PONG
An upright cabinet of Pong
Developer(s)	Atari Inc.
Publisher(s)	Atari Inc.
Designer(s)	Allan Alcorn
Series	Pong
Platform(s)	Arcade
Release date(s)	1972
Genre(s)	Sports game
Cabinet	Upright
CPU	Discrete
Sound	Monaural
Display	Vertical orientation, black-and-white raster display, standard resolution

Pong (marketed as PONG) is one of the earliest arcade video games, and is a tennis sports game featuring simple two-dimensional graphics. While other arcade video games such as Computer Space came before it, Pong was one of the first video games to reach mainstream popularity. The aim is to defeat the opponent in a simulated table tennis game by earning a higher score. The game was originally manufactured by Atari Incorporated (Atari), who released it in 1972. Allan Alcorn created Pong as a training exercise assigned to him by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell. Bushnell based the idea on an electronic ping-pong game included in the Magnavox Odyssey, which later resulted in a lawsuit against Atari. Surprised by the quality of Alcorn's work, Atari decided to manufacture the game.

Pong quickly became a success and is the first commercially successful video game, which led to the start of the video game industry. Soon after its release, several companies began producing games that copied Pong's gameplay, and eventually released new types of games. As a result, Atari encouraged its staff to produce more innovative games. The company released several sequels that built upon the original's gameplay by adding new features. During the 1975 Christmas season, Atari released a home version of Pong exclusively through Sears retail stores. It was also a commercial success and led to numerous copies. The game has been remade on numerous home and portable platforms following its release. Pong has been referenced and parodied in multiple television shows and video games, and has been a part of several video game and cultural exhibitions.

Gameplay[link]

The two paddles return the ball back and forth. The score is kept by the numbers (0 and 1) at the top of the screen.

Pong is a two-dimensional sports game that simulates table tennis. The player controls an in-game paddle by moving it vertically across the left side of the screen, and can compete against either a computer controlled opponent or another player controlling a second paddle on the opposing side. Players use the paddles to hit a ball back and forth. The aim is for a player to earn more points than the opponent; points are earned when one fails to return the ball to the other.^[1][2][3]

Development and history[link]

Atari engineer Allan Alcorn designed and built Pong as a training exercise.

Pong was the first game developed by Atari Inc., incorporated in June 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney.^[4][5] After producing Computer Space, Bushnell decided to form a company to produce more games by licensing ideas to other companies. The first contract was with Bally Manufacturing Corporation for a driving game.^[3][6] Soon after the founding, Bushnell hired Allan Alcorn because of his experience with electrical engineering and computer science; Bushnell and Dabney also had previously worked with him at Ampex. Prior to working at Atari, Alcorn had no experience with video games.^[7] To acclimate Alcorn to creating games, Bushnell gave him a project secretly meant to be a warm-up exercise.^[7][8] Bushnell told Alcorn that he had a contract with General Electric for a product, and asked Alcorn to create a simple game with one moving spot, two paddles, and digits for score keeping.^[7] In 2011, Bushnell stated that the game was inspired by previous versions of electronic tennis he had played before; Bushnell played a version on a PDP-1 computer in 1964 while attending college.^[9] However, Alcorn has claimed it was in direct response to Nolan's viewing of the Magnavox Odyssey's Tennis game.^[7] In May 1972, Bushnell had visited the Magnavox Profit Caravan in Burlingame, California where he played the Magnavox Odyssey demonstration, specifically the table tennis game.^[10][11] Though he thought the game lacked quality, seeing it prompted Bushnell to assign the project to Alcorn.^[9]

Alcorn first examined Bushnell's schematics for Computer Space, but found them to be illegible. He went on to create his own designs based on his knowledge of transistor–transistor logic and Bushnell's game. Feeling the basic game was too boring, Alcorn added features to give the game more appeal. He divided the paddle into eight segments to change the ball's angle of return. For example, the center segments return the ball a 90° angle in relation to the paddle, while the outer segments return the ball at smaller angles. He also made the ball accelerate the more it was returned back and forth between paddles; missing the ball reset the speed.^[3] Another feature was that the in-game paddles were unable to reach the top of screen. This was caused by a simple circuit that had an inherent defect. Instead of dedicating time to fixing the defect, Alcorn decided it gave the game more difficulty and helped limit the time the game could be played; he imagined two skilled players being able to play forever otherwise.^[7]

Three months into development, Bushnell told Alcorn he wanted the game to feature realistic sound effects and a roaring crowd.^[7][12] Dabney wanted the game to "boo" and "hiss" when a player lost a round. Alcorn had limited space available for the necessary electronics and was unaware of how to create such sounds with digital circuits. After inspecting the sync generator, he discovered that it could generate different tones and used those for the game's sound effects.^[3][7] To construct the prototype, Alcorn purchased a $75 Hitachi black-and-white television set from a local store, placed it into a 4 feet (1.2 m) wooden cabinet, and soldered the wires into boards to create the necessary circuitry. The prototype impressed Bushnell and Dabney so much that they felt it could be a profitable product and decided to test its marketability.^[3]

In September 1972, Bushnell and Alcorn installed the Pong prototype at a local bar, Andy Capp's Tavern. They selected the bar because of their good working relation with the bar's manager, Bill Gattis;^[13] Atari supplied pinball machines to Gattis.^[5] Bushnell and Alcorn placed the prototype on one of the tables near the other entertainment machines: a jukebox, pinball machines, and Computer Space. The game was well received the first night and its popularity continued to grow over the next one and a half weeks. Bushnell then went on a business trip to Chicago to demonstrate Pong to executives at Bally and Midway Manufacturing;^[13] he intended to use Pong to fulfill his contract with Bally, rather than the driving game.^[3][4] A few days later, the prototype began exhibiting complications and Gattis contacted Alcorn to fix it. Upon inspecting the machine, Alcorn discovered the mechanisms had jammed from an overflow of quarters.^[13]

After hearing about the game's success, Bushnell decided there would be more profit for Atari to manufacture the game rather than license it, but the interest of Bally and Midway had already been piqued.^[4][13] Bushnell decided to inform each of the two groups that the other was uninterested—Bushnell told the Bally executives that the Midway executives did not want it and vice versa—to preserve the relationships for future dealings. Upon hearing Bushnell's comment, the two groups declined his offer.^[13] Bushnell had difficulty finding financial backing for Pong; banks viewed it as a variant of pinball, which at the time the general public associated with the Mafia. Atari eventually obtained a line of credit from Wells Fargo that it used to expand its facilities to house an assembly line.^[14] The company announced the release of Pong on November 29, 1972.^[15] Management sought assembly workers at the local unemployment office, but was unable to keep up with demand. The first arcade cabinets produced were assembled very slowly, about ten machines a day, many of which failed quality testing. Atari eventually streamlined the process and began producing the game in greater quantities.^[14] By 1973, they began shipping Pong to other countries with the aid of foreign partners.^[16]

Home version[link]

Atari's Home Pong console, released through Sears in 1975

The success of Pong resulted in Bushnell pushing his employees to create new products.^[4][17] In 1974, Atari engineer Harold Lee proposed a home version of Pong that would connect to a television: Home Pong. The system began development under the codename Darlene, named after an attractive female employee at Atari. Alcorn worked with Lee to develop the designs and prototype, and based them on the same digital technology used in their arcade games. The two worked in shifts to save time and money; Lee worked on the design's logic during the day, while Alcorn debugged the designs in the evenings. After the designs were approved, fellow Atari engineer Bob Brown assisted Alcorn and Lee in building a prototype. The prototype consisted of a device attached to a wooden pedestal containing over a hundred wires, which would eventually be replaced with a single chip designed by Alcorn and Lee; the chip had yet to be tested and built before the prototype was constructed. The chip was finished in the latter half of 1974, and was, at the time, the highest performing chip used in a consumer product.^[17]

Bushnell and Gene Lipkin, Atari's vice-president of sales, approached toy and electronic retailers to sell Home Pong, but were rejected. Retailers felt the product was too expensive and would not interest consumers. Atari contacted the Sears Sporting Goods department after noticing a Magnavox Odyssey advertisement in the sporting goods section of its catalog. Atari staff discussed the game with a representative, Tom Quinn, who expressed enthusiasm and offered the company an exclusive deal. Believing they could find more favorable terms elsewhere, Atari's executives declined and continued to pursue toy retailers. In January 1975, Atari staff set up a Home Pong booth at a toy trade fair in New York City, but was unsuccessful in soliciting orders.^[17]

While at the show, they met Quinn again, and, a few days later, set up a meeting with him to obtain a sales order. In order to gain approval from the Sporting Goods department, Quinn suggested Atari demonstrate the game to executives in Chicago. Alcorn and Lipkin traveled to the Sears Tower and, despite a technical complication, obtained approval. Bushnell told Quinn he could produce 75,000 units in time for the Christmas season, however, Quinn requested double the amount. Though Bushnell knew Atari lacked the capacity to manufacture 150,000 units, he agreed.^[17] Atari acquired a new factory through funding obtained by venture capitalist Don Valentine. Supervised by Jimm Tubb, the factory fulfilled the Sears order.^[18] The first units manufactured were branded with Sears' "Tele-Games" name. Atari later released a version under its own brand in 1976.^[19]

The Magnavox Odyssey, invented by Ralph H. Baer, inspired Pong's development.

Lawsuit from Magnavox[link]

The success of Pong attracted the attention of Ralph Baer, the inventor of the Magnavox Odyssey, and his employer, Sanders Associates. Sanders had an agreement with Magnavox to handle the Odyssey's sublicensing, which included dealing with infringement on its exclusive rights. However, Magnavox had not pursued legal action against Atari and numerous other companies that released Pong clones.^[20] Sanders continued to apply pressure, and in April 1974 Magnavox filed suit against Atari, Bally Midway, Allied Leisure and Chicago Dynamics.^[21] Magnavox argued that Atari had infringed on Baer's patents and his concept of electronic ping-pong based on detailed records Sanders kept of the Odyssey's design process dating back to 1966. Other documents included depositions from witnesses and a signed guest book that demonstrated Bushnell had played the Odyssey's table tennis game prior to releasing Pong.^[20][22] In response to claims that he saw the Odyssey, Bushnell later stated that, "The fact is that I absolutely did see the Odyssey game and I didn't think it was very clever."^[23]

After considering his options, Bushnell decided to settle with Magnavox out of court. Bushnell's lawyer felt they could win, however, he estimated legal costs of US$1.5 million, which would have exceeded Atari's funds. Magnavox offered Atari an agreement to become a licensee for US$0.7 million. Other companies producing "Pong clones"—Atari's competitors—would have to pay royalties. In addition, Magnavox would obtain the rights to Atari products developed over the next year.^[20][22] Magnavox continued to pursue legal action against the other companies, and proceedings began shortly after Atari's settlement in June 1976. The first case took place at the United States District Court in Chicago, with Judge John Grady presiding.^[20][24][22] To avoid Magnavox obtaining rights to its products, Atari decided to delay the release of its products for a year, and withheld information from Magnavox's attorneys during visits to Atari facilities.^[22]

Impact and legacy[link]

The Pong arcade games manufactured by Atari were a great success. The prototype was well received by Andy Capp's Tavern patrons; people came to the bar solely to play the game.^[4][13] Following its release, Pong consistently earned four times more revenue than other coin-operated machines.^[25] Bushnell estimated that the game earned US$35–40 per day, which he described as nothing he'd ever seen before in the coin-operated entertainment industry at the time.^[9] The game's earning power resulted in an increase in the number of orders Atari received. This provided Atari with a steady source of income; the company sold the machines at three times the cost of production. By 1973, the company had filled 2,500 orders, and, at the end of 1974, sold more than 8,000 units.^[25] The arcade cabinets have since become collector's items with the cocktail-table version being the rarest.^[26] Soon after the game's successful testing at Andy Capp's Tavern, other companies began visiting the bar to inspect it. Similar games appeared on the market three months later, produced by companies like Ramtek and Nutting Associates.^[27] Atari could do little against the competitors as they had not initially filed for patents on the solid state technology used in the game. When the company did file for patents, complications delayed the process. As a result, the market consisted primarily of "Pong clones"; author Steven Kent estimated that Atari had produced less than a third of the machines.^[28] Bushnell referred to the competitors as "Jackals" because he felt they had an unfair advantage. His solution to competing against them was to produce more innovative games and concepts.^[28][27]

Home Pong was an instant success following its limited 1975 release through Sears; around 150,000 units were sold that holiday season.^[29][30] The game became Sears' most successful product at the time, which earned Atari a Sears Quality Excellence Award.^[30] Similar to the arcade version, several companies released clones to capitalize on the home console's success, many of which continued to produce new consoles and video games. Magnavox re-released their Odyssey system with simplified hardware and new features, and would later release updated versions. Coleco entered the video game market with their Telstar console; it features three Pong variants and was also succeeded by newer models.^[29] Nintendo released the Color TV Game 6 in 1977, which plays six variations of electronic tennis. The next year, it was followed by an updated version, the Color TV Game 15, which features fifteen variations. The systems were Nintendo's entry into the home video game market and the first to produce themselves—they had previously licensed the Magnavox Odyssey.^[31] The dedicated Pong consoles and the numerous clones have since become varying levels of rare; Atari's Pong consoles are common, while APF Electronics' TV Fun consoles are moderately rare.^[32] Prices among collectors, however, vary with rarity; the Sears Tele-Games versions are often cheaper than those with the Atari brand.^[29]

Several publications consider Pong the game that launched the video game industry as a lucrative enterprise.^[8][19][33] Video game author David Ellis sees the game as the cornerstone of the video game industry's success, and called the arcade game "one of the most historically significant" titles.^[4][26] Kent attributes the "arcade phenomenon" to Pong and Atari's games that followed it, and considers the release of the home version the successful beginning of home video game consoles.^[27][30] Bill Loguidice and Matt Barton of Gamasutra referred to the game's release as the start of a new entertainment medium, and commented that its simple, intuitive gameplay made it a success.^[19] Many of the companies that produced their own versions of Pong eventually became well-known within the industry. Nintendo entered the video game market with clones of Home Pong. The revenue generated from them—each system sold over a million units—helped the company survive a difficult financial time, and spurred them to pursue video games further.^[31] After seeing the success of Pong, Konami decided to break into the arcade game market and released its first title, Maze. Its moderate success drove the company to develop more titles.^[34]

Sequels and remakes[link]

Bushnell felt the best way to compete against imitators was to create better products, leading Atari to produce sequels in the years followings the original's release: Pong Doubles, Super Pong, Quadrapong, and Pin-Pong.^[2] The sequels feature similar graphics, but include new gameplay elements; for example, Pong Doubles allows four players to compete in pairs, while Quadrapong has them compete against each other in a four way field.^[35][36] Bushnell also conceptualized a free-to-play version of Pong to entertain children in a Doctor's office. He initially titled it Snoopy Pong and fashioned the cabinet after Snoopy's doghouse with the character on top, but retitled it to Puppy Pong and altered Snoopy to a generic dog to avoid legal action. Bushnell later used the game in his chain of Chuck E. Cheese's restaurants.^{[2][37][38][39][40]} In 1976, Atari released Breakout, a single-player variation of Pong where the object of the game is to remove bricks from a wall by hitting them with a ball.^[41] Like Pong, Breakout was followed by numerous clones that copied the gameplay:^[42] Arkanoid, Alleyway, Break 'Em All.

Atari remade the game on numerous platforms. Pong has been included in several Atari compilations on platforms including the Sega Mega Drive, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, and personal computer.^{[43][44][45][46][47]} Through an agreement with Atari, Bally Gaming and Systems developed a slot machine version of the game.^[48] The Atari developed TD Overdrive includes Pong as an extra game to be played during the loading screen.^[49][50] In 1999, the game was remade for home computers and the PlayStation with 3D graphics and power-ups.^[51][52]

In popular culture[link]

Pong has appeared in several facets of popular culture. The game is prominently featured in episodes of television series: That '70s Show,^[53] King of the Hill,^[54] and Saturday Night Live.^[55] In 2006, an American Express commercial featured Andy Roddick in a tennis match against the white, in-game paddle.^[56] Other video games have also referenced and parodied Pong; for example Neuromancer for the Commodore 64 and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts for the Xbox 360.^[57][58] The concert event Video Games Live has performed audio from Pong as part of a special retro "Classic Arcade Medley".^[59] Frank Black's song "Whatever Happened to Pong?" on the album Teenager of the Year heavily references the game's elements.^[60]

Dutch design studio Buro Vormkrijgers created a Pong-themed clock as a fun project within their offices. After the studio decided to manufacture it for retail, Atari took legal action in February 2006. The two companies eventually reached an agreement in which Buro Vormkrijgers could produce a limited number under license.^[61] In 1999, French artist Pierre Huyghe created an installation entitled "Atari Light", in which two people use handheld gaming devices to play Pong on an illuminated ceiling. The work was shown at the Venice Biennale in 2001, and the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León in 2007.^[62][63] The game was included in the London Science Museum's 2006 Game On exhibition meant to showcase the various aspects of video game history, development, and culture.^[64]

See also[link]

Video games portal

• History of video games

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Cohen, Scott (1984). Zap! The Rise and Fall of Atari. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-011543-9. 
• Herman, Leonard (1997). Phoenix: The Fall & Rise of Videogames. Rolenta Press. ISBN 978-0-9643848-2-8. 
• Kline, Stephen; Dyer-Witheford, Nick; De Peuter, Greig (2003). Digital Play: The interaction of Technology, Culture and Marketing. McGill-Queen's Press. ISBN 978-0-7735-2591-7. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pong

• Pong-story.com, the most comprehensive site about Pong and its origins.
• The Atari Museum An in-depth look at Atari and its history
• Pong variants at MobyGames

Ralph H. Baer
Ralph Baer (Left) receives the National Medal of Technology from former president George W. Bush (Right)
Born	(1922-03-08) March 8, 1922 (age 90) Rodalben, Palatinate, Germany
Occupation	Inventor
Spouse	Dena Whinston (1952-2006)
Children	James, Mark, Nancy
Website
Official Website

Ralph H. Baer (born March 8, 1922) is a German-born American video game pioneer, inventor, engineer, known as "The Father of Video Games",^[1] who is noted for his many contributions to games and the video game industry. In 2006, he was awarded the National Medal of Technology for inventing the home console for video games and spawning the video game industry.

Life[link]

When Baer was eleven, he was expelled from school in Germany because of his Jewish ancestry and had to go to an all-Jewish school. His father worked in a shoe factory in Pirmasens at the time. Two months before Kristallnacht, he and his family escaped from Germany. In America, he was self-taught and worked in a factory for a weekly wage of twelve dollars. He graduated from the National Radio Institute as a radio service technician in 1940. In 1943 he was drafted to fight in World War II, assigned to Military intelligence at the US Army headquarters in London.

Baer graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Television Engineering (unique at the time) from the American Television Institute of Technology ^[2][3] in Chicago in 1949.

In 1949, Baer went to work as chief engineer for a small electro medical equipment firm, Wappler, Inc where he designed and built surgical cutting machines, epilators, and low frequency pulse generating muscle-toning equipment. In 1951, Baer went to work as a senior engineer for Loral Electronics in the Bronx, New York, where he designed power line carrier signaling equipment for IBM. From 1952 to 1956, he worked at Transitron, Inc., in New York City as a chief engineer and later as vice president. He started his own company before joining Sanders Associates in 1956, where he stayed until retiring in 1987.^[4]

Baer is best known for leading the development of the Brown Box and Magnavox Odyssey, the first home video game console and his pioneering patented work in establishing video games.^[5] He is now partnered with Bob Pelovitz of Acsiom, LLC,^[6] and they have been inventing and marketing toy and game ideas since 1983.^[7] In 2006, Baer donated all his hardware prototypes and documents to the Smithsonian.^[8]

Baer is a Life Senior Member of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.^[9]

Inventions[link]

Baer started development of the "Brown Box" console video game system and several other prototypes in 1966 for the defense-electronics company Sanders Associates in Nashua, New Hampshire (now part of BAE Systems). In 1971, it was licensed to Magnavox, and after being renamed Magnavox Odyssey, the console was released to the public in 1972. For a time it was Sanders' most profitable line, though many in the company looked down on game development.

Baer created the first light gun and game for home television use, sold grouped with a game expansion pack for the Odyssey, and collectively known as the Shooting Gallery.^[7] The light gun itself was the first peripheral for a video game console.

Another invention is Simon, an electronic pattern-matching game that was immensely popular in the late 1970s and 1980s.^[10]

Awards[link]

In 2005, at G4's video game award show G-Phoria, Baer received a Legend Award for his work in the development of video games.^[11]

On February 13, 2006, Baer was given a National Medal of Technology by Former President George W. Bush, in honor of his "groundbreaking and pioneering creation, development and commercialization of interactive video games".^[12]

In 2008, Baer received the IEEE Masaru Ibuka Consumer Electronics Award.^[13] He received the Pioneer award at GDC on Wednesday, February 20, 2006.

On February 27, 2008, Baer received the 2008 Developers Choice Awards "Pioneer" award. The award recognizes individuals who have contributed the advancement of the videogame industry through technology, concept, or gameplay design.^[1]

On April 1, 2010, Baer was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame at a ceremony at the United States Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C.^[14]

See also[link]

• First video game

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Wolverton, Mark, "The Father of Video Games: From a few notes scribbled on a notepad, Ralph Baer invented a new industry", American Heritage Invention and Technology magazine, Fall 2009.

External links[link]

• Ralph Baer Consultants
• Ralph Baer's US patents
• Information about Ralph Baer's book Videogames: In The Beginning
• Ralph H. Baer Papers, 1943-1953, 1966-1972, 2006 - Ralph Baer's prototypes and documentation housed at the Smithsonian Lemelson Center.
• The Dot Eaters entry on Baer and the history of the Odyssey console
• A Ralph Baer biography
• Ralph H. Baer profile at The Escapist magazine.
• "The Right to Baer Games - An Interview with Ralph Baer, the Father of Video Games" - From GamaSutra and the March 2007 edition of Game Developer magazine.
• pongmuseum.com - Information about Ralph Baer and his invention "Video Ping-Pong"'
• Podcast Interview Ralph Baer on "We Talk Games." [Timecode, 01:05:58]
• History of Video Games with documents and videos of Baers Inventions

Black Francis
Francis and the Pixies headlining at the Brixton Academy, October 2009
Background information
Birth name	Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV
Also known as	Frank Black
Born	(1965-04-06) April 6, 1965 (age 47) Boston, Massachusetts
Genres	Alternative rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1986–present
Labels	4AD, American, Cooking Vinyl, Sonic Unyon, spinART
Associated acts	Pixies, Frank Black and the Catholics, Grand Duchy, Paley & Francis
Website	www.blackfrancis.net
Notable instruments
Fender Telecaster

Black Francis (born Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV^[1] on April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist.^[1] He is best known as the frontman of the influential alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis.^[2] Following the band's breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under the name Frank Black. After releasing two albums with 4AD, he left the label and formed a new band, Frank Black and the Catholics. He reformed the Pixies in 2004 and continues to release solo records and tour as a solo artist,^[3] having re-adopted his current stage name in 2007.

His vocal style has varied from a screaming, yowling delivery as lead vocalist of the Pixies to a more measured and melodic style in his solo career.^[4] His cryptic lyrics mostly explore unconventional subjects, such as surrealism, incest and biblical violence, along with science fiction and surf culture.^[5] His use of atypical meter signatures, loud–quiet dynamics and distinct preference for live-to-two-track recording in his career as a solo artist give him a distinct style within alternative rock.^[6]

As frontman of the Pixies, his songs (such as "Where Is My Mind?" and "Debaser") received praise and citations from contemporaries, including Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. Cobain once said that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was his attempt to "rip off the Pixies".^[7] However, in his solo work and records with the Catholics, he received fewer publicized popular and critical accolades.^[8]

Biography[link]

Youth and college[link]

Charles Thompson was born in Boston, Massachusetts.^[9] His father was a bar owner, and Thompson first lived in Los Angeles, California as a baby because his father wanted to "learn more about the restaurant and bar business".^[10] Thompson was introduced to music at a young age, as his parents listened to 1960s folk rock. His first guitar was his mother's, a Yamaha classical guitar bought with money from his father's bar tips, which he started to play at age "11 or 12".^[9]

Thompson's family moved around, first with his father, and then his stepfather, a religious man who "pursued real estate on both coasts"; his parents had separated twice by the time he was in first grade.^[11] When Thompson was 12, his mother and stepfather joined a church that was tied to the evangelical Assemblies of God,^[11] a move that influenced many of his songs written with the Pixies, which often refer to the Bible.^[12]

He discovered the music of Christian rock singer-songwriter Larry Norman at 13 when Norman played at a religious summer camp that Thompson attended. Norman's music influenced Thompson to the extent that he named the Pixies' first EP and a lyric in the band's song "Levitate Me" after one of Norman's catchphrases, "come on, pilgrim!" Thompson later described the music he listened to during his youth:^[10]

Just before Thompson's senior year, his family moved to Westport, Massachusetts, where he received a Teenager of the Year award—the title of a later solo album.^[13] During this time, Thompson composed several songs that appeared in his later career, including "Here Comes Your Man" from Doolittle, and "Velvety Instrumental Version".^[14]

After graduating from high school in 1983, he studied in the University of Massachusetts Amherst, majoring in anthropology.^[15] Thompson shared a room with another roommate for a semester before moving in with future Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago.^[16] The two shared an interest in rock music, and Santiago introduced Thompson to 1970s punk and the music of David Bowie; they began to jam together.^[17] It was at this time that Thompson discovered The Cars, a band he described as "very influential on me and the Pixies".^[18]

In his second year of college, Thompson embarked on a trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico as part of an exchange program. He spent six months in an apartment with a "weird, psycho roommate", who later served as a direct inspiration for the Pixies' song "Crackity Jones";^[19] many of the band's early songs refer to Thompson's experiences in Puerto Rico. Thompson failed to grasp the Spanish language, and left his studies after debating whether he would go to New Zealand to view Halley's Comet (he later said it "seemed like the cool romantic thing to do at the time"),^[20] or start a rock band.^[17] He wrote a letter urging Santiago, with the words "we gotta do it, now is the time Joe",^[21] to join him in a band upon his return to Boston.^[22]

Pixies[link]

Soon after returning to Massachusetts, Thompson dropped out of college, and moved to Boston with Santiago. He spent 1985 working in a warehouse, "managing buttons on teddy bears", composing songs on his acoustic guitar, and writing lyrics on the subway train.^[22] In January 1986, Thompson formed the Pixies with Santiago. Bassist Kim Deal was recruited a week later via a classified advertisement placed in a Boston paper, which requested a bassist "into Hüsker Dü and Peter, Paul and Mary." Drummer David Lovering was later hired on recommendation from Deal's husband.^[15][23]

	"Debaser" noicon is the opening track of Doolittle. This sample contains the first chorus and the bridge into the second verse. "U-Mass" noicon is the sixth track from Trompe le Monde. This sample contains the end of the first verse and the chorus.
Problems listening to these files? See media help.

In 1987, the Pixies released an 18-track demo tape, commonly referred to as The Purple Tape. Thompson's father assisted the band financially, loaning $1,000 in order to record the demo tape; Thompson later said that his father "wasn't around for a lot of my younger years, so I think he was doing his best to make up for lost time".^[24] The Purple Tape led to a recording contract with the English independent record label 4AD.^[17] For the release of the mini album Come On Pilgrim, Thompson adopted the alias "Black Francis", a name inspired by his father: "he had been saving that name in case he had another son".^[25]

In 1988, the Pixies recorded their debut album Surfer Rosa. Thompson wrote and sang on all the tracks, with the exception of the single "Gigantic", which was co-written and sung by Deal. To support the album, the band undertook a European tour, during which Thompson met Eric Drew Feldman,^[26] a later collaborator on Pixies and solo albums. Doolittle, with Thompson-penned songs such as "Debaser" and "Monkey Gone To Heaven",^[27] was released the following year to widespread critical acclaim.^[28] However, by this time, tensions between Thompson and Deal, combined with exhaustion, led the band to announce a hiatus.^[29] Thompson has an aversion to flying, and spent this time driving across America with his girlfriend, Jean Walsh (whom he had met in the band's early days),^[30] performing solo shows in order to raise funds to buy furniture for his new Los Angeles apartment.^[31]

The band reconvened in 1990, and recorded two further albums: 1990's Bossanova and 1991's Trompe le Monde; the latter was Thompson's first collaboration with Feldman. The later Pixies albums were characterized by Thompson's increasing influence on the band's output, as well as a focus on science fiction themes, including aliens and UFOs.^[32] These themes would continue to be explored throughout his early solo work. Trompe le Monde includes the song "U-Mass", which was written about the university he attended as a youth, and due to the keyboard part played by Feldman, signified a move away from the band's alternative rock sound. Although Deal had contributed on the songs "Gigantic" (from Surfer Rosa) and "Silver" (from Doolittle), from Bossanova on, Thompson wrote all the band's original material. This contributed to the increasing tension between him and Deal,^[31] and the Pixies broke up in 1992; this was not publicly announced until early 1993.^[33]

Early solo career[link]

While the Pixies' 1991 album Trompe le Monde was being recorded, Thompson had discussions with the album's producer, Gil Norton, about a possible solo record.^[34] He told Norton he was keen to record again, even though he had no new material; as a result, the two decided on a cover album. However, by the time Thompson visited a recording studio again in 1992, he had "plenty of tunes and musical scraps."^[35]

He collaborated with Feldman to record new material; they began by trimming down the number of covers to one, The Beach Boys' "Hang On to Your Ego".^[36] Feldman became the album's producer, and played keyboard and bass guitar on several songs,^[37] with Santiago featuring on lead guitar^[38] and Nick Vincent on drums. Francis recorded the album during the hiatus and breakup of the Pixies in late 1992 and early 1993. He then adopted the stage name "Frank Black" (inverting his old persona "Black Francis") and released the results as Frank Black in March 1993.^[39] Frank Black was characterized by a focus on UFOs and science fiction, although he explored other subjects, such as in "I Heard Ramona Sing", a song about the Ramones.^[40] The album was similar in style, both musically and lyrically, to the Pixies' albums Bossanova and Trompe le Monde. Feldman later said that the first record connected his solo career with Trompe le Monde, "but at the same time it is an island, like nothing else he [Black] did."^[41]

The following year, Black released his second solo record, a 22-song double album entitled Teenager of the Year.^[42] Teenager included the song "Headache" ( sample (help·info)), a moderate success on alternative rock playlists; critics described the song as "irresistible pop".^[43] The production of Teenager of the Year was markedly different from Frank Black; in the previous album, MIDI templates were used when writing songs, but in Teenager, Black showed individual parts to band members, the core of which included drummer Vincent and Lyle Workman on lead guitar. Feldman noted that Thompson's songwriting became "a lot more spontaneous" while recording the album.^[41] Thompson had begun to stray from his style with the Pixies, writing songs that covered a variety of genres and topics, and his new-found method of recording was closer to later albums than that of Frank Black and Trompe le Monde.

Both Frank Black and Teenager of the Year were critically well received and remain fan favorites, although they enjoyed little commercial success. In 1995, Thompson left his long-time labels 4AD and Elektra.^[44] He continued to write new material: In 1996, he released The Cult of Ray on Rick Rubin's American Recordings; the album marked a turn away from the elaborate production of his first solo works and was recorded primarily live with few overdubs. His band for this album featured sole Teenager holdover Lyle Workman on lead guitar, along with bassist David McCaffrey and Scott Boutier on drums.^[45][46] Though the album was neither critically nor commercially successful, its stripped-down approach would increasingly define Thompson's working methods for the next several years.

Frank Black and the Catholics[link]

Thompson dubbed his new band "Frank Black and the Catholics", and recorded their eponymous first album in 1997. Recorded live-to-two-track initially as merely a demo, he was so pleased with the results that he decided to release the sessions with no further production.^[47] The album was delayed for over a year by conflicts at American, both internal and over its production,^[48] and was ultimately released in late 1998 by SpinArt Records in the US. Since leaving American, Black has avoided long-term contracts with labels, and has maintained ownership of his album masters, licensing each album individually for release.^[49]

Frank Black and the Catholics became the first album to be posted to the eMusic service; they claim it is "the first album ever made legally available for commercial download".^[50] Critical reception to the album was mixed, with some writers noting Thompson's seemingly deliberate turn away from the "quirkiness" of the Pixies and his early solo work for a self-consciously straightforward approach,^[47][51] and the "disappointingly straightforward punk-pop" musical style present on the album.^[52]

He would continue to eschew multi-track recording for the live-to-two-track technique for all subsequent releases under the group name. Live-to-two-track recording precludes the use of overdubs to correct errors or add texture; all takes are recorded continuously, and mixing is done "on the fly". On later albums, he incorporated more musicians into the sessions to allow for more varied instrumental textures. Explaining his rationale behind the method, he commented:^[53]

Well, it's real. It's a recording of a performance, of a real performance between a group of people, an entourage, a band, as opposed to a facsimile of that, which is frequently what people do with multi-track recording ... I prefer it. It's a little more real. It's got a little more heart.

Workman left the Catholics in 1998 to pursue session and sideman work; Rich Gilbert was added to the band to replace him.^[54] Frank Black and the Catholics released Pistolero in 1999, which critics cited as a return to Thompson's earlier form,^[52] and Dog in the Sand in 2001, considered a high point in his solo career.^[55][56] Dog in the Sand added Dave Philips on pedal steel guitar and lead guitar, and Santiago and Feldman began making occasional appearances with the group live and on record.^[57] Both Pistolero and Dog in the Sand were produced by Nick Vincent.

By this time, while dismissing the possibility of a Pixies reunion, Thompson had begun to incorporate an increasing number of the band's songs into Catholics concerts, as well as including Santiago in his solo work again.^[58] Black and the Catholics continued to release records; two separate albums, Black Letter Days and Devil's Workshop, were released simultaneously in 2002.^[59] Devil's Workshop included the song "Velvety" ( sample (help·info)), a version of the Pixies' song "Velvety Instrumental Version" (written by Black as a teenager) with lyrics.^[60] The song was one of the first signs that he had acknowledged his past work with the Pixies in his solo output. A sixth album with the Catholics, Show Me Your Tears, was released in 2003. Show Me Your Tears' title and many of the songs in it were inspired by Thompson's recent divorce and entry into therapy.^[44]

Pixies reunion, Nashville and the return of Black Francis[link]

In late 2003, following long-standing rumors, an official announcement was made that the Pixies were rehearsing for a reunion tour. The band played publicly for the first time in 12 years in April 2004, and went on to tour extensively throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe in the same year. They also recorded one of Deal's compositions, "Bam Thwok", which was released on the iTunes Music Store.^[61] Frank Black Francis, a double album bridging the gap between his two personas, was released to coincide with the Pixies reunion tour. The first disc consisted of solo demos of Pixies songs recorded the day before The Purple Tape was recorded, and the second contained studio collaborations, again of Pixies songs, with Two Pale Boys.^[62]

Also in 2004, Thompson began to collaborate with a group of Nashville session men, including Steve Cropper, Spooner Oldham, Reggie Young, and Anton Fig, as well as producer Jon Tiven. In July 2005, the collective released Honeycomb under the Frank Black name, to generally favorable reviews. Entertainment Weekly described the album as "spare, graceful, [and] in the pocket", while Billboard noted it as "One of [Thompson's] finest hours".^[63] A second volume of Nashville sessions, a double album entitled Fast Man Raider Man, was released in June 2006.^[64] Thompson appeared at a concert by Christian rock pioneer Larry Norman in June 2005 in Salem, Oregon.^[65] Norman and Thompson performed a duet on "Watch What You're Doing", which later appeared on Norman's album, Live at The Elsinore.^[66]

Thompson continued to tour with the Pixies through 2005 and 2006. Though the Catholics were effectively defunct, they released two separate albums of B-sides and rarities, Snake Oil and One More Road for the Hit, on iTunes, with an eye towards a future CD release. Thompson was also working on more new solo material with Feldman in the first part of 2006, some of which they performed live. In the fall of 2006, Thompson began his first solo tour since 2003, taking Feldman, Billy Block, and Duane Jarvis along as his backing band.^[67] In October 2006, Thompson announced plans for the Pixies to start rehearsing and recording a new album in January 2007, but it is believed that no recording took place because of the reluctance of another member of the Pixies to commit to the project.^[3] In December 2006, he released the compilation Christmass album; a collection of new studio tracks, hotel room sessions, and live acoustic recordings from a solo tour the previous summer.^[68]

A Frank Black "best of" compilation, Frank Black 93-03, was released in June 2007. Concurrently with that release, Thompson undertook a European tour with a new band, featuring Salem's Guards of Metropolis members Jason Carter and Charles Normal,^[69] as well as bassist Ding Archer. For this tour, Thompson eschewed his usual rhythm guitar role and performed solely as a frontman and singer. In September 2007, a new album entitled Bluefinger was released under his former stage name of Black Francis. For this album, he was inspired by the life and works of Herman Brood, a Dutch musician and artist. He also released a new "mini-album" entitled Svn Fngrs as Black Francis in March 2008.^[70]

In February 2008, Thompson was taken away by the Irish police in Dublin, Ireland after staging an impromptu "precore" acoustic solo gig at St. Stephen's Green. He was later released and performed that night in Vicar Street as planned.^[71] However, a similar event planned for London was prevented by police and had to be re-arranged for a small indoor venue.

Thompson currently lives in Portland, Oregon, and is married to Violet Clark, his second wife, with whom he has three children, along with her two children from previous relationships.^[1][72] The couple formerly lived in Eugene, Oregon, where they met.^[73] Thompson and Clark currently compose the band Grand Duchy. Their debut album, Petit Fours, was released in February 2009.^[74]

Francis performing in Stockholm, 2009

In early 2009, Art Brut released their third album, Art Brut vs. Satan, which Black produced throughout late 2008. Black has given several joint interviews with frontman Eddie Argos about the album, a move unusual for a producer. In 2009, Art Brut supported The Pixies at their Brixton Academy show.^[75] In 2010, Black worked with the group a second time on their album Brilliant! Tragic!.^[76]

Black Francis released NonStopErotik in March 2010 and contributed the song "I Heard Ramona Sing" to the soundtrack for the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World released in August 2010.

In the fall of 2010 in Nashville, Thompson recorded an album of new songs written and performed with collaborator Reid Paley, as Paley & Francis (Reid Paley & Black Francis). The debut Paley & Francis album (also titled Paley & Francis) was produced by Jon Tiven, and features Reid Paley and Black Francis on guitars and vocals, accompanied by Muscle Shoals legends Spooner Oldham on piano and David Hood on bass. The album was released in October 2011 on Sonic Unyon in North America, and on Cooking Vinyl in the UK & Europe.^[77][78]

Paley & Francis debuted live in early September 2011 with club performances in Albany NY, Buffalo NY, and Hamilton, Ontario (unannounced), and as one of the headliners of Hamilton Ontario's Supercrawl Festival. The band for these performances consisted of Reid Paley and Black Francis on guitars and vocals, Eric Eble (of the Reid Paley Trio) on bass, and Dave Varriale on drums.

Musical style[link]

Thompson's singing style was instrumental in creating the sound of Pixies.

See also: Pixies' musical style

Over the course of his career, Thompson's musical style has grown to encompass a large number of genres; however, he is considered to produce rock or alternative rock compositions.^[79] Whereas songs such as "Here Comes Your Man" (Doolittle), "Velvety" (Devil's Workshop) and "Headache" (Teenager of the Year) expose a more light rock side, others such as "Something Against You" (Surfer Rosa) and "Thalassocracy" (Teenager of the Year) hint to a more heavy rock influence in his material. A strong country music influence is also increasingly evident in his style, most notably in his Nashville albums, Honeycomb and Fast Man Raider Man.

Thompson has said that he acquired his vocal style as a teenager, when a Thai neighbor asked him to sing "Oh! Darling" by The Beatles (from their album Abbey Road) and to "Scream it like you hate that bitch!"^[80] Thompson's powerful screams were a signature of Pixies albums, along with the band's typical song structure of quietly paced verses followed by thundering chorus lines and repetitive guitar staccato.^[15]

Influences[link]

Thompson has drawn influence from a number of musical genres. As a teenager, he mostly listened to 1960s folk and religious music, including the Christian singer-songwriter Larry Norman. Later in high school and in college, he discovered punk music (Black Flag), along with bands from other genres, such as the new wave band The Cars and the obscure Angst. While in Boston in 1984, before starting the Pixies, he listened to Hüsker Dü's Zen Arcade, The Spotlight Kid by Captain Beefheart, and I'm Sick of You, an Iggy Pop bootleg.^[22]

Thompson's lyrics have also featured references to the Bible, especially in his career with the Pixies; most notably in the incestuous tale of "Nimrod's Son", the stories of Uriah and Bathsheba in "Dead", Samson in "Gouge Away" and references to the Tower of Babel in songs such as "Build High" and "Old Black Dawning".^[81] He cited surrealist films Eraserhead and Un Chien Andalou (as mentioned in "Debaser") as major influences on his work with the Pixies; however, surrealism was less of an influence in his solo career.^[82] He commented on these influences (which he paid tribute to most in the Pixies' Doolittle), saying he "didn't have the patience to sit around reading Surrealist novels", but found it easier to watch 20-minute films.^[83]

Songwriting and lyrics[link]

During his stay in Puerto Rico, Thompson acquired a fairly fluent, although informal and at times incorrect, use of Spanish, which he has continued throughout his career. Several early Pixies songs, including "Isla de Encanta" and "Vamos", reference his experiences in San Juan, and the lyrics are often heavily seasoned with the island's slang. The island's influence in his work is most notable in the song "Isla De Encanta", named after the island's motto, "Isla Del Encanto". Other Pixies songs drawn from his experiences there include "Vamos" (Come On Pilgrim), "Oh My Golly!", "Where Is My Mind?" (Surfer Rosa), "Crackity Jones" (Doolittle) and the B-side "Bailey's Walk". Several of his songs contain Spanish lyrics, most notably in the Pixies' first album, Come On Pilgrim, and a Spanish translation of "Evil Hearted You" by The Yardbirds.^[84] From his later works with the Pixies onwards, his use of Spanish drifted westward, reflecting places and aspects of the state of California and its culture.^[53]

Thompson's lyrics are noted for their obscure references to off-beat topics such as outer space, UFOs, and The Three Stooges—the last of these being the subject of "Two Reelers", a song from Teenager of the Year.^[41] Lyrics with a focus on science fiction were particularly prominent on the later Pixies records, as well as his early solo albums.^[85] With the Catholics, his lyrics have tended towards historical topics; for example, the song "St. Francis Dam Disaster" (from Dog in the Sand) details the catastrophic collapse of the St. Francis Dam near Los Angeles in March 1928,^[81] and the All My Ghosts EP featured an account of the "Humboldt County Massacre" of Wiyot Indians in 1860 near Eureka, California.^[86]

Television appearances and videos[link]

See also: Pixies' television appearances and videos

Thompson has appeared on a range of television shows solo and as part of the Pixies, ranging from 120 Minutes and The Late Show in the United States,^[87] to The Word in the UK.^[88]

As part of the Pixies, he was reluctant to film music videos for singles. Elektra Records' Peter Lubin commented that "to get videos out of them was a major ... undertaking and it only got worse over time", citing the fact that Thompson refused to lip-sync;^[89] the video for "Here Comes Your Man" features Thompson and Deal opening their mouths as the vocals are being heard, mocking the practice.

In his early solo career as Frank Black, his videos were more professional; he became more willing to take part in them. "Los Angeles" is an example; the video features Thompson riding across a desert on a hovercraft. They Might Be Giants' John Flansburgh, who directed the "Los Angeles" video, later commented on the change in Black's attitude to music videos:^[41]

I think the Pixies had made enough anti-videos that Charles was ready to do things that were more visually hopped up. The "Los Angeles" video that we did, the last minute and a half of the song is this open field of grey over which hovercrafts are floating. It's about as tripped up as any video I've ever been involved in, and it was also realizing a dream of Charles', getting him in a hovercraft.

Thompson has released few music videos since leaving 4AD, one being a low-budget video in Germany for Dog in the Sand's "Robert Onion". The last widely released video produced for his solo material was for "Men in Black", from Cult of Ray.^[90]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

References[link]

This article's citation style may be unclear. The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation, footnoting, or external linking. (May 2012)

Bibliography[link]

• Frank, Josh; Ganz, Caryn. (2005). Fool the World: The Oral History of a Band Called Pixies. Virgin Books. ISBN 0-312-34007-9.
• Sisario, Ben. (2006). Doolittle. Continuum, 33⅓ series. ISBN 0-8264-1774-4.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Frank Black

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Black Francis

• BlackFrancis.net - Official site
• frankblack.net - Fan site
• Black Francis discography at MusicBrainz
• Frank Black's Allmusic entry
• 4AD - Frank Black
• Review of 2008 Live Show in Manchester
• Paley & Francis Facebook Page
• Paley & Francis YouTube