The Six Wives of Henry VIII (album) The Six Wives of Henry VIII (album) The Six Wives of Henry VIII is the second studio album by English keyboardist Rick Wakeman, released in January 1973 on A&M Records. It is an instrumental progressive rock album with its concept based on his interpretations of the musical characteristics of the wives of Henry VIII. After signing with A&M as a solo artist, Wakeman decided on the album's concept during a tour of the United States as a member of the rock band Yes. As he read a book about the subject on his travels, melodies he had written the previous
The Six Wives of Henry VIII (album) dedicated for Henry himself, but Wakeman had recorded the tracks on the wives first and used up the available space on a vinyl record. He decided to leave the Henry track and rename the album accordingly. When the album was finished, its final production cost had reached around £25,000. Wakeman described working on it as "difficult and cumbersome", but said the project was eventually a rewarding one. He was excited when it came to presenting the album to A&M management at their London office, which included a lawyer who represented the label's US division. After the album was played in