Hats Off To Hammond Organ Inventor Laurens Hammond
Our tribute to Laurens Hammond, the creator of the Hammond organ, whose fantastic invention features on some of the great tracks in music history.
He invented an automatic transmission system for cars, one type of 3-D glasses. a synchronous clock motor and infrared devices. But rock and pop music devotees love him for the invention that he gave his name to. We’re paying tribute to Laurens Hammond, the creator of the Hammond organ.
Our Hats Off To The Hammond playlist features some of the great tracks in music history. It ranges from Jimmy Smith to the Spencer Davis Group and from Deep Purple to the Allman Brothers Band, to put Laurens’ fantastic invention squarely in the spotlight.
This pioneer, born on January 11, 1895, in Evanston, Illinois, already had numerous inventions under his belt by the time he perfected the musical instrument that would go on to adorn so many great records. He had won his degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University during World War I. He then worked privately on a number of brilliant technological advances, including a silent clock that encased the spring motor in a soundproof box.
Click to load video
Hammond’s automatic transmission system was turned down by Renault. But he went on to develop the synchronous motor that would be the basis of both his clock and organ discoveries. By his early 30s, he’d formed his own Hammond Clock Company, which later became the Hammond Instrument Company and then, in 1953, the Hammond Organ Company.
Even by the 1930s, Hammond had a fascination for the sounds coming from the phonograph turntables in his laboratory. He started to explore the idea of producing musical tones by electric synthesis. By 1934, with John M. Hanert, he’d come up with the design for what became the Hammond organ. This was a machine with 91 small tonewheel generators, rotated by that synchronous motor of his.
The harmonic drawbars above the keyboard created the chance to mix millions of different tones. The organ was first manufactured in 1935. Millions of keyboard players, especially of his celebrated B-3, have been in Mr. Hammond’s debt ever since. He died at the age of 78 on July 3, 1973, but what a legacy he left.
Click to load video
