Ian McDonald’s life led from the heart of London to New York City. As a child he played in a military band for the British Army, with King Crimson being one of the pioneers of prog rock. Now his son announced on Facebook that the cross-border commuter died “among his family” at the age of 75.
The term multi-instrumentalist is often used. For McDonald it is more than true. In addition to the guitar, he played all kinds of wind instruments such as saxophone, flute and clarinet, the keys were also his friend, with harpsichord, piano, organ and vibraphone. It suits him that he was already busy with the Mellotron, a kind of original sampler with analogue sound storage, at the end of the 1960s. A passionate musician who, on the other hand, was happy to do without the big limelight.
It was Robert Fripp who brought him to King Crimson at the age of 22 to produce the legendary album In The Court of the Crimson King. His varied, often avant-garde playing contributed to the emergence of the prog rock genre. However, he only stayed with the band for a short time. Already in 1969 he got out. He formed his own duo McDonald & Giles with King Crimson drummer Michael Giles. However, he remained associated with King Crimson as a session musician, for example on the 1975 album “Red”.
In a 2019 interview with Classic Rock magazine on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of In the Court of the Crimson King, he said he wanted to make sure “that my music would stand up to repeated listens and hopefully the time endures. So in that regard, I’m not surprised to keep getting asked about it. I am very happy and honored. Amazing that it’s been 50 years already.”
The thoroughbred musician moved to the USA in the mid-1970s and was one of the co-founders of the British-American rock band Foreigner in 1976. Here, too, he took on various roles as guitarist, keyboardist, saxophonist and songwriter for stadium rock anthems such as “Cold a Ice”, “Feels Like The First Time”, “Hot Blooded” or “Double Vision”.
After the debut album in 1977, Ian McDonald worked on the albums “Double Vision” (1978) and “Head Games” (1979) before being fired by frontman Mick Jones in 1980. He then put his skills to work behind the scenes as a sought-after studio musician. However, the subject of King Crimson would never let him go. Between 2002 and 2004, McDonald toured as part of the 21st Century Schizoid Band, playing early material from the prog rock pioneering days alongside other former members such as Mel Collins and the Giles brothers.