Robert Moog was born on this day (May 23rd) in 1934. He was an American engineer and electronic music pioneer, and he lived until 2005. In his lifetime, his invention of the Moog synthesizer created an entirely new outlet for rock musicians to play with futuristic sounds.
When did Robert Moog create the synthesizer?
The first commercial synthesizer became available around 1964, through the manufacturing company that Robert Moog founded, Moog Music. By 1970, he had released a more portable model, and it was used by musicians and producers across all genres. He never made a huge amount of money, as he didn’t patent the synthesizer correctly, although he did found a company later on that allowed more synthesizer companies to pick up on the technology and expand it.
Who utilized the Moog synthesizer in their music?
Robert Moog’s invention had a lot of applications and a lot of different styles of music. Early uses in rock and roll include the Doors on “Strange Days.” George Harrison actually released an album of Moog recordings, and the Beatles used the device on several tracks on Abbey Road, such as “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.”
Emerson Lake and Palmer used the Moog synth in songs like “Lucky Man,” and Keith Emerson was the first rock musician to perform live with that tool. The 1977 disco hit from Donna Summers “I Feel Love” was created on a Moog synthesizer.
Others who used it in its early days include the Grateful Dead, the Rolling Stones, Herbie Hancock, Donna Summer, Sun Ra, and Nine Inch Nails, New Order, Manfred Mann’s Earthman, Parliament Funkadelic and many more.
Below are the songs that Pierre Robert played in the Workforce Blocks on WMMR to honor the innovation of Robert Moog.
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