10 Most Iconic Keyboard Songs In Rock Music
9. Roundabout - Yes
Going through rock's different subgenres, the piano lends itself a lot more to prog rock than the guitar ever could. Though you have your fair share of virtuosos in the field, the need to write outlandish melodies is a lot more satisfied with a keyboard than it would be with the limited amount of frets. This was always a genre about expanding your musical horizons, and Rick Wakeman was the grand wizard behind everything with Yes.
While Roundabout might not be the most ambitious song that Yes have ever done or anything, this was one of the first times that we got to see what Rick was capable of, taking his organ to task throughout the entire song with one sweeping run after another. Moving right along with Steve Howe behind the fretboard, Rick really did live up to the otherworldly get up that he wore onstage, adding just the right melodic touch to every piece of the song, from harmonizing with the bass part during the samba section to the arpeggios that run through the break where all of the instruments drop out.
Other prog bands may have just tried to make a spectacle every time they got into the studio, but this was more than just jamming for 13 minutes. Rick Wakeman was trying to create a rock and roll symphony from the ground up, and this was ground zero for masterpieces like Close to the Edge in the next few years.