Song · King Crimson
“In the Court of the Crimson King” by King Crimson
“In the Court of the Crimson King” by King Crimson appears on 14 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 1991 and 2026. Its best result is #181 on the WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #6,944 alternative song of all time.
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King Crimson close their 1969 debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King, with its title song, sometimes billed without the "In", and it's as grand as progressive rock gets: a four-bar Mellotron riff marching around and around like a royal procession while the song unfolds across four verses. Between them sits an instrumental passage called "The Return of the Fire Witch", and when the whole thing seems to peak around the seven-minute mark, it pauses, slips into a short instrumental called "The Dance of the Puppets", then comes back for one last pass at the theme.
Ian McDonald wrote the music and Peter Sinfield the words, and the piece took shape over three days. Released as a single, it became the only King Crimson record ever to reach the Billboard Hot 100, at No. 80.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
Classic Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 877 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) | 1002 |
| 1991 | 480 | WNEW-FM | WNEW Firecracker 500 (1991) | 500 |
| 1997 | 856 | 102.3 WBAB | WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) | 1023 |
| 2002 | 788 | 92.3 KGON | KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) | 923 |
| 2004 | 787 | 92.3 KGON | KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) | 923 |
| 2012 | 587 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) | 885 |
| 2014 | 741 | WXPN | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) | 885 |
| 2020 | 181 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2021 | 283 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) | 1043 |
| 2022 | 266 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) | 1043 |
| 2023 | 441 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) | 1043 |
| 2024 | 288 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) | 1043 |
| 2025 | 296 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) | 1043 |
| 2026 | 201 | KSHE 95 | KSHE 95 U-Man 500 (2026) | 499 |
Also listed as: The Court Of The Crimson King; In The Court Of The Crimson King.
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