R.I.P. Ian McDonald

Co-founder of both King Crimson and Foreigner. He contained multitudes.

Props to McDonald for playing a pivotal role in getting the airship King Crimson aloft. I never knew he was edged out of Foreigner as I tried [and succeeded!] to completely ignore that band. The dgmlive.com website was surprisingly tight lipped for its obituary; consisting mostly of links to other web obits. Hmm.

Former TP subscriber [81, 82, 83, 84]

[postpunkmonk.com]
For further rumination on the Fresh New Sound of Yesterday®

He also played on "Bang a Gong (Get it on)". The NPR article I read said he played "on two mainstay prog-rock bands: King Crimson and Foreigner" (italics mine). I never thought Foreigner would be considered prog.

There’s one proggish song on the first Foreigner record called, if I remember correctly, “Star Rider” that McDonald sang (and presumably wrote). I guess that counts?

He was very important to the development of Crimson, and wrote the music for the title track of In the Court of the Crimson King, possibly the only KC classic Fripp had no hand in writing.