ASHEVILLE, N.C. — August 21, 2005 — Bob died this afternoon at his home in Asheville, N.C. He was 71. Bob was diagnosed with brain cancer (glioblastoma multiforme or GBM) in late April 2005. He had received both radiation treatment and chemotherapy to help combat the disease. He is survived by his wife, Ileana, his five children, Laura Moog Lanier, Matthew Moog, Michelle Moog-Koussa, Renee Moog, and Miranda Richmond; and the mother of his children, Shirleigh Moog.
(Source: Moog Music)

My Dad bought me my first proper synthesizer, a Moog Rogue, when I was 17 in 1983. I gigged with it around the country and loved it dearly. I still do – it’s sitting in my studio now and I recorded a solo with it last week. It’s still a great little synth with a fun, happy character, a bit like a Yorkshire Terrier in electronic form.

I fell in love with synthesizers around 28 years ago. That’s when I first had organ lessons. Even then, I dreamt of playing Moogs, Rolands and Korgs rather than the rather middle-aged and drab organs I learnt on.

It’s impossible to say what the world of electronic music would be like today without Bob Moog. Going from his original Theremin kits up to the huge Moog Modular beasts, so many musicians from so many genres and at so many levels owe Bob their thanks:

Where would R&B, rap and hip-hop be if groups like Parliament and Funkadelic hadn’t used Moog keyboards? Where would rock and roll be if groups from Yes to the Beatles hadn’t used Moog keyboards? Would jazz music have branched off into fusion without Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea using Moog keyboards? And would classical music have enjoyed such resurgence without Wendy Carlos and her modular Moog synthesizer? The questions are hypothetical, of course, because synthesizers have infiltrated every style of music, and so many companies have tried to recreate that analog sound. But above all the copycats and spin-offs, it always comes back to one name: Moog.
(Source: Moog Music)

With all that history behind him, Moog could have rested on his laurels, content to wallow in synth nostalgia. But he kept going, kept designing and the Moog name kept appearing on quality instruments.

R.I.P., Bob.

You will be missed.