Robert Moog
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| Dr. '''Robert Arthur Moog''' ([[May 23]], [[1934]] – [[August 21]], [[2005]]) was a pioneer of [[electronic music]], best known as the [[inventor]] of the [[Moog synthesizer]]. | Dr. '''Robert Arthur Moog''' ([[May 23]], [[1934]] – [[August 21]], [[2005]]) was a pioneer of [[electronic music]], best known as the [[inventor]] of the [[Moog synthesizer]]. | ||
| - | ==Moog synthesizers in culture== | + | {{GFDL}} |
| - | According to the [[American Physical Society]], "The first live performance of a music synthesizer was made by pianist [[Paul Bley]] at Lincoln Center in New York City on December 26, 1969. Bley developed a proprietary interface that allowed real time performance on the music synthesizer." | + | |
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| - | It is believed that the first [[gramophone record|phonograph record]] to feature a Moog synthesizer was ''[[Cosmic Sounds]]'' by [[The Zodiac]]. The first popular music album to feature the instrument was 1967's ''[[Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, & Jones, Ltd.]]'' by [[The Monkees]]. [[Wendy Carlos]] (formerly Walter Carlos) released major Moog albums in [[1968]] and [[1969]]: ''[[Switched-On Bach]]'' and ''[[The Well-Tempered Synthesizer]]''. The former earned Carlos three [[Grammy]]s. Also in [[1969]], [[The Beatles]] used a Moog throughout the ''[[Abbey Road (album)|Abbey Road]]'' album, and [[Dick Hyman]]'s recording of his [[jazz]] composition "The Minotaur" became the first [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] Top 40 hit [[single (music)|single]]. | + | |
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| - | The success of Carlos' ''Switched-On Bach'' sparked a series of other synthesizer records in the late 1960s to mid 1970s. These albums featured [[cover version|covers]] of songs arranged for Moog synthesizer in the most dramatic and flamboyant way possible, covering [[rock (music)|rock]], [[country (music)|country]] and other genres of music. The albums often had "Moog" in their titles (i.e. ''Country Moog Classics'', [[Martin Denny]]'s ''[[Exotic Moog]]'', etc.) although many used a variety of other brands of synthesizers and even [[organ (music)|organs]] as well. The kitsch appeal of these albums continue to have a small fanbase and the 1990s band [[Moog Cookbook]] is a tribute to this style of music. | + | |
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| - | The synthesizer was used for the soundtrack of the 1971 movie ''[[A Clockwork Orange (film)|A Clockwork Orange]]''. Carlos wrote all the original music for the Moog, along with several Moog versions of classical music, to create an eerie mood to express the strange society of the movie. | + | |
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| - | A popular Moog user (and programmer) is [[Stevie Wonder]] who won numerous Grammy awards in 1973 for his synthesizer rich ''[[Talking Book]]'' and also in 1974 where he grabbed the 'Album of the Year' award with yet another Moog-tinted album ''[[Innervisions]]''. [[Sun Ra]] often used it as his instrument of choice to achieve his unique sound. It was also featured prominently on [[Emerson, Lake & Palmer]]'s song "Lucky Man," [[Keith Emerson]]'s Moog solo at the end making it arguably the group's most popular piece. Another famous use of the Moog was in [[Tangerine Dream]]'s electronic landmark album ''[[Phaedra (album)|Phaedra]]'' in 1974. [[Glenn Tilbrook]], a member of the new wave band [[Squeeze]], was also known to use the Mini Moog with regularity.{{GFDL}} | + | |
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Dr. Robert Arthur Moog (May 23, 1934 – August 21, 2005) was a pioneer of electronic music, best known as the inventor of the Moog synthesizer.
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Robert Moog" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
