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Peter Sinfield, King Crimson’s Original Lyricist and Key Collaborator, Dead at 80

Peter Sinfield, King Crimson's original lyricist, art director, and general jack-of-all-trades, has died at the age of 80.

Sinfield played a significant role in the formation and early success of King Crimson, serving as lyricist and artistic director, while also providing all sorts of practical help. In that Rolling Stone interview, Sinfield recalled the early King Crimson rehearsals and the band’s search for “something heavy.” The lead riff to “21st Century Schizoid Man” was “exactly what we were looking for,” he added, going on to explain how he drew on the chaos of the era and “violent pictures” of the Vietnam War for the lyrics. After King Crimson, Sinfield was tapped to guide the early days of another burgeoning act, Roxy Music, producing their first single, “Virginia Plain,” and self-titled debut album, both of which arrived in 1972.

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