Remember last month when I was hot on the trail of identifying the first recording of a clavinet, thanks to a tip from Jim Kimsey: “Six O’Clock” by John Sebastian & The Lovin’ Spoonful? Was John Sebastian‘s “electric harpsichord” (as he referred to the instrument), in fact, a clavinet? Sebastian himself was gracious enough to respond to this historian-in-training:
“It was a Hohner Clavinet. My father [John B. Sebastian] was a concert chromatic harmonica player, so I was way inside when it came to Hohner (I played with Matt Hohner‘s kids.) I may have had one of the first, due also to the band’s success.”
I cannot help but imagine the incredible array of harmonicas between the two households. Fun to note how musical advertising from around this time was so refreshingly fun and uncomplicated.
Throwing a musical bone –
Paul Guinnessy @ American Institute of Physics
Guess who else was in on the ground floor with the clavinet? If you guessed Paul Beaver, because his name is in the title of this piece, you would be correct! A mighty big tip of the cap to the Bob Moog Foundation for all the fascinating (and free) history on its website. As Thom Holmes writes —
One can’t help but notice that nine of the first ten Moog albums had one person in common—musician Paul Beaver. By late 1966, he and Bernie Krause had pooled their funds to buy a Moog Modular of their own. Beaver was designated as Moog’s West Coast Representative and together, he and Krause operated a company called Parasound that provided consulting, recording, and production services using the Moog Modular and other instruments. Beginning in April of 1967, he and Bernie were recruited to bring the Moog Synthesizer to a variety of recording sessions. These first Moog productions from the April 1967 time-frame began to appear on vinyl by May and June 1967. Another burst of activity occurred after Beaver and Krause set up a booth to demonstrate the Moog at the Monterey Jazz Festival in June 1967, leading to several sessions with rock groups including the Doors and The Monkees. By January, however, you still only needed ten fingers to count the number of records featuring the Moog.
Paul Beaver
Photo courtesy of The Bob Moog Foundation
Vibraphonist Emil Richards would pull off a birthstone concept with his New Sound Element “Stones” album from 1967: Twelve songs, one for each astrological gemstone. Surprisingly little has been written about this early Moog album that still fetches decent scratch on the second-hand market.
Clavinet, what clavinet? And yet it says right there in the musician credits – Paul Beaver, clavinet, as well as Moog. All I hear is the Moog.
“Diamond” by Emil Richards (1967)
Was New Sound Element, in fact, recorded prior to February, 1967 — the release date of the debut album by The Left Banke, whose “Let Go of You Girl” appears to be the first clavinet on a pop record? Almost certainly not, as recordings with Beaver & Krause’s new Moog only began that April. Nevertheless, Emil Richards’ “Stones” album would be the third recording ever to feature the Moog modular synthesizer, according to Holmes:
“Although Paul Beaver set-up the Moog, Richards was actively engaged in experimenting with the synthesizer for this session. Richards told me that, ‘Beaver assisted as programmer for these sessions. I played the synthesizer and all mallet instruments on all twelve tracks.’
This is the first commercial recording to credit the ‘Moog Synthesizer’ by name.”
Emil Richards –
An Appreciation
In 2011 NPR’s Weekend Edition put together a feature piece on “Tinseltown’s Timekeeper” — Emil Richards — who performed the finger snaps for The Addams Family TV theme, bongos for Mission Impossible‘s theme song, xylophone on The Simpsons‘ opening theme, and endless other sessions as one of the top percussionists working on the West Coast.
Emil Richards
Photo courtesy of NPR
Selected Emil Richards Sessionography
- Stu Phillips Sextet A Touch of Modern 1956
- George Shearing Quintet In the Night 1957
- George Shearing Quintet Latin Lace 1958
- George Shearing Quintet Burnished Brass 1958
- George Shearing Quintet Shearing on Stage! 1959
- Mongo Santamaria Mongo 1959
- The Surfmen The Sounds of Exotic Island 1960
- The Surfers Tahiti 1960
- Emil Richards’ Yazz Band Yazz Per Favore 1961
- Paul Horn Quintet (featuring Emil Richards) The Sound of Paul Horn 1961
- Stan Kenton Kenton’s Christmas [1961]
- Frank Sinatra Ring-a-Ding Ding! 1961
- Shorty Rogers & His Giants Bossa Nova 1961
- Shorty Rogers & His Giants Bossa Nova Exciting Jazz Samba Rhythms 1961
- Shorty Rogers & His Giants Jazz Waltz 1962
- Shorty Rogers The Fourth Dimension in Sound 1962
- Dave Brubeck, Cal Tjader & Emil Richards, et al. Jazz All Stars 1962
- Johnny Beecher Sax 5th Ave. 1962
- Francisco Aguabella Orchestra Dance the Latin Way 1962
- Frank Sinatra Sinatra Live in Paris 1962
- Les Brown & His Band of Renown Swingin’ the Masters 1963
- Barney Kessel Contemporary Latin Rhythms 1963
- Paul Horn Impressions of Cleopatra 1963
- Clifford Scott Lavendar Sax 1964
- Dick Dale & His Del-Tones Summer Surf 1964
- Sammy Davis & Count Basie Our Shining Hour 1964
- Frank Sinatra & Count Basie It Might As Well Be Swing 1964
- Frank Sinatra Sinatra ’65 1965
- Dizzy Gillespie & Big Band The New Continent 1965
- Bobby Darin I Wanna Be Around (a.k.a., Venice Blue) 1965
- Tommy Tedesco The Guitars of Tommy Tedesco 1965
- Stan Kenton Stan Kenton Conducts the L.A. Neophonic Orchestra 1965
- Paul Horn Jazz Suite on the Mass Texts 1965
- Mike Melvoin Keys to Your Mind 1966
- Emil Richards New Time Element 1967
- Hugh Masekela Hugh Masekela’s Latest 1967
- Bob Thiele & Friends Light My Fire 1967
- Tom Scott & the California Dreamers The Honeysuckle Breeze 1967
- Gabor Szabo & the California Dreamers Wind, Sky & Diamonds 1967
- The Parade The Parade 1967
- Harpers Bizarre Feelin’ Groovy 1967
- Victor Feldman The Venezuela Joropo 1967
- Hal Blaine Psychedelic Percussion 1967
- Shelly Manne Daktari 1967
- Howard Roberts Quartet Jaunty-Jolly! 1967
- Frank Zappa Lumpy Gravy 1968
- Spleen The Sound of Feeling 1968
- Ravi Shankar ‘Charly’ Soundtrack 1968
- Emil Richards’ Microtonal Blues Band The Spirit of ’76 / Live @ Donte’s 1969
- Stan Kenton Hair 1969
- Jackie Gleason The Now Sound … for Today’s Lovers 1969
- Donato A Bad Donato 1970
- Tommy Roe We Can Make Music 1970
- Pete Jolly Seasons 1970
- Les Crane Desiderata 1971
- Lalo Schifrin Rock Requiem 1971
- Russ Giguere Hexagram 16 1971
- The Doors Other Voices 1971
- Mimi Farina & Tom Jans Take Heart 1971
- Dominic Frontiere On Any Sunday 1971
- Roger Kellaway The Roger Kellaway Cello Quartet 1971
- Peter Anders Peter Anders 1972
- Gerry Mulligan The Age of Steam 1972
- Quincy Jones The Hot Rock 1972
- Judee Sill Heart Food 1973
- Marvin Gaye Let’s Get It On 1973
- Popcorn Wylie Extrasensory Perception 1974
- Lonette McKee Lonette 1974
- Freda Payne Payne and Pleasure 1974
- Maria Muldaur Waitress in a Donut Shop 1974
- Daniel Valdez Mestizo 1974
- Henry Mancini & His Concert Orchestra Symphonic Soul 1975
- Brass Fever Brass Fever 1975
- Alley & the Soul Sneekers Alley & the Soul Sneekers 1975
- John Klemmer Touch 1975
- Dion Born to Be With You 1975
- Donovan Slow Down World 1976
- Buffy Sainte-Marie Sweet America 1976
- Nils Lofgren Cry Tough 1976
- Nilsson Sandman 1976
- George Harrison Thirty-Three and 1/3 1976
- Harvey Mandel Electronic Progress 1976
- King Erisson Magic Man 1976
- Alessi Alessi 1976
- George Duke Liberated Fantasies 1976
- George Duke From Me to You 1977
- Bili Thedford Music of My Second Birth 1977
- Irene Kral Kral Space 1977
- Helen Reddy Ear Candy 1977
- Dizzy Gillespie Composer’s Concept 1977
- Barbra Streisand Streisand Superman 1977
- Singers Unlimited Just in Time 1978
- Lalo Schifrin Gypsies 1978
- Joni Mitchell Mingus 1979
- Herb Alpert Rise 1979
- Mike Theodore Orchestra High on Mad Mountain 1979
- Frank Zappa Orchestral Favorites 1979
- Blondie AutoAmerican 1980
- L. Subramaniam Fantasy Without Limits 1980
- Subramaniam Blossom 1981
- Tom Waits & Crystal Gayle One From the Heart 1982
- Shadowfax Shadowfax 1982
- Van Dyke Parks Jump! 1983
- Ry Cooder ‘Alamo Bay’ Soundtrack 1985
- Quincy Jones ‘Color Purple’ Soundtrack 1986
- Duane Eddy Duane Eddy 1987
- The Broken Homes Straight Line Through Time 1988
Also worth noting that Richards played on one of my wife’s favorite albums – Queen Latifah‘s Dana Owens Album from 2004. The following year, Richards would help Paul Anka recast contemporary rock (e.g., “Smells Like Teen Spirit“) in swing band fashion (á la In a Metal Mood, Pat Boone’s rebranding effort from 1997) via 2005’s Rock Swings.
Richards is still musically active — follow him on Facebook why doncha?
2 Responses
Well.. longtime Hohner Cembalet/Pianet fanatic but also Paul Beaver and Emil Richards fan here.
Well i think your discography is missing one very big piece of musical history: Zodiac Cosmic Sounds. It had the Wrecking Crew in spades as well as Emil providing those amazing exotic percussions that vibrate all over the record. And obviously, Captain Beaver and shortly Moog Modular alumni to be, the mighty Mort Garson!
Thank you for chiming in! Speaking of Mort Garson (and the Zodiac):
https://www.zeroto180.org/?p=5364
Cheers,
Chris @ Zero to 180