I was really saddened to come back from Sweden to find a note in my inbox about the fact that Bob Moog had died.. Bob died at his home in Asheville, N.C. He was 71. Bob was diagnosed with brain cancer in late April 2005.
Bob Moog started experimenting with his landmark electronic-music instrument while at a Columbia-Princeton joint program. When 1963 came, he had developed an electronic musical machine that could be played in real time, and by the late 60s, the following among musicians was big enough that his synthesizer was being featured on hit albums by everyone from the Monkees to Wendy Carlos.
Bobs first ‘Moog’ synthesizers were modular, controlled by an almost infinite variation of patch-cord combinations, the original ‘Plug and Play’ system. It wasnt until 1971 when the Moog went mainstream when Bob introduced the Minimoog. The Minimoog was pretty much the birth of electronic music, it was a small (44 keys) limited (monophonic) instrument, but it gave musicians ease, functionality and made new sounds never heard before
When the Moog was taken on and used by the likes of Rick Wakeman of Yes and Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, the whole Moog phenomena took off big time. Even if you’ve never heard of Bob Moog, you probably will have heard the Moog sound on pretty much most music, almost every mainstream artist has recorded with a Moog synthesizer.
The Bob Moog Memorial Fund dedicated to the Advancement of Electronic Music in his memory. Many of his longtime collaborators including musicians, engineers and educators have agreed to sit on its executive board including David Borden, Wendy Carlos, Joel Chadabe, John Eaton, David Mash, and Rick Wakeman. For more information about the foundation, contact Matthew Moog at mattmoog@yahoo.com.
You can leave remembrances at Caring Bridge
Bob, you’ll always be missed, but through what you created, you’ll live on, and always be heard, remembered and respected.. Long live Moog!!!
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