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Ian Richard McDonald (25 June 1946 – 9 February 2022) was an English
multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where ...
, best known as a founding member of the
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
band
King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...
in 1968, as well as the hard rock band Foreigner in 1976. McDonald began his music career as an army musician, where he learned the clarinet and taught himself
music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...
. He also taught himself to play flute, saxophone, guitar and piano. He co-founded King Crimson and appeared on their 1969 debut album ''
In the Court of the Crimson King ''In the Court of the Crimson King'' (subtitled ''An Observation by King Crimson'') is the debut studio album by English rock band King Crimson, released on 10 October 1969 by Island Records. The album is one of the earliest and most influentia ...
'', playing
Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...
, keyboards and woodwinds. In the mid-1970s, he moved to New York City where he co-founded Foreigner, appearing on the group's first three albums. He later collaborated with
Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis ...
and played in the King Crimson spin-off group
21st Century Schizoid Band 21st Century Schizoid Band were a King Crimson alumnus group formed in 2002. The name derives from the famous song "21st Century Schizoid Man" from the first King Crimson album, ''In the Court of the Crimson King''. The initial band featured Mel ...
. He was also a
session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...
, predominantly as a saxophonist.


Biography


Early life and army

McDonald was born on 25 June 1946 in Osterley,
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
, the son of Ada (née May) and Keith McDonald, an architect. He grew up in a musical family, regularly listening to records, and taught himself the guitar. His music interests ranged from classical orchestra to dance bands to rock. He was educated at Emanuel School, in Battersea, southwest London. At 15, he left school and began a five-year stint in the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
as a bandsman. In 1963 he enrolled at the Royal Military School of Music at Kneller Hall, where he took
clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
and learned to read music. He later learned piano, flute and saxophone and taught himself
music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...
. His experience of playing with army bands gave him great musical adaptability as he had to learn many different musical styles such as show tunes, classical, jazz, and military marches. It was this that honed his style to what eventually became the beginnings of the Prog Rock movement.


King Crimson

After leaving the army, McDonald moved back to London, and began making music with his girlfriend, former
Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started o ...
singer Judy Dyble. The pair were introduced to
Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is a British musician, songwriter, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session ...
and
Michael Giles Michael Rex Giles (born 1 March 1942) is an English drummer, percussionist, and vocalist, best known as one of the co-founders of King Crimson in 1969. Prior to the formation of King Crimson, he was part of the eccentric pop trio Giles, Giles a ...
which led to the formation of
King Crimson King Crimson are a progressive rock band formed in 1968 in London, England. The band draws inspiration from a wide variety of music, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, folk, heavy metal, gamelan, industrial, electronic, experime ...
. However, the relationship ended and she left the band before they played their first gig in 1969. Three months after their first gig, they supported the Rolling Stones at a free concert in Hyde Park. They stole the show, with ''The Guardian'' reporting that the Stones' performance was "indifferent", but that King Crimson were "sensational". McDonald's saxophone solo was a high point on their track "21st Century Schizoid Man", and he went on to play this on their first album ''
In the Court of the Crimson King ''In the Court of the Crimson King'' (subtitled ''An Observation by King Crimson'') is the debut studio album by English rock band King Crimson, released on 10 October 1969 by Island Records. The album is one of the earliest and most influentia ...
''. He also played harpsichord, piano, organ, clarinet, zither, flute, and
Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...
, which he used extensively on the album. This album jump started the prog rock era, and paved the way for similar bands such as Yes and Genesis. McDonald and drummer Giles left the band due to growing friction. They formed a duo that released one album titled ''
McDonald and Giles ''McDonald and Giles'' is an album released by British musicians Ian McDonald and Michael Giles in 1970. The album was first issued on Island Records (ILPS 9126) in the UK and Cotillion Records (SD 9042), a division of Atlantic Records, in th ...
'', which featured an orchestral backing instead of a Mellotron as used with King Crimson. He reappeared with King Crimson in 1974, playing on the album ''
Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
'', and intended to rejoin the band as a full member but did not get the opportunity to do so as Fripp split the band. In 1997, the release of the King Crimson four-CD set ''
Epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
'', consisting of rare live recordings of the 1969 version of King Crimson, renewed interest in the early Crimson material. Out of that interest, the
21st Century Schizoid Band 21st Century Schizoid Band were a King Crimson alumnus group formed in 2002. The name derives from the famous song "21st Century Schizoid Man" from the first King Crimson album, ''In the Court of the Crimson King''. The initial band featured Mel ...
was formed in 2002 and several tours and live albums have followed. The band included former King Crimson members Michael Giles (drums and percussion), Peter Giles (bass), McDonald (sax, flute, keyboards), Mel Collins (alto/tenor sax, flute, keyboards) and also Jakko Jakszyk, who later joined King Crimson, on guitar and lead vocals. After the first tour, Michael Giles was replaced with another former King Crimson drummer Ian Wallace.


Foreigner

McDonald moved to New York City in the mid-1970s. He became a founding member of the band Foreigner in 1976, for whom he played guitar as well as his woodwinds and keyboards. Although Foreigner was a more conventional rock band compared to King Crimson, McDonald still made significant contributions to the group's arrangement and production. He recorded three multi-platinum albums that made Foreigner a huge success. However, he left the group following their third album, '' Head Games'', after disagreements with group leader Mick Jones.


Other work

McDonald was also a session musician and played on T. Rex's hit " Get It On (Bang a Gong)", where he borrowed Mel Collins'
baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...
. He also appeared on
Centipede Centipedes (from New Latin , "hundred", and Latin , " foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', lip, and New Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, an ...
's album ''
Septober Energy ''Septober Energy'' is the only album of the jazz/progressive rock big band Centipede. Produced by Robert Fripp under the musical direction of Keith Tippett, it was originally released 1971 in the UK as a double LP, and 1974 in the US with a dif ...
''. He produced the Darryl Way's Wolf album ''Canis Lupus'' (1973) and Fruupp's '' Modern Masquerades'' (1975). The closing track on ''Canis Lupus'', "McDonald's Lament", was dedicated to him. In 1999, he released a solo album, ''Drivers Eyes'', which featured
John Wetton John Kenneth Wetton (12 June 1949 – 31 January 2017) was an English musician, singer, and songwriter. Known for his dexterous bass playing and booming baritone voice, Wetton first gained fame in the early 1970s. Wetton was the singer and p ...
, Lou Gramm,
John Waite John Charles Waite (born 4 July 1952) is an English musician. As a solo artist, he has released ten studio albums and is best known for the 1984 hit single " Missing You", which reached No. 1 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the top ten on ...
and Gary Brooker. In 1996, McDonald toured with former
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
guitarist
Steve Hackett Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis ...
, which was included on the album ''
The Tokyo Tapes ''The Tokyo Tapes'' is a live and studio album by English guitarist Steve Hackett, released in April 1998 by Camino Records. It documents two concerts performed by a supergroup line-up of Hackett, John Wetton, Chester Thompson, Ian McDonald ...
''. The group included a performance of King Crimson's "
The Court of the Crimson King "The Court of the Crimson King" is the fifth and final track from the British progressive rock band King Crimson's debut album, ''In the Court of the Crimson King''. Released as a single, it reached No. 80 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, th ...
". McDonald contributed saxophone and flute to several tracks on Judy Dyble's 2009 release '' Talking With Strangers''. The album saw McDonald reunited with Fripp on the 20-minute "Harpsong". In 2017, McDonald and singer-guitarist Ted Zurkowski formed the band Honey West, which released an album ''Bad Old World'' in 2017.


Death

McDonald died from colon cancer at his home in New York City on 9 February 2022, at the age of 75. A trailer for a King Crimson documentary was released a week before his death, in which McDonald apologised to Fripp for leaving the band in 1969.


Selected discography


Giles, Giles & Fripp

* ''The Brondesbury Tapes'' (2001) - Recorded between 1967 and 1968. It features Ian McDonald and Judy Dyble.


King Crimson

* ''
In the Court of the Crimson King ''In the Court of the Crimson King'' (subtitled ''An Observation by King Crimson'') is the debut studio album by English rock band King Crimson, released on 10 October 1969 by Island Records. The album is one of the earliest and most influentia ...
'' (1969) * '' In the Wake of Poseidon'' (1970, co-composer) * ''
Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
'' (1974, guest) * ''
Epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
'' (1997, recorded 1969)


Foreigner

* '' Foreigner'' (1977) * '' Double Vision'' (1978) * '' Head Games'' (1979)


Steve Hackett

* ''
Genesis Revisited ''Genesis Revisited'', called ''Watcher of the Skies: Genesis Revisited'' in the US, is the 12th studio album by Steve Hackett, paying tribute to his former band, Genesis. It mainly features songs originally released by Genesis during Hackett's ...
'' (1997) * ''
The Tokyo Tapes ''The Tokyo Tapes'' is a live and studio album by English guitarist Steve Hackett, released in April 1998 by Camino Records. It documents two concerts performed by a supergroup line-up of Hackett, John Wetton, Chester Thompson, Ian McDonald ...
'' (1998)


Honey West

* ''Bad Old World'' (2017)


Solo

* ''
McDonald and Giles ''McDonald and Giles'' is an album released by British musicians Ian McDonald and Michael Giles in 1970. The album was first issued on Island Records (ILPS 9126) in the UK and Cotillion Records (SD 9042), a division of Atlantic Records, in th ...
'' (1970); with
Michael Giles Michael Rex Giles (born 1 March 1942) is an English drummer, percussionist, and vocalist, best known as one of the co-founders of King Crimson in 1969. Prior to the formation of King Crimson, he was part of the eccentric pop trio Giles, Giles a ...
* '' Drivers Eyes'' (1999)


References


Citations


General sources

*
Gramy Records – Ian McDonald


External links


Ian McDonald
on allmusic.com * *
Every Day Is Father's Day For Rock Icon Ian McDonald

Dad Who Literally Rock: Ian And Maxwell McDonald Share The Stage



Chuck Darrow Radio Interview With Ian McDonald, 23 May 2017

Legends Land In Honey West

Ian McDonald Dementia Honey West Exclusive

The Ian McDonald Interview (2012)

Interview with Ian McDonald in Big Bang Magazine


* ttp://www.artist-shop.com/irc/mcdonald.htm The Artist Shop/Talk City chat with King Crimson founding member Ian McDonald on Sunday, 3 May 1998 {{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Ian 1946 births 2022 deaths 20th-century English male musicians 20th-century saxophonists 21st Century Schizoid Band members 21st-century English male musicians 21st-century saxophonists British Army soldiers British male saxophonists Centipede (band) members Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Deaths from colorectal cancer English expatriates in the United States English multi-instrumentalists English rock saxophonists English session musicians Foreigner (band) members King Crimson members People from Chiswick People from Osterley Spooky Tooth members British military musicians