King Crimson co-founder dies

Ian McDonald “passed away peacefully” on February 9 at his home

Legendary multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald, who co-founded one of the most influential bands in rock history, King Crimson, has died. A representative for the musician announced on Friday that McDonald had “passed away peacefully on 9 February in his home in New York City, surrounded by his family.”

McDonald co-founded two groups, the progressive rock band King Crimson and the rock group Foreigner, featuring on four of the biggest-selling albums released between 1969-79. King Crimson’s debut album ‘In the Court of the Crimson King’ was celebrated when it was released and, more recently, was sampled by Kanye West on his 2010 single ‘Power.’

The original lineup of King Crimson separated in 1969, with McDonald and Michael Giles teaming up separately to produce an album a year later that took a more pop-style approach to their rock content. McDonald rejoined King Crimson in 1974 and, in 2020, former members of the group reformed under the name the ‘21st Century Schizoid Band.’

McDonald teamed up with British artist Mick Jones and US musician Lou Gramm in 1976 to form Foreigner, appearing on three of the group's four platinum-certified albums. However, he was dismissed from the group in 1980 by Jones, who reportedly wanted to exert greater control over the group.

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“I have trouble processing time in terms of years and weeks and months. I mean, it’s 40 years for Foreigner, almost 50 years for King Crimson – but it feels like milliseconds. It’s a lot of good work, though,” McDonald told Billboard during an interview a few years ago.

“Ian’s a musician’s musician. The ability to have Ian McDonald, who was a multi-instrumentalist, helped [Foreigner] a lot,” Foreigner founder Mick Jones said during celebrations for the group’s 40th anniversary in 2017.

No cause of death has been disclosed yet.