ROBERT MOOG
Robert Moog, the inventor of the Moog Synthesizer, was a pioneer in electronic music. He began his career with his father at a young age. He sold theremin kits to pay his way through Queens College. After graduating, he continue producing theremins and wrote an article for Electronic’s World, an electronics magazine. The magazine allowed him to receive 4,000 orders for theremins. Moog made a decent amount of money from the exposure of the article. Moog used some of the money to complete his Ph.D in Physics at Cornell University. He also used the money to build more electronic music instruments. One of these instruments was an analog synthesizer. His instruments gained popularity in the 1960s.
The Beach Boys, the Beatles, and the Monkees were among those to use Moog’s synthesizer. The well-renown classic album, Switched On Bach brought a great deal of attention to Moog’s synthesizer. The album featured modernized, electronic versions of Bach’s compositions. Robert Moog’s creative genius was recognized even further when he created the smaller of version of the Moog synthesizer, the Mini Moog.
This versatile synthesizer was used in hits songs of major artists. Stevie Wonder’s huge hit “Living for the City” featured a mini moog synthesizer. Also, Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” featured Robert’s invention. As an industry professional, I am inspired by Robert Moog’s ability to use engineering to assist in the creation of art. As recording engineers, I feel like we do a similar task. Robert Moog’s synthesizer broke boundaries and revealed not only a technological genius, but a man with a strong understanding of the sound of the time. Moog has inspired me to be creative in ways around music. He spent his entire life training himself in the art of creating a creation for the artist. From the theremin to the synthesizer, Moog has been gifted with the ability to transform sound.
Jaquese Doris Powell 