His keyboard playing helped give one of Britain’s biggest hard-rock bands its signature sound.
Ken Hensley, the longtime Uriah Heep keyboardist, guitarist and principal songwriter, would have turned 81 today, Aug. 24.
Born Aug. 24, 1945, in Plumstead, London, Hensley died in 2020 at age 75.
Hensley first picked up the guitar at age 12, using a Bert Weedon instructional manual to teach himself. He went on to play in several bands during the 1960s, including The Gods, a group whose members included future Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor and future Emerson, Lake & Palmer musician Greg Lake.
His career changed in 1970 when he joined Spice, which soon became Uriah Heep. As the band’s keyboardist and a key songwriter, Hensley became one of the creative forces behind its classic 1970s sound.
He wrote or co-wrote many of Uriah Heep’s best-known songs, including “Easy Livin’,” “Lady in Black,” “Stealin’,” “Look at Yourself” and “Free Me.”
“Easy Livin’,” released in 1972 on Demons and Wizards, became particularly important to the band’s American success. Written by Hensley, it reached No. 39 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Uriah Heep’s first U.S. hit.
Hensley also sang lead vocals on “Lady in Black,” another of Uriah Heep’s enduring songs. The track became one of the band’s best-known recordings, while Hensley’s keyboard work helped establish the Hammond organ as an important part of its hard-rock sound.
His influence reached beyond Uriah Heep, too. W.A.S.P. frontman Blackie Lawless once praised Hensley for essentially creating the template for heavy-metal keyboards, saying he “wrote the rule book for heavy metal keyboards.”
Hensley remained with Uriah Heep for a decade before leaving in 1980. He subsequently joined the Florida hard-rock band Blackfoot, then embarked on an extensive solo career that included numerous albums and tours.
He continued making music for decades. His final album, My Book of Answers, was released posthumously in 2021, while another final solo project, A Little Closer, was recorded in 2019.
Hensley died Nov. 4, 2020, following a short illness. He was 75.
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