Name	Robert Moog
Birth date	May 23, 1934
Birth place	New York City, New York
Death date	August 21, 2005
Death place	Asheville, North Carolina
Occupation	Electronic music pioneer, inventor of Moog synthesizer
Nationality	American }}

Robert Arthur Moog ( ), commonly called Bob Moog (May 23, 1934 – August 21, 2005) was an American pioneer of electronic music, best known as the inventor of the Moog synthesizer.

Life

A native of New York City, Moog attended the Bronx High School of Science in New York, graduating in 1952. Moog earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Queens College, New York in 1957, another in electrical engineering from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in engineering physics from Cornell University. Moog's awards include honorary doctorates from Polytechnic Institute of New York University (New York City) and Lycoming College (Williamsport, Pennsylvania)

During his lifetime, Moog founded two companies for manufacturing electronic musical instruments. He also worked as a consultant and vice president for new product research at Kurzweil Music Systems from 1984 to 1988, helping to develop the Kurzweil K2000. He spent the early 1990s as a research professor of music at the University of North Carolina at Asheville.

Moog received a Grammy Trustees Award for lifetime achievement in 1970. In 2002, Moog was honored with a Special Merit/Technical Grammy Award, and an honorary doctorate degree from Berklee College of Music.

He gave an enthusiastically-received lecture at the 2004 New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME-04), held in Hamamatsu, Japan's "City of Musical Instruments", in June, 2004. Moog was the inspiration behind the 2004 film ''Moog''.

Moog's first wife was Shirleigh Moog (''née'' Shirley May Leigh), a grammar school teacher whom he married in 1958. The couple had three daughters (Laura Moog Lanier, Michelle Moog-Koussa, Renee Moog) and one son (Matthew Moog) before their divorce. Moog was married to his second wife Ileana Grams, a philosophy professor, for nine years until his death. Moog's stepdaughter, Miranda Richmond, is Grams's daughter from a previous marriage. Moog also had five grandchildren.

Moog was diagnosed with a glioblastoma multiforme brain tumor on April 28, 2005. Nearly four months later, he died at the age of 71 in Asheville, North Carolina on August 21, 2005. The Bob Moog Foundation was created as a memorial, with the aim of continuing his life's work of developing electronic music.

Development of the Moog synthesizer

The Moog synthesizer was one of the first widely used electronic musical instruments. Early developmental work on the components of the synthesizer occurred at the ''Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center'', now the Computer Music Center. While there, Moog developed the voltage controlled oscillators, ADSR envelope generators, and other synthesizer modules with composer Herbert Deutsch.

Moog created the first voltage-controlled subtractive synthesizer to utilize a keyboard as a controller and demonstrated it at the AES convention in 1964. In 1966, Moog filed a patent application for his unique low-pass filter , which issued in October 1969. He held several dozen patents.

Moog employed his theremin company (R. A. Moog Co., which would later become Moog Music) to manufacture and market his synthesizers. Unlike the few other 1960s synthesizer manufacturers, Moog shipped a piano-style keyboard as the standard user interface to his synthesizers. Moog also established standards for analog synthesizer control interfacing, with a logarithmic one volt-per-octave pitch control and a separate pulse triggering signal.

The first Moog instruments were modular synthesizers. In 1971 Moog Music began production of the Minimoog Model D which was among the first widely available, portable and relatively affordable synthesizers.

One of Moog's earliest musical customers was Wendy Carlos whom he credits with providing feedback that was valuable to the further development of Moog synthesizers. Through his involvement in electronic music, Moog developed close professional relationships with artists such as Don Buchla, Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, John Cage, Gershon Kingsley, Clara Rockmore, and Pamelia Kurstin. In a 2000 interview, Moog said "I'm an engineer. I see myself as a toolmaker and the musicians are my customers. They use my tools."

R.A. Moog Co. and Moog Music

right|frame|The Moog Music logo In 1953 at age 19, Moog founded his first company, R.A. Moog Co., to manufacture theremin kits. During the 1950s, composer and electronic music pioneer Raymond Scott approached Moog, asking him to design circuits for him. Moog later acknowledged Scott as an important influence. Later, in the 1960s, the company was employed to build modular synthesizers based on Moog's designs.

In 1972 Moog changed the company's name to Moog Music. Throughout the 1970s, Moog Music went through various changes of ownership, eventually being bought out by musical instrument manufacturer Norlin. Poor management and marketing led to Moog's departure from his own company in 1977.

In 1978 after leaving his namesake firm, Moog started making electronic musical instruments again with a new company, Big Briar. Their first specialty was theremins, but by 1999 the company expanded to produce a line of analog effects pedals called moogerfoogers. In 1999, Moog partnered with Bomb Factory to co-develop the first digital effects based on Moog technology in the form of plugins for Pro Tools software.

Despite Moog Music's closing in 1993, Moog did not have the rights to market products using his own name throughout the 1990s. Big Briar acquired the rights to use the Moog Music name in 2002 after a legal battle with Don Martin who had previously bought the rights to the name Moog Music. At the same time, Moog designed a new version of the Minimoog called the Minimoog Voyager. The Voyager includes nearly all of the features of the original Model D in addition to numerous modern features.

Theremin

Moog constructed his own theremin as early as 1948. Later he described a theremin in the hobbyist magazine ''Electronics World'' and offered a kit of parts for the construction of the ''Electronic World's Theremin'', which became very successful. In the late 1980s Moog repaired the original theremin of Clara Rockmore, an accomplishment which he considered a high point of his professional career. He also produced, in collaboration with first wife Shirleigh Moog, Mrs. Rockmore's album, ''The Art of the Theremin''. Moog was a principal interview subject in the award-winning documentary film, ''Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey'', the success of which led to a revival of interest in the theremin. Moog Music went back to its roots and once again began manufacturing theremins. Thousands have been sold to date and are used by both professional and amateur musicians around the globe. In 1996 he published another do-it-yourself theremin guide. Today, Moog Music is the leading manufacturer of performance-quality theremins.

Pronunciation

The surname Moog is one of the most divergently pronounced names in popular culture. The following interview excerpt reveals Robert Moog's preferred pronunciation:

: — Reviewer: ''First off: Does your name rhyme with "vogue" or is like a cow’s "moo" plus a g at the end?'' : — Dr. Robert Moog: ''It rhymes with "vogue." That is the usual German pronunciation. My father's grandfather came from Marburg, Germany. I like the way that pronunciation sounds better than the way the cow's "moo-g" sounds.''

In a deleted scene from the DVD version of the documentary ''Moog,'' Moog describes the three pronunciations of the name Moog: the Dutch , which he believes would be too demanding of English speakers; the preferred Anglo-German pronunciation, ; and a more anglicized pronunciation, . Moog reveals that some of his family members prefer the anglicized pronunciation, while others, including himself (and his wife) prefer the Anglo-German pronunciation.

See also

Bob Moog Foundation

''Moog'' (film)

Moog Music

Moog synthesizer

List of Moog synthesizer players

Moogfest

Electronic music

Harald Bode

Herbert Deutsch

Gershon Kingsley

Raymond Scott

Léon Theremin

Bruce Haack

List of notable brain tumor patients

Footnotes

References

Pinch, Trevor and Trocco, Frank (2002). ''Analog Days: The Invention and Impact of the Moog Synthesizer''. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. hardcover: ISBN 0-674-00889-8, 2004 paperback: ISBN 0-674-01617-3

External links

Bob Moog — official website

The Bob Moog Memorial Foundation for Electronic Music

Robert Moog discography at Discogs

Inventor of the Synthesizer Documentary ~ Moog at youtube

Moog Music — official website

Moog Archives illustrated history of company and products

MoogFest — festival celebrating Moog

Vintage Synth Explorer

Bob Moog's links at ThereminVox

The Moog Taurus Bass Pedals, the Minimoog and the Moog Prodigy

Pictures of Bob Moog

Sound samples from the Moog Modular at BlueDistortion.com

NIME-04 — International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

;Interviews and articles

Bob Moog RBMA lecture

Bob Moog Interview at electronicmusic.com

Article of Bob Moog and his relationship with Raymond Scott and the inventions they made in the mid 1950’s (the unaddressed letter and the UJT-Relay sequencer invention)

Radio feature with Bob Moog on Voice Of America (MP3)

Radio feature with Bob Moog on NPR (MP3)

Article about Bob Moog on SynthMuseum.com

Interview with Bob Moog on Amazing Sounds

Article about Robert Moog's career on Salon.com

Robert Moog interview in magazine New Scientist

Radio interview with Moog from 2004 on WNYC (RealAudio) ''(Moog portion begins 30 minutes into program.)''

Article with pictures of Bob Moog and various Moog synthesizers on Obsolete.com

Sweetwater Video Interview with Bob Moog discussing his design philosophy and future of synthesis, on Sweetwater.com

;Patents

Descriptive list of Moog patents by J. Donald Tillman

Electronic High-pass and Low-pass Filters Employing the Base-to-Emitter Resistance of Bipolar Transistors, issued October 1969 Electronic music synthesizer, issued September 1977 Phase shifting sound effects circuit, issued August 1978 Amplifier with multifilter, issued September 1978 Parametric adjustment circuit, issued August 1979 Distortion sound effects circuit, issued December 1979 Compressor-expander for a musical instrument, issued May 1980 Monophonic touch sensitive keyboard, issued July 1980 Frequency following circuit, issued July 1981 Arrays of resistive elements for use in touch panels and for producing electric fields, issued October 1988

;Obituaries

/ in BBC News

in Asheville Citizen-Times

in CNN

in Los Angeles Times

in The New York Times ''(may require free registration to access)''

in The Economist

in Mix magazine

in The Times

;Tributes

Bob Moog Guestbook at CaringBridge

Switched On and Ready To Rumble from The New York Times

''A Tribute To Robert Moog'' — tribute album, entry on Discogs

Waves of Inspiration: The Legacy of Moog, museum exhibition

We Will Miss You, Bob Moog from BlueDistortion.com

Category:1934 births Category:2005 deaths Category:Analog electronics engineers Category:Inventors of musical instruments Category:Moogfest Category:Berklee College of Music alumni Category:The Bronx High School of Science alumni Category:Columbia Engineering alumni Category:Cornell University alumni Category:University of North Carolina at Asheville faculty Category:People from Queens Category:Queens College, City University of New York alumni Category:Deaths from brain cancer Category:Cancer deaths in North Carolina

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Robert Holbrook Smith (August 8, 1879 – November 16, 1950), also known as Dr. Bob, was an American physician and surgeon who co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous with Bill Wilson, more commonly known as Bill W.

He was born in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, where he was raised, to Susan A. Holbrook and Walter Perrin Smith. As a child he was forced to attend religious services four times a week, with the result that he determined he would never attend religious services when he grew up. He began drinking in college, and early on he noticed that he could recover from drinking bouts quicker and easier than his classmates and that he never had headaches, which caused him to believe he was an alcoholic from the time he began drinking. After graduation from Dartmouth College in 1902, he worked for three years selling hardware in Boston, Chicago, and Montreal and continued drinking heavily. He then returned to school to study medicine. By this time drinking had begun to affect him to the point where he began missing classes. His drinking caused him to leave school, but he returned and passed his examinations for his sophomore year. He transferred to Rush Medical College, but his alcoholism worsened to the point that his father was summoned to try to halt his downward trajectory. But his drinking increased and after a dismal showing during final examinations, the university required that he remain for two extra quarters and remain sober during that time as a condition of graduating.

After graduation Smith became a hospital intern, and for two years he was able to stay busy enough to refrain from heavy drinking. He married Anne Robinson Ripley on January 25, 1915, and opened up his own office in Akron, Ohio, specializing in colorectal surgery and returned to heavy drinking. Recognizing his problem, he checked himself into more than a dozen hospitals and sanitariums in an effort to stop his drinking. He was encouraged by the passage of Prohibition in 1919, but soon discovered that the exemption for medicinal alcohol and bootleggers could supply more than enough to continue his excessive drinking. For the next 17 years his life revolved around how to subvert his wife’s efforts to stop his drinking and obtain the alcohol he craved while trying to hold together a medical practice in order to support his family and his drinking.

In January 1933, Anne Smith attended a lecture by Frank Buchman, the founder of the Oxford Group. For the next two years she and Dr. Smith attended local meeting of the group in an effort to solve his alcoholism, but recovery eluded him until he met Bill Wilson on May 13, 1935. Wilson, an alcoholic who had learned how to stay sober by helping other alcoholics through the Oxford Group in New York, was in Akron on business that had proven unsuccessful and he was in fear of relapsing. Recognizing the danger, he made inquiries about any local alcoholics he could talk to and was referred to Smith by Henrietta Sieberling, one of the leaders of the Akron Oxford Group. After talking to Wilson, Smith stopped drinking and invited Wilson to stay at his home. He relapsed almost a month later while attending a professional convention in Atlantic City. Returning to Akron on June 9, he was given a few drinks by Wilson to avoid delirium tremens. He drank one beer the next morning to settle his nerves so he could perform an operation, which proved to be the last drink he would ever take. The date, June 10, 1935, is celebrated as the anniversary of the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Smith was called the "Prince of Twelfth Steppers" by Wilson because he helped more than 5000 alcoholics before his death. He was able to stay sober from June 10, 1935, until his death in 1950 from colon cancer.

See also

Jim Burwell

History of Alcoholics Anonymous

Bill W. and Dr. Bob

References

External links

"Dr Bob's Home" website, Akron, Ohio

Category:American physicians Smith Bob Category:Alcoholics Anonymous Category:Dartmouth College alumni Category:Rush Medical College Category:St. Johnsbury Academy alumni Category:People from Akron, Ohio Category:1879 births Category:1950 deaths Category:People from Caledonia County, Vermont

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