Synthesiser pioneer Dr Moog dies
from bbc.co.uk
Synthesiser pioneer Dr Robert Moog has died at his North Carolina home aged
71, four months after being diagnosed with brain cancer.
Born in the New York district of Queens, his instruments were used by The
Beatles and The Doors among others.
Dr Moog built his first electronic instrument - a theremin - aged 14 and
made the MiniMoog, "the first compact, easy-to-use synthesiser", in 1970.
He won the Polar prize, Sweden's "music Nobel prize", in 2001.
Synthesiser hit
It was Wendy Carlos' 1968 Grammy award-winning album, Switched-On Bach,
which brought Dr Moog to prominence.
Carlos played renditions of Johann Sebastian Bach compositions on a Moog
analogue synthesiser, making electronic music popular and Dr Moog a
household name.
Before long many musicians and groups, including the Doors, the Grateful
Dead, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, were using Moog synthesisers.
Dr Moog remained a respected musical figure and in recent years many
musicians, including Brian Eno, Frank Zappa, The Cure, Fatboy Slim and
Stereolab kept the sound alive, even as analogue synthesisers were
superseded by digital instruments.
"The sound defined progressive music as we know it," said Keith Emerson of
Emerson, Lake and Palmer.
In 2004, the first Moogfest was organised in New York, celebrating Dr Moog's
achievements.
Organiser Charles Carlini said: "He brought electronic music to the masses
and changed the way we hear music."
Dr Moog had received both radiation treatment and chemotherapy to help
combat his brain disease. He left a wife, Ileana, and five children.
A public memorial celebration is planned for Friday at the Orange Peel Club
in Asheville, North Carolina.
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