Earliest uses of Moog synthesizer in film & TV scores

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1

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 - Moog played by Howard Blake - Sep 1972
  16. SISTERS - Bernard Herrmann - Moog played by Howard Blake - march 1973 (the Moog parts are somewhat sounding
    like a Theremin)
  17. THE LAST DAYS OF MAN ON EARTH - Beaver & Krause - Beaver & Krause - 1973

Comments and additions are welcomed

cheers,
Micke

2

Wasn’t Rosemary’s Baby a Polanski?

3

Yes but the movie was scored by Krzysztof Komeda . Beaver & Krause were hired in for the electronic parts.

Here are some interesting comments by Bernie Krause:

“Rosemary’s Baby,” done in 1967 but released in 1968, was one of the first films on which Paul Beaver and I worked together. The Moog synth can be heard throughout, although generally blended with horn and string sounds into the score so that they’re not particularly distinctive. It stands out as an mnenomic effect where there are wierd close-up shots of the baby’s eyes."

"I do know that both Paul and I worked on the film. Sometimes we both contributed to the same cue (scene) and the director chose which one to use at a later date. As I’ve never seen the finished product, I wouldn’t know which tracks belong to whom. Typically, though, I did lots of effects like the wind and heartbeat sounds (I had done those on several of our albums, as well). So it wouldn’t be out of line to take credit for that.

“Paul probably did work with Komeda because he worked on the music side of things. But I only worked on special effects.”

4

Can anyone verify 1971’s THX1138? Lalo Shiffrin did the score but I can’t find what synth he used.

5

I don’t think Schifrin used any synth on that score (rec. oct 1970).The only keys mentioned in the CD liner notes for the THX1138 sopundtrack are a Yamaha keyboard (presumably a YC-30 or EX-42`?), amplified electronic accordion and electric piano (Rhodes).

According to the Moog archive Schifrin bought a Minimoog via Paul Beaver in May '71.

Schifrin’s later score for THE HELLSTROM CHRONICLE (rec. may 1971) does feature Moog and Yamaha EX-42. Not
sure if the Moog was a modular moog or minimoog though.

6

I just updated the above list with Beaver & Krause’s electronic score to BREAKTHROUGH (1968) and Lalo Schifrin’s
THE HELLSTROM CHRONICLE (1971). But as I said I’m not sure if the synth used on the latter is a mini or modular moog.