A Tribute To Bob Moog - Stream "Best Of Moog: Electronic Pop Hits From The 60’s & 70’s"

August 22nd, 2005 by EJ

You can almost feel the pulse of SLSK as it burns white hot today, scorched from the thousands of people who will type in the word “Moog” in the search engine scrambling to hear what has passed. For today, Robert Moog, inventor of the revolutionary Minimoog synthesizer, regarded by the world of music as the father of both the portable synthesizer and electronic music itself, has died of a brain tumor. He was 71 years old. Moog was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer in March of this year and had been receiving radiation & chemotherapy to fight the disease.

Moog was born in New York City in 1934 where, as a teenager, he became obsessed with building Theremins (those high-pitched squealy sounds heard in things like the theme from Star Trek for example). He earned his PhD in Engineering Physics from Cornell University, and in 1954, Moog founded The R.A. Moog Company, making electronic instruments out of his apartment as part-time work. In 1964, the company became his full time business and began producing a full line of music synthesizers.

In 1969, the album Switched On Bach was released by musician Wendy Carlos, an album created entirely with a Moog synthesizer. The album sold over 500,000 units in the United States, earning a Gold Record award and moving Moog from working in relative obscurity to an overwhelming demand for his synthesizers. His line of instruments are regarded as the turning point in the creation of electronic music, and Moog’s inventions continue to inspire, fascinate, and stimulate imaginations of countless thousands of electronic music creators even today, everyone from Stereolab to Beastie Boys, from Fatboy Slim to Morcheeba, from Yes to Yaz, and the list goes on and on.

Moog’s contributions to the world of modern music are beyond explanation, and his legacy will continue forward so long as instruments bearing the name Moog continue to appear around the globe. Click below to stream Best of Moog: Electronic Pop Hits From The 60’s & 70’s and see how many breaks and loops you can identify from hip hop, dance, and electronic records of the past 25 years.

Hopefully you’ll then understand (if you didn’t already) what has been lost. Rest in peace, Bob, and thank you for all the grooves.

Click Here to Stream Best Of Moog: Electronic Pop Hits From The 60’s & 70’s.