10 Greatest Keyboardists Of All Time
8. Rick Wakeman
When it comes to expanding the keyboard's abilities in rock music, Rick Wakeman was a mastermind who used sonic textures to revolutionize the rock landscape. Wakeman has made a name for himself in the prog rock titans Yes, where he constructed modern-day keyboard concertos that would take your average pianist a lifetime to decipher. When the band performed live, Wakeman performed with both calculated dexterity and wild abandon, oftentimes across multiple keyboards at once.
Along with planting the seeds of prog rock, Wakeman's session work has left an indelible mark on the rock world. Rock giants like David Bowie used Rick to create other-worldly sounds in his music while heavy metal transplants Black Sabbath called upon him to create a trance-like atmosphere with his piano. From upright pianos to the psychedelic Mellotron, the colorful tones that Wakeman created from these instruments turned songs like "Space Oddity" and "Sabra Cadabra" into rock classics.
On the live stage, it was not uncommon to find Wakeman clad in capes, looking like some sort of 16th century sorcerer. Given the man's pedigree for creating spellbinding runs, Rick Wakeman has certainly proved himself to be the modern-day keyboard wizard.