Bob Moog, developer of the Moog synthesizer in the 1960s and 1970s, has died at the age of 71.
Bob presented his analog synthesizer to the public in October 1964, at the age of about 30. Here was an electronic instrument that could mimic (to a degree) strings, horns and percussion. Within four years the Moog (pronounced like vogue) synthesizer became world famous through the work of Wendy Carlos and her album, “Switched On Bach”. Moog went on to develop the minimoog synthesizer – an instrument that could be taken on the road by progressive rock bands such as Emerson Lake & Palmer, Yes, and Pink Floyd.
Moog continued to work in the industry right up to his death. For a time he worked as research professor of music before coming back to start Moog Music with customers such as Nine Inch Nails, Pearl Jam, Beck, Phish, Sonic Youth and Widespread Panic.
My introduction to the Moog synthesizer was in 1975 at high school. I was part of a chamber music/rock fusion group called the Synthesizers. Most of us played classical instruments such as flute (me) clarinet, violin, viola, trumpet, trombone, cello, double bass. Alongside the classic instruments, members of the group were using Moog and home made syntheizers. We adapted Blood Sweat and Tears’ Variations on a Theme by Erik Satie and won a place in the New Zealand Chamber music competition. I ended up buying my own digital synthesizer in the 1980s.
From the Moog web site:
“Where would R&B, rap and hip-hop be if groups like Parliament and Funkadelic hadn’t used Moog keyboards? Where would rock and roll be if groups from Yes to the Beatles hadn’t used Moog keyboards? Would jazz music have branched off into fusion without Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea using Moog keyboards? And would classical music have enjoyed such resurgence without Wendy Carlos and her modular Moog synthesizer? The questions are hypothetical, of course, because synthesizers have infiltrated every style of music, and so many companies have tried to recreate that analog sound. But above all the copycats and spin-offs, it always comes back to one name: Moog.”