1980s Music Blog
Synthesizers Define the Sound of the 80’s
Wednesday, August 24thBy Rivka Willick
In the early 1950’s Dr. Robert Moog began manufacturing modular voltage-controlled analog synthesizers. With the inclusion of the transistor in the 1960’s the Moog synthesizer was born. It was cheaper, smaller, and better than the original vacuum tube systems. After a demonstration in 1967 at the Monterey International Pop Festival, performers got interested. The 1968 commercial hit “Switched-On Bach” by Wendy Carolos brought the sound to a worldwide audience.
More improvements were made to the Moog Synthesizer in the 70’s and a few bands like Yes, Tangerine Dream, and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer discovere
CLICK TO SEE MORE...MTV Reinvents the Musical Experience
Wednesday, August 24thBy Rivka Willick
On August 1, 1981 at 12:01 a.m. the world changed and music as we knew it would never be the same. Music Television, commonly known as MTV started with 2,100,000 cable subscribers. The 24 hour music-video format was a brand new idea, sort of a national radio station on the air. John Lack, vice president of Warner-Amex-Satellite Entertainment came up with the idea and asked the very young (27) TV executive, Robert Pittman, to develop the idea.
John Lack opened the first broadcast one minute after midnight with the words “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll!” Then the first video played, “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles, and the
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