Today is an unofficial holiday for synth lovers everywhere — it’s Bob Moog’s birthday. While Bob is no longer with us, the omnipresent Moog Synthesizer serves as a lasting tribute to his genius. But it’s easy to forget that before Bob built his first synth, he was custom-building theremins. To celebrate Bob’s birthday, we want to remember the theremin — Bob’s other instrument.
The story of the theremin actually starts in Civil War Russia. It was invented in 1920 by a young physicist named Léon Termen as a part of the Soviet government’s request for a proximity measuring device. While the device’s practical uses are unclear, Léon realized his invention could have a second career as a musical instrument. Soon he was touring Western Europe with his new instrument, packing out every venue he played.
Next he took his act to the US, where he patented his instrument in 1928, eventually giving the production rights to RCA. The RCA Thereminvox was not the commercial success they were hoping for. However, several thereminists, including Alexandra Stepanoff and Clara Rockmore (fantastic name!) awed audiences in the early 1930s.
While the theremin craze had cooled quickly by the 1950s, it remained popular with electronic hobbyists. In New York City, teenager Robert “Bob” Moog was building theremins of his own. When he got the opportunity to describe his home-built theremins in a hobbyists’ magazine called Electronics World, he offered readers a kit to build their own version of his theremin — demand was instant and enthusiastic. By 1953, Bob was the 19-year-old owner of R.A. Moog Company and was making a decent living as a theremin mogul.
Of course, with the 1950s and ’60s came the sci-fi craze. Hollywood realized that the theremin was perfect for that “other worldly” sound their soundtracks needed. Check out this recording session for the film, The Day the Earth Stood Still:
The musical world was not immune to the theremin’s charms. The Rolling Stones got bluesy with it in their song “Please Go Home”:
In 1966, the Beach Boys re-created the theremin’s unique sound with a player-friendly, keyboard-driven version of the theremin called the electro-theremin:
In 1973, the theremin got its Hall of Fame moment when Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page played the iconic theremin solo in “Whole Lotta Love”:
By the 1980s, Bob’s synth empire was in full swing, but he never lost interest in the theremin. In the late 1980s, he was honored to repair Clara Rockmore’s original theremin, a task he considered “a high point of his professional career.” He also co-produced Clara’s album, The Art of the Theremin at this time. As if that weren’t enough, Bob was the main interview subject in an award-winning documentary film, Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey. The publicity the film generated created a quiet comeback for the theremin. No, it never became mainstream again, but it continued to sneak into the spotlight for cameo appearances.
Some performers used it on the studio versions of their songs —
Some even took the theremin onstage —
And then there is this busker:
Sure, Bob Moog’s weird, wonderful theremin has to live in the giant shadow of his synthesizers, but it is still one of the coolest instruments out there. The next time you’re chasing a new sound, why not try the theremin? You just might find the sound you’re looking for — or at the very least you’ll have a blast trying.
