KING CRIMSON Co-Founder PETER SINFIELD Dead At 80

Co-founding King Crimson roadie, lyricist, lights operator and live sound engineer Peter Sinfield has died at 80 years old. Sinfield played with King Crimson between 1968 and 1972, at which point he was fired by founding guitarist Robert Fripp. Sinfield would go on to write lyrics for artists like Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Cher, Celene Dion, and way more. Sinfield also found success working with composer and fellow songwriter Andy Hill.

The news of Sinfield’s death comes from Fripp, who wrote in part that Sinfield was responsible for naming King Crimson. In his closing paragraph, Fripp notes he and Sinfield worked together briefly in 2014.

“In 2014, Fripp invited Sinfield to provide an updated take on the lyrics of 21^st Century Schizoid Man, renewing their partnership, albeit briefly and at a distance, in line with Fripp’s mission to have the music, and in this instance, the lyrics reimagined for the new incarnation of King Crimson. A keen cook and gardener, living on the Suffolk coast in the town of Aldeburgh, famed for its international music festival, Peter, had been suffering from declining health for several years.”