Ian McDonald

Ian Richard McDonald (25 June 1946 – 9 February 2022) was an English musician, composer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as a founding member of the progressive rock band King Crimson 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. 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, playing Mellotron, 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 and played in the King Crimson spin-off group 21st Century Schizoid Band. He was also a session musician, predominantly as a saxophonist. In 2024, McDonald was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a member of Foreigner.

McDonald was born on 25 June 1946 in Osterley, Middlesex, 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 as a bandsman. In 1963 he enrolled at the Royal Military School of Music at Kneller Hall, where he took clarinet and learned to read music. He later learned piano, flute and saxophone and taught himself music theory. 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.

After leaving the army, McDonald moved back to London, and began making music with his girlfriend, former Fairport Convention singer Judy Dyble. The pair were introduced to Robert Fripp and Michael Giles, joining their freakbeat group Giles, Giles and Fripp which led to the formation of King Crimson. However, the relationship ended and she left the band before they played their first gig in 1969, by which time McDonald, Fripp and Giles were joined by Greg Lake and Peter Sinfield.

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. He also played harpsichord, piano, organ, clarinet, zither, flute, and Mellotron, 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 composed 2 of the 5 album tracks, including the title track and "I Talk to the Wind" and co-wrote the other 3 tracks with the other group members.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.