Mom was very advanced for ELECTRONIC gadgets! Note the SOLOVOX attached to her upright. This was in 1942! I remember this addition. It had a short two octave keyboard and you could toggle press buttons on the vertical to change the tone. Really interesting. Speakers were to the side of the piano! All vacuum tubes! There is a relationship of this early electronic music to Mr. Ikutaro Kakehashi who founded the Roland Company in Japan which is the world's leader in the development and production of electronic instruments. As we weave our puzzle together, have patience and follow it. You will be amazed!
Mom and Dad loved music. Dad played the trumpet
and was in John Phillip Sousa's All American Band in Chicago. Mom was a
piano teacher and an excellent concert artist. Together, they made wonderful
music- the common language that even as a little kid, I could understand!
In 1952, we purchased a Hammond Church Organ
for the home. What a delightful instrument! We all fell in love with this
instrument. Here is Mom giving the Hammond a whirl. I still have this instrument,
now 50 years old and working perfectly. I will show images of its interior
below.
Look at Mom go with that Hammond organ. Note
the drawbars. It had a full foot petal board. No Leslie speaker at this
time....unfortunately!
OK there is Mom's foot operating the Hammond
organ pedals! She was good at it. We taught ourselves how to play this
instrument.
