News : Ian McDonald, Founding Member of King Crimson and Foreigner, Dies at 75

Reflecting a few years ago on a music career as a founding member of two major bands — King Crimson and Foreigner — as well as collaborator with many others, Ian McDonald was quietly pleased with his lot.

“I have trouble processing time in terms of years and weeks and months,” he told Billboard. “I mean, it’s 40 years for Foreigner, almost 50 years for King Crimson — but it feels like milliseconds.

“It’s a lot of good work, though.”

McDonald’s family revealed that the multi-instrumentalist, 75, passed away on Wednesday (Feb. 9) surrounded by family at home in New York — from cancer, according to his son.

Among his most memorable contributions are the iconic, roaring saxophone part on King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man” as well as on Foreigner’s “Long, Long Way From Home.” He worked with a number of other artists in the British progressive scene, as well as releasing two albums of his own and one with the band Honey West.

“Ian’s a musician’s musician,” Foreigner founder Mick Jones said during commemorations for the group’s 40th anniversary in 2017. “The ability to have Ian McDonald, who was a multi-instrumentalist, helped (Foreigner) a lot. It had to have that ability to create, to travel through different styles and create a different sort of style for the band, and having somebody as accomplished and creative as Ian was part of what allowed us to do that.”

Original Foreigner keyboardist Al Greenwood posted a social media message saying McDonald was, “like a brother to me. A true musical genius, Ian’s musicianship was an integral part of launching both King Crimson and Foreigner into legendary status. His contribution to Foreigner’s success was immense. Ian was a dear friend, a kind and wonderful man, and I will miss him terribly”

McDonald was born in Osterley, England and gravitated to music as a youth, learning to play multiple instruments — guitar, keyboards and reeds — and playing in rock bands and orchestras. “I really liked jazz — the big bands, Stan Kenton, stuff like that,” said McDonald, who also served in the British army. “When the rock ‘n’ roll came around, it didn’t seem like a great leap to me. There was a great energy there that appealed to me.”

He initially teamed up with the King Crimson precursor Giles, Giles and Fripp, writing a track called “Under the Sky” for the trio and playing some live gigs as well. Fripp recruited him, along with drummer Michael Giles, for the first lineup of King Crimson and the recording of the landmark In the Court of the Crimson King album during 1969; McDonald is credited as a co-writer on all five of the album’s tracks, and “21st Century Schizoid Man” includes part of an instrumental piece “Three Score and Four,” that he’d written prior to the band’s formation.

After Court and King Crimson’s first lineup change, he and Giles formed a spin-off group that released one album, while McDonald returned as a guest for Crimson’s 1974 album Red. His session work, meanwhile, included T. Rex’s Electric Warrior album, Silverhead’s Sixteen and Savaged, Herbie Mann’s London Underground and more.

After a subsequent move to New York he befriended future Stories singer Ian Lloyd, who suggested McDonald to Jones as he was forming Foreigner. McDonald was with the band for its first four years and tours, serving as co-producer on the group’s self-titled 1977 debut, Double Vision the following year and Head Games in 1979, all of which went multi-platinum.

“People used to say, ‘How come you’re doing this rock ‘n’ roll thing with Foreigner when you did all the prog rock things before,” McDonald recalled. “It’s not as if I’m someone learning a new trade or something like that. I just apply myself to whatever situation I’m in and try to make things as musical as possible. That’s what I do, and that’s what I look for when I produce records.”

McDonald was cut loose from Foreigner when Jones let half the band go in 1980, but bygones were bygones when he began playing occasional reunion dates 37 years later. “I actually left King Crimson sort of myself — with Foreigner it was a different situation,” McDonald explained. “Mick wanted to pare the group down to a four piece, so that’s what happened. I didn’t make the cut.”

He managed to stay busy, however, recording with former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett and Roxy Music/Uriah Heep/UK/Asia bassist-vocalist John Wetton. He reunited with Fripp to play on Judy Dyble’s 2009 album Talking With Strangers and was also part of the 21st Century Schizoid Band with other King Crimson alumni. He worked with former King Crimson bandmate Greg Lake and Keith Emerson during their duo shows in 2019, and a guest performance with Asia in 2009 appeared on the group’s Spirit of the Night: Live two years later.

McDonald’s first solo album, Drivers Eyes, came out during 2009, followed by Take Five Steps a decade later. In between was Bad Old World by Honey West in 2017, joining the group after meeting musician/actor and Actors Studio instructor Ted Zurkowski who McDonald worked with composing music for the Frog and Peach Theatre Company in New York. McDonald described Honey West as “an alt.country band with quite heavy rock leanings…I probably brought more of a pop sort of structure to the group. It feels good to be involved in something significant again.”

“I’ve never really gone looking for one specific thing or another — I just contribute to whatever situation I’m in,” McDonald explained. “Really, it’s all the same to me. It’s music, and I’ve bene lucky to make that my life’s work, you know?”