Album: Emerson, Lake, and Powell (1986)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Clocking in at 9:10, this song was featured prominently on the only album and tour this lineup ever did. Originally titled "What's your game?" it was only changed to "The Score" at the very last minute.
  • The lyrics refer back to Emerson, Lake, and Palmer's 1973 song "Karn Evil 9" from the Brain Salad Surgery album.
  • The throbbing single-note motif heard at the very beginning of the song was created with the help of programmer Paul "Wix" Wickens on a Yamaha QX1 keyboard. The choir sounds came from a synthesizer called the Oberheim Matrix. "Wix" would go on to perform as a session musician on many albums in the late 1980s.
  • After their only tour, this lineup broke up when Keith Emerson and Greg Lake heard a rumor that Cozy Powell was leaving them to replace John Bonham in a reformed Led Zeppelin. The rumor proved to be untrue. Emerson would eventually form a band in 1988 with Carl Palmer and Robert Berry called Three. Emerson, Lake, and Palmer would reunite in 1992. Cozy Powell went on to play in Black Sabbath, and died in a car accident in 1998. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Steve - Torrance, CA, for all above

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Carol Kaye

Carol KayeSongwriter Interviews

A top session musician, Carol played on hundreds of hits by The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Frank Sinatra and many others.

Corey Hart

Corey HartSongwriter Interviews

The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."

Lita Ford

Lita FordSongwriter Interviews

Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.

Rosanne Cash

Rosanne CashSongwriter Interviews

Rosanne talks about the journey that inspired her songs on her album The River & the Thread, including a stop at the Tallahatchie Bridge.

Kevin Godley

Kevin GodleySongwriter Interviews

Kevin Godley talks about directing classic videos for The Police, U2 and Duran Duran, and discusses song and videos he made with 10cc and Godley & Creme.

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie Combination

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie CombinationSong Writing

In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.