First use of Moog synthesizer in film scores

[mikael488]

The first ever film score to use a Moog modular (Herb Deutsch's prototype) has got to be Maurice Jarre's soundtrack to DOCTOR ZHIVAGO which was recorded back in Dec 1965! You'd be hard pressed to distinguish any synth sounds in this score though because the Moog was mainly used to blend with and reinforce other instruments of the orchestra. Furthermore, the Moog is buried so deep into the score it's barely audible (if at all?). For this reason I decided to exclude this movie/score from the list below. I did the same with Komeda's ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968), and John Barry's MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969) even though I know that a Moog was used in both scores.

Anyway, here's a list of late '60s filmscores in which the Moog can actually be heard:

Movie title / composer / Moog programmer / release date

1. THE TRIP - Electric Flag - Paul Beaver - Aug 1967 (music recorded in May 1967).
2. THE NAME OF THE GAME IS KILL - Stu Phillips - Paul Beaver - May 1968
3. THE ILLUSTRATED MAN - Jerry Goldsmith - Paul Beaver & Bernie Krause - March 1969
4. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE - John Barry - ???? - Dec 1969
5. PERFORMANCE - Jack Nitzsche - Bernie Krause - Aug 1970 (according to Krause the Moog
parts were recorded/overdubbed in late '69)
6. DIDN'T YOU HEAR - Mort Garson - Mort Garson - 1970
This is probably the first filmscore done entirely with a Moog.
7.Theme from MEDICAL CENTER (TV-series, 2nd season) - Lalo Schifrin - Paul Bwaver - autumn 1970

If you happen to know of any other movie scores from the years 1967-1970 in which a Moog is featured feel free to add them to my list.

Comments and additions are welcomed :-)

cheers,
Micke

[Mr. Varaldo]

Micke, the John Barry one is very interesting to me because i've been trying to find out if the gorgeous synth bass used in one of my top-ten favorite songs - the incredibly beautiful "PERSUADERS THEME" is indeed a Moog modular.... do you have any information on the Persuaders synth??

[Simonator]

It was '71... but Wendy Carlos' A Clockwork Orange sticks out in my mind. That was a Moog right?

[mikael488]

I haven't managed to find any info on the Persuaders synth, but I'm pretty sure that bassline was played on a Moog modular. The TV-series first aired in Sep 1971 so, in theory at least, it could be a Minimoog.

Lalo Schifrin's theme to TV-series MEDICAL CENTER also used a Moog modular (programmed by Paul Beaver as usual) so I'll add that one to the list.

Schifrin's theme (rec. in Sep 1970) was introduced during the second season and used as the opening credit sequence theme thereafter.

[mikael488]

Originally Posted by Simonator

It was '71... but Wendy Carlos' A Clockwork Orange sticks out in my mind. That was a Moog right?

Yes, definitely Moog modular on that one.

[The Real MC]

There was a pr0n movie that featured a moog modular on screen.

Not prominently of course.

[Simonator]

Originally Posted by The Real MC

There was a pr0n movie that featured a moog modular on screen.

Not prominently of course.

Are you certain the film intended to be a 'blue movie'... not just the gearslut in you interpreting it that way!

[007]

Originally Posted by Mr. Varaldo

Micke, the John Barry one is very interesting to me because i've been trying to find out if the gorgeous synth bass used in one of my top-ten favorite songs - the incredibly beautiful "PERSUADERS THEME" is indeed a Moog modular.... do you have any information on the Persuaders synth??

The Persuaders theme also happens to be one of my all-time favorite pieces of music, period. John Barry, Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, just a few of the guys I look up to with utter admiration. That bass is sublime and the dulcimer lead line (or some kind of emulation of dulcimer paired with other sounds) is ****ing gorgeous. That music oozes vibe and sheer coolness.

[mikael488]

Originally Posted by The Real MC

There was a pr0n movie that featured a moog modular on screen.

Not prominently of course.

The movie PERFORMANCE (released in 1970) does contain a few scenes where Mick Jagger tweaks a Moog IIIP with the optional double sequencer complement. Bernie Krause told me a while ago that this very same synth was later sold to Jagger. The synth eventually ended up in the hands of Christopher Franke of Tangerine Dream, who in turn, sold it to Hans Zimmer sometime during the '80s. It's got quite an interesting history that synth.

[mikael488]

Originally Posted by krou

The Persuaders theme also happens to be one of my all-time favorite pieces of music, period. John Barry, Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, just a few of the guys I look up to with utter admiration. That bass is sublime and the dulcimer lead line (or some kind of emulation of dulcimer paired with other sounds) is ****ing gorgeous. That music oozes vibe and sheer coolness.

Afaik the lead instruiment was a Cimbalom (a type of hammered dulcimer). The same instrument was used in the theme music for John Barry's THE IPCRESS FILE (1965) and Ennio Morricone's soundtrack to BLUEBEARD (1972) etc.

[mikael488]

This thread dried up too fast I think so I decided to post an update.

The first ever film score to use a Moog modular (Herb Deutsch's prototype) has got to be Maurice Jarre's soundtrack to DOCTOR ZHIVAGO which was recorded back in Dec 1965! You'd be hard pressed to distinguish any synth sounds in this score though because the Moog was mainly used to blend with and reinforce other instruments of the orchestra. Furthermore, the Moog is buried so deep into the score it's barely audible (if at all?). For this reason I decided to exclude this movie/score from the list below. I did the same with Komeda's ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968), and John Barry's MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969) even though I know that a Moog was used in both scores.

Anyway, here's a list of late '60s/early '70s filmscores in which the Moog can actually be heard:

Movie title / composer / Moog programmer / release date

1. THE TRIP - Electric Flag - Paul Beaver - Aug 1967 (music recorded in May 1967).
2. THE NAME OF THE GAME IS KILL - Stu Phillips - Paul Beaver - May 1968
3. BREAKTHROUGH - Beaver & Krause - Beaver & Krause - 1968 (experimental short student film)
4. NBC Experiment in Television - The Cube (1 episode) Walter Sear - Walter Sear - Feb 1969
5. THE ILLUSTRATED MAN - Jerry Goldsmith - Paul Beaver & Bernie Krause - March 1969
6. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE - John Barry - ???? - Dec 1969
7. PERFORMANCE - Jack Nitzsche - Bernie Krause - Aug 1970 (according to Krause the Moog
parts were recorded/overdubbed in late '69)
8. DIDN'T YOU HEAR - Mort Garson - Mort Garson - 1970 (This is probably the first filmscore done entirely with a Moog).
9. Theme from MEDICAL CENTER (TV-series, 2nd season) - Lalo Schifrin - Paul Beaver - autumn 1970
10. Blue Water, White Death - Walter Sear - Walter Sear - may 1971
11. THE HELLSTROM CHRONICLE - Lalo Schifrin - ???? - June 1971 (not sure if it's a Mini or modular moog)
12. Let's Scare Jessica to Death - Walter Sear - Walter Sear - aug 1971
13. The PERSUADERS theme (TV-series) - John Barry - ???? - Sep 1971 (this could be a Minimoog but I don't think it is).
14. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE - W. Carlos - W. Carlos - Dec 1971
15. ENDLESS NIGHT - Bernard Herrmann - Howard Blake - Sep 1972 (Minimoog)
16. SISTERS - Bernard Herrmann - Howard Blake - March 1973 (Minimoog)
17.. THE LAST DAYS OF MAN ON EARTH - Beaver & Krause - Beaver & Krause - 1973

If you happen to know of any other film scores from 1967-1973 or thereabouts that feature the Moog modular synthesizer, feel free to add
them to the above list.

Comments and additions are welcomed

cheers,
Micke

[Don Solaris]

Anyone know which phase shifter did Walter Carlos used of Clockwork Orange?

It's signature sound of the whole movie - and it sounds awesome.

[Sharp11]

Bernard Hermann used two Moogs and a string orchestra for the 1973 thriller "Sisters".

When I was hired to score the remake in 2006, my co-composer, David Kristian, picked up an old Moog (I forget which one) and we used it sparingly to make reference to the original - it worked out well.

We ended up with a 70's sort of synth and effects sound throughout the movie.

Ed

[mikael488]

Originally Posted by Sharp11

Bernard Hermann used two Moogs and a string orchestra for the 1973 thriller "Sisters".

When I was hired to score the remake in 2006, my co-composer, David Kristian, picked up an old Moog (I forget which one) and we used it sparingly to make reference to the original - it worked out well.

We ended up with a 70's sort of synth and effects sound throughout the movie.

Ed

Incidentally, I was going to add Bernard Herrmann's scores to "Endless Night" (1972) and "Sisters" (1973) because I knew a Moog synth was used for those. However, before I did I contacted Howard Blake, the guy who performed the synth parts in these scores, and was told that he used a Minimoog on both.

Says Howard: "I bought a mini moog from Dr Robert Moog himself when he came to lecture on it at Advision studios around 1971. I was working with Bernard Herrmann on 'Endless night' and he asked me if there were any theramins in London. Nobody knew of one and I suggested he hear the ribbon controller (*) on the mini moog. He came over to my flat and was delighted with the sound, which I then used on the two films you mention."

(*) he's referring to the pitch-wheel.

[mikael488]

Originally Posted by Don Solaris

No prob, i'll sticky it for one month.

Thanks

[mikael488]

Originally Posted by Don Solaris

Anyone know which phase shifter did Walter Carlos used of Clockwork Orange?

It's signature sound of the whole movie - and it sounds awesome.

I've read that they used a Bode frequency shifter at the time to simulate phasing and flanging.

Wendy Carlos interviewed in the Dec 1979 issue of Contemporary keyboard:

"Do you use any standard phase shifters or flangers to do those effects?

Just the old two-tape-machine thing. A lot of the old tricks. Just using Dolby and clean tape makes things sound good. A lot of the things we do are done the hard way, and we tend to resort to physical things, the reason mainly being that the digital machines we've been able to bring in
and try sounded awful. All of them were more convenient, but we weren't willing to put up with that kind of response."

[Feinstrom]

Originally Posted by mikael488

The movie PERFORMANCE (released in 1970) does contain a few scenes where Mick Jagger tweaks a Moog IIIP with the optional double sequencer complement. Bernie Krause told me a while ago that this very same synth was later sold to Jagger. The synth eventually ended up in the hands of Christopher Franke of Tangerine Dream, who in turn, sold it to Hans Zimmer sometime during the '80s. It's got quite an interesting history that synth.

A review of PERFORMANCE and an interview containing some bits on that IIIP can be found in an old issue of the German "Synthesizer-Magazin".

The most famous pr0n movie featuring a Moog must be Lasse Braun's "Body Love"; (soundtrack by a guy called Klaus Schulze). That was 1977, so a bit late for this thread - sorry!
Enjoy the movie - er, the soundtrack!

Cheers,
Bert

[mikael488]

Ahh, what the heck..I decided to add the two Bernard Herrmann scores
to the list. After all, a Moog is a moog is a moog.....

[itisnick]

I think the early/mid 70s adult film people are referring to was mentioned on Analogue Heaven some years back. Apparently a large modular Moog was used as the main part of the set, not the soundtrack.

Film Score Monthly released Goldsmith's "Illustrated Man" score fairly recently from the master tapes.

I'm not sure of the first appearance of a Moog in an Isao Tomita score. I think he bought his in 1971. Of released scores his "Nostradamus Prophecy- Catastrophe 1999" (released in 1974) is full of Moog though augmented with strings, drums, electric guitar. It seems to have been Toho's entry into the disaster film genre and was eventually released dubbed as "The Last Days of Planet Earth"

[jupiter8]

While looking around if i couldn't find the scene with Mick Jagger and the Moog i stumbeled upon this:
Magick Lantern Cycle
Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969)

an original synthesizer score by Mick Jagger.

The music of the film is cutting, ugly and nerve wracking, composed by Mick Jagger on a Moog Synthesizer.

Hmmm,the name Bobby Beausoleil sounded familiar. Turns out he was a member of the Manson "family" and was convicted for his participation in the Charles Manson murders.

[jupiter8]

Damn,cool stuff just keeps falling in my lap.
YouTube - Keith Richards - Umano non Umano - 1969
From the Italian film Umano non Umano apparently shot in April 69 (though imdb claims it was released in 1972) where Kieth Richards frantically tries to patch the Moog Modular,seemingly at random, with no obvious change in sound. The coolest man in history with the coolest synth in history makes for such uninteresting view,who knew ?

[mikael488]

Cool! I wasn't aware of those two films, nor did I know that Mick Jagger actually recorded with his Moog (the Moog parts in Performance were done by Bernie Krause). "Umano non umano" premiered in Oct 1971 so I reckon its score was recorded in that year. Couldn't find an exact release date for that experimental short film so *1969* will have to do for the time being.

I'll add both titles to the list.

[mikael488]

Originally Posted by itisnick

I'm not sure of the first appearance of a Moog in an Isao Tomita score. I think he bought his in 1971. Of released scores his "Nostradamus Prophecy- Catastrophe 1999" (released in 1974) is full of Moog though augmented with strings, drums, electric guitar. It seems to have been Toho's entry into the disaster film genre and was eventually released dubbed as "The Last Days of Planet Earth"

I'm pretty sure you're right in that Nostradamus great prophecies (1974) is Tomita's first film score to feature the Moog, so I'll add it to the list.

[mikael488]

UPDATE!

Movie title / composer / Moog programmer / release date

1. THE TRIP - Electric Flag - Paul Beaver - Aug 1967 (music recorded in May 1967).
2. THE NAME OF THE GAME IS KILL - Stu Phillips - Paul Beaver - May 1968
3. BREAKTHROUGH - Beaver & Krause - Beaver & Krause - 1968 (experimental short student film)
4. NBC Experiment in Television - The Cube (1 episode) Walter Sear - Walter Sear - Feb 1969
5. THE ILLUSTRATED MAN - Jerry Goldsmith - Paul Beaver & Bernie Krause - March 1969
6. Invocation of My Demon Brother - Mick Jagger - Mick Jagger - 1969 (experimental short film)
7. NBC Untamed Frontier (electronic scoring for 3 TV-episodes) - Mort Garson - Mort Garson - Nov 1969
8. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE - John Barry - ???? - Dec 1969
9. PERFORMANCE - Jack Nitzsche - Bernie Krause - Aug 1970 (according to Krause the Moog
parts were recorded/overdubbed in late '69)
10. DIDN'T YOU HEAR - Mort Garson - Mort Garson - 1970 (This is probably the first filmscore done entirely with a Moog).
11. Theme from MEDICAL CENTER (TV-series, 2nd season) - Lalo Schifrin - Paul Beaver - autumn 1970
12. Blue Water, White Death - Walter Sear - Walter Sear - may 1971
13. THE HELLSTROM CHRONICLE - Lalo Schifrin - ???? - June 1971 (not sure if it's a Mini or modular moog)
14. Let's Scare Jessica to Death - Walter Sear - Walter Sear - aug 1971
15. The PERSUADERS theme (TV-series) - John Barry - ???? - Sep 1971 (this could be a Minimoog but I don't think it is).
16. Umano non Umano - Mick Jagger & Keith Richards - Mick Jagger (?) - oct 1971
17. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE - W. Carlos - W. Carlos - Dec 1971
18. ENDLESS NIGHT - Bernard Herrmann - Howard Blake - Sep 1972 (Minimoog)
19. SISTERS - Bernard Herrmann - Howard Blake - March 1973 (Minimoog)
20. THE LAST DAYS OF MAN ON EARTH - Beaver & Krause - Beaver & Krause - 1973
21. NOSTRADAMUS GREAT PROPHECIES - Isao Tomita - Isao Tomita - Aug 1974

If you know of any other film or TV scores from 1967-1974 (or thereabouts) that feature the Moog modular synthesizer, feel free to add them to the above list.

Comments and additions are welcomed!

[itisnick]

Originally Posted by mikael488

I'm pretty sure you're right in that Nostradamus great prophecies (1974) is Tomita's first film score to feature the Moog, so I'll add it to the list.

Well it definitely features Moog, the date is verified and there were soundtrack albums of the material.

On the other hand he was and still is a fairly active film & TV composer and had a Moog cover album out in 1972, so I would think he might have introduced it somewhere earlier and less prominently given the 2 or so years between that soundtrack and his cover album.

[gordonmerrick]

Probably not here, but it would be nice to expand this into a full 'early/analog electronic music in film' thread that could start with Shostakovich's _Odna_ (1931--an origin point for electronic scores) and then fill in as many gaps as possible. Maybe 1931-1981 could be useful bookends?

[terrytee]

Great thread thumbsup As a avid film collector, although mainly within the horror & thriller genres, one of my main reasons for becoming interested was in fact the sound tracks.

[mikael488]

It looks like we're running out of "Moogy" soundtracks from the years 1967-1974, so maybe we should expand the list to include film scores up to 1980. Whaddya think?

[dlmorley]

Originally Posted by krou

The Persuaders theme also happens to be one of my all-time favorite pieces of music, period. John Barry, Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, just a few of the guys I look up to with utter admiration. That bass is sublime and the dulcimer lead line (or some kind of emulation of dulcimer paired with other sounds) is ****ing gorgeous. That music oozes vibe and sheer coolness.

Same here.
Incredible piece of music.

[sync24]

Originally Posted by gordonmerrick

Probably not here, but it would be nice to expand this into a full 'early/analog electronic music in film' thread that could start with Shostakovich's _Odna_ (1931--an origin point for electronic scores) and then fill in as many gaps as possible. Maybe 1931-1981 could be useful bookends?

this was my intention with the following blog:
electronic music in film
but work and life commitments have got in the way

it'd be great to tie these things together somehow, like with a bunch of contributors... anyone got any suggestions?