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 influential of the progressive rock genre, where the band combined the musical influences that rock music was founded upon with elements of jazz, classical, and symphonic music. The album reached number five on the UK Albums Chart and number 28 on the US Billboard 200, where it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Production Composition The song "I Talk to the Wind" was written for King Crimson predecessor group Giles, Giles and Fripp (the only song on the album for which this was the case), but was retained by King Crimson in order to show the group's soft side. According to lyricist Peter Sinfield, the song was influenced by Joni Mitchell; in a 1997 interview, he said it is still his favourite lyric that he ever wrote. "The Court of the Crimson King" was written by keyboardist/woodwinds player Ian McDonald and Sinfield for their earlier group The Creation, and started as a country and western song before its final progressive rock configuration. Recording Multiple sources state that King Crimson made their live debut on 9 April 1969 at The Speakeasy Club in London, but King Crimson had played an earlier show in February 1969 at the Change Is club in Newcastle. The Speakeasy Club concert, which Sinfield describes as their second, was smashed up by members of The Pink Fairies Drinking Club. King Crimson opened for the Rolling Stones in Hyde Park, London in July 1969, before an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 people, which brought them positive attention. Initial sessions for the album were held in early 1969 with producer Tony Clarke, most famous for his work with The Moody Blues. After these sessions failed to work out, the group were given permission to produce the album themselves. The album was recorded on a 1" 8-channel recorder at Wessex Sound Studios in London, engineered by Robin Thompson and assisted by Tony Page. In order to achieve the characteristic lush, orchestral sounds on the album, Ian McDonald spent many hours overdubbing layers of Mellotron and various woodwind and reed instruments. In some cases, the band went through 5 tape generations to attain deeply layered, segued tracks.