Former King Crimson Singer + Bassist Gordon Haskell Dead at 74

Onetime King Crimson member Gordon Haskell, a singer and bassist for the progressive rock pioneers early in their career, has died at the age of 74.

Word of the musician's death emerged Sunday (Oct. 18) in a short post to Haskell's Facebook page.

"It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Gordon, a great musician and a wonderful person who will be sadly missed by so many," the statement said.

Haskell played bass and sang lead on King Crimson's 1970 album Lizard, his best-known contribution to the band. He also lent vocals to a song on the preceding album, In the Wake of Poseidon, the follow-up to their 1969 breakthrough, In the Court of the Crimson King. Haskell parted ways with King Crimson after Lizard.

Before that, the musician — born in Dorset, England, in 1946 — was a childhood friend and bandmate of King Crimson bandleader Robert Fripp. Haskell cut his teeth in Fripp's earlier group, the League of Gentlemen.

King Crimson acknowledged Haskell's death in a brief post on their own social media this week.

"Gordon Haskell's Facebook page is reporting that Gordon has died," the band responded. "His time in KC wasn't a particularly happy part of his long career, but his work on In the Wake of Poseidon and in particular, Lizard, is much admired in the Crimson community."

During his long career in music outside of King Crimson, Haskell issued 13 solo albums, including this year's The Cat Who's Got the Cream, released in January. His solo song "How Wonderful You Are" was a hit on the U.K. charts in 2001. He was also a member of the band Fleurs de Lys in the 1960s.

The cause of Haskell's death wasn't made clear on Sunday.

Earlier this year, another King Crimson collaborator from the same era, Keith Tippett, died at the age of 72.