Moog synth in prog history!

danbo wrote: Joren wrote: I think the first one who played it must've been Bob Moog himself!  And to think we're worried about the youth of today. Nice going, Joren. LOL

I think it's just logical... You wouldn't sell one if you didn't even know how it sounded, would you?

philippe wrote: I talk about prog artists not about his conceptor...funny guys!! Others suggestions?

You gotta admit Phillipe, Joren is pretty sharp for a Young man. The old guys like Peter and Jim missed that one by a mile.

Jim Garten wrote: danbo wrote: philippe wrote: I talk about prog artists not about his conceptor...funny guys!! Others suggestions? You gotta admit Phillipe, Joren is pretty sharp for a Young man. The old guys like Peter and Jim missed that one by a mile. If it wasn't for my arthritis, rheumatism & quadruple incontinence, I'd come over there & give you a damned good thrashing, young man!

Please, stop killing each other, oldtimers! You are both important members here!

Phillipe:

Well, although what you say might be true, let me give you a hint.  Bob Moog got the original schematics for the first synthesizer from someone else.  Who?

Peace.

Tauhd Zaïa wrote: philippe wrote: you are true...Wendy Carlos & Keith Emerson were the first. However only Carlos and Florian Fricke has composed a whole album with the Moog synth : 'Switched on Bach' for W. Carlos & 'Affenstunde' for F.Fricke. No, it is not exact. At this time Wendy Carlos was Walter Carlos as she is a transsexual woman. Check the BSO of Clockwork Orange.....

I perfectly know this story, but who cares? Wendy & Carlos, it's the same...but yes she first started as Walter Carlos.

Keith Emerson may indeed have been the first prog artist to record with the Moog synthesizer, but he was far from the first artist to record with it, as was Walter Carlos. The truth is, no one, not even Bob Moog himself, can seem to remember which album was the first to feature his instrument (at that time the big modular Moog). What is known, is that in 1966 he allowed electronic music pioneers Gershon Kingsley and Jean Jacques Perrey, to use the first modular Moog on what would be that duo's second album "Kaleidoscopic Vibrations". That album was not released until early 1968 however, and it was preceded by at least 3 other "Moog" releases. In the summer of 1967, Paul Beaver (one of Moog's in-house techs) took a modular Moog to California to display it at the Monterey Pop festival. While there, several bigtime groups expressed interest and would go on to puchase one (including the Rolling Stones and the Monkees). As far as is known though, the first albums recorded and released featuring the Moog synthesizer are the following, all released in late 1967:

1. Mort Garson "Zodiac Cosmic Sounds"

2. Hal Blaine "Psychedelic Percussion"

3. Emil Richards "Stones"

All three of those albums were recorded using virtually the same group of musicians, with the last two being cut during the same few days. That much is certain, and one of these three (probably the first one listed) was the first recording featuring the Moog synthesizer.

Now, the first album that was done entirely on the Moog synthesizer was Walter Carlos' "Switched-On Bach" in 1968. There have been MANY albums recorded using nothing but Moog synthesizers, or even a single Moog. There were so many Moog releases between 1969-1974 that I don't have nearly all of them, and I'm a pretty big collector.

Florian Fricke was an early pioneer, in the sense that Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman were... certainly Fricke was among the first prog artists to use the Moog. However, by the time of Affenstunde there had literally been hundreds of albums featuring the Moog synthesizer. In fact, the first rock album to feature one was the Monkees' "Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, & Jones" in late 1967. Even the Beatles used one on Abbey Road (1969).

 Anyhow, I found this discussion while searching on Google, and thought I'd drop in. I hope I've been helpful. If you're really interested in Moogs send me an email.