorded “Video Killed the Radio Star” with The Buggles,

whose 1979 album The Age of Plastic produced the international hit; the song became especially famous as the first music video broadcast on MTV in the United States in 1981. In 1980, Downes and Horn joined Yes, replacing Rick Wakeman and Jon Anderson for the album

Drama, and Downes’ distinctive keyboard work helped give the record a harder, more modern sound. After Yes temporarily dissolved, Downes joined former Yes guitarist Steve Howe, bassist/vocalist John Wetton and drummer Carl Palmer to form Asia in 1981. Their self-titled debut album became a huge international success, reaching No. 1 in the United States and producing hits such as “Heat of the Moment,” “Only Time Will Tell” and “Sole Survivor.” Downes remained the only constant member of Asia

through numerous personnel changes, recording a long series of albums and establishing himself as one of progressive rock’s most enduring keyboardists. He also pursued solo projects, including collaborations with Mike Oldfield and various instrumental and electronic releases,

and reunited with Trevor Horn for occasional Buggles projects. Downes returned to Yes in 2011 and has since been involved in both Yes and Asia-related projects, continuing to record and tour extensively. His keyboard work is characterized by a mixture of classical technique, progressive-rock complexity and electronic experimentation, and he has frequently used instruments from manufacturers including Moog, Yamaha, Roland, Korg and Sequential.

Downes has received numerous honors as a member of Yes, including induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, and Asia’s achievements have earned the group lasting recognition as one of the leading progressive-rock supergroups of the 1980s. His personal life has generally remained private; he has been married and has children, including musician and producer Alex Downes, and he has continued to live and work primarily as a professional musician.

Robert William Lamm was born October 13, 1944, in Brooklyn, New York, and became one of the principal creative forces behind Chicago, serving as a founding member, keyboardist, vocalist and songwriter. His parents collected jazz records, giving him an early musical education at home, and as a youngster he sang in the choir of Grace Episcopal Church in Brooklyn Heights, where he was exposed to sacred music ranging from medieval works through Bach and modern composers.

When he was 15, his family moved to Chicago, where he became immersed in jazz, rock ’n’ roll, rhythm and blues and the emerging Beatles phenomenon; he played in local bands while attending high school, initially studying art, particularly drawing and painting, before enrolling in the music program at Roosevelt University to study music theory and composition. Although piano was his principal instrument, Lamm developed into a highly versatile keyboardist, playing Hammond organ,

Wurlitzer electric piano, Fender Rhodes, grand piano, Mellotron, clavinet and a wide variety of synthesizers, including Moog, ARP and Yamaha instruments, and his keyboard parts became an essential component of Chicago’s sound. In early 1967 he was invited to join the new “rock with horns” group that became Chicago, initially playing bass parts with his organ pedals before the addition of Peter Cetera; Lamm quickly emerged as one of the band’s most prolific composers.

Seven of his compositions appeared on the debut Chicago Transit Authority in 1969, including “Beginnings,” “Questions 67 and 68,” “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” and “South California Purples,” and he subsequently wrote such Chicago classics as “25 or 6 to 4,” “Saturday in the Park,” “Dialogue (Part I & II),” “Wake Up Sunshine” and “Harry Truman.” Alongside his Chicago career, Lamm began a solo career

with Skinny Boy in 1974 and later released albums including Life Is Good in My Neighborhood, In My Head, Subtlety & Passion, Too Many Voices, Living Proof and other projects; he also recorded Like a Brother with Gerry Beckley and the late Carl Wilson as Beckley-Lamm-Wilson. Lamm relocated to New York City in 1991 and devoted increasing

attention to songwriting, arranging, producing and solo recording while continuing his work with Chicago. He has also served as a guest lecturer on music production at Stanford University and songwriting at New York University.

His honors include induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Chicago in 2016, induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2025, and recognition of Chicago Transit Authority by the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014. Lamm has been married several times and has a daughter, Sacha, and has generally kept his personal life relatively private. In 2026, after nearly six decades with Chicago, he stepped away from touring but remained an official member of the band.

Leon Russell, born Claude Russell Bridges on April 2, 1942, in Lawton, Oklahoma, was a remarkably versatile American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, producer and session musician whose career spanned more than six decades and crossed rock, country, gospel, blues, R&B, bluegrass and Tulsa’s distinctive musical tradition.

Both of his parents played piano, and he began playing at about four years old, receiving formal piano instruction in Anadarko; he also learned saxophone, cornet and baritone horn and developed an unusual left-hand-dominant piano style because of a birth injury that affected the right side of his body. He attended Will Rogers High School in Tulsa,

where he was already performing in clubs and recording professionally; he graduated in 1959 and chose a career in music rather than college, soon touring with Jerry Lee Lewis before moving to Los Angeles. Russell became one of the most sought-after session musicians of the 1960s, playing piano and keyboards on recordings by the Beach Boys, the Byrds,

the Monkees, Herb Alpert, Gary Lewis & the Playboys, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, B.B. King and many others, while also becoming an arranger and producer. His keyboard playing was central to his identity: his gospel-inflected piano combined boogie-woogie, blues, country, rock and classical influences, and his distinctive rhythmic approach made him one of the most recognizable pianists of his generation.

He co-founded Shelter Records with Denny Cordell and emerged as a major solo artist in the early 1970s, with songs including “A Song for You,” “Delta Lady,” “Tight Rope,” “This Masquerade,” “Hummingbird” and “Lady Blue”; his songs became standards recorded by artists including the Carpenters, George Benson, Ray Charles, Donny Hathaway, Willie Nelson and many others. He also organized and led Joe Cocker’s celebrated

Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour in 1970, performed at George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh in 1971, and recorded extensively with Willie Nelson, sometimes under the country-oriented name Hank Wilson. His 1970 debut solo album, Leon Russell, and 1971’s Leon Russell and the Shelter People established his reputation, while Carney produced his major hit “Tight Rope.”

After periods of reduced visibility, Russell enjoyed a late-career revival through his friendship and collaboration with Elton John, resulting in the 2010 album The Union, which earned a Grammy nomination for “If It Wasn’t for Bad.” His honors included two Grammy Awards, seven Grammy nominations, induction into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011, and the Rock Hall’s Award for Musical Excellence, making him the first recipient of that honor. “A Song for You” was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2018.

Russell was married first to singer Mary McCreary and later to Janet Lee Constantine, known as Jan Bridges, and was the father of six children, Blue, Tina Rose, Sugaree, Honey, Coco and Teddy Jack. After suffering serious health problems, including heart surgery following a heart attack in 2016, Leon Russell died in his sleep at his home in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, on Sunday, November 13, 2016, at age 74; he was survived by his wife Jan, his six children, and grandchildren.