Rick Wakeman

Rick Wakeman is one of those musicians who makes you rethink what a keyboard can even do — the guy trained at the Royal College of Music and then spent decades proving that progressive rock and genuine virtuosity aren't mutually exclusive. His stints with Yes gave us some of the most ambitious, gloriously over-the-top arrangements in rock history, and his solo records like The Six Wives of Henry VIII and Journey to the Centre of the Earth leaned so hard into theatrical grandeur that you almost forget how technically jaw-dropping the playing actually is. He's had more comebacks and departures from Yes than most bands have albums, but every time he sits down at that wall of keyboards, the result is unmistakably, unapologetically him. I find his self-deprecating humor on social media genuinely charming too — the man earned the right to be a bit grumpy and hilarious about it all.

Name (English)

Rick Wakeman

Name (Japanese)

リック・ウェイクマン

Reading

りっく・うぇいくまん

Born

May 18, 1949 (age 77)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Taurus / Ox

Origin

Perivale, United Kingdom

Occupation

composer / keyboardist / songwriter / pianist / film score composer

High school

Drayton Manor High School

University

Royal College of Music

Motto

Private

• Official sitehttps://www.rwcc.com/
• Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/rickwakemanmusic/
• Xhttps://x.com/GrumpyOldRick
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%AA%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%83%BB%E3%82%A6%E3%82%A7%E3%82%A4%E3%82%AF%E3%83%9E%E3%83%B3

Tags

• composer
• keyboardist
• songwriter

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.