Roy Phillips - the Hammond Organ

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t h e h a m m o n d o r g a n
Roy is perhaps most renowned for his mastery of the Hammond B3 organ. These amazing instruments were originally sold to churches as a low cost alternative to the pipe organ.

And here's a bit of trivia for you. The background image on these web pages comes from a copy of the original patent application for an Electrical Musical Instrument submitted by Mr Laurens Hammond in January, 1934.

The Hammond Clock Mr Hammond was a pretty amazing man. In 1920 he invented a silent, spring driven clock that sold by the thousands and started his fortune.

Mr Hammond's 3D glasses In 1922 he patented the red and green lens spectacles that make 3D viewing possible.

Once the depression hit he developed an automatic bridge table, an incredible device which could shuttle a deck of cards into four separate piles. Hammond's amazing card table

Whilst not a musician, Hammond's friendship with a church organist led him to develop different sound generators including the now famous tonewheel generator. And the Hammond organ was born.

THE HAMMOND FACTORY

During World War II Laurens helped to design guided missile controls and was awarded patents for bomb guidance, glide bomb controls, an aerial camera shutter and a new type of gyroscope. Laurens Hammond died in 1973 - the holder of 110 patents.

Roy meets Hammond
Roy Phillips, 1967 Roy came across his first Hammond in 1969. Manny (Manfred Mann) told him that the Lowry he was playing was horrible and introduced him to the Hammond.

Roy fell in love with the world's sweetest keyboard and went on to become one of it's foremost practitioners.

Nowdays?
Roy concedes that a Hammond is just too heavy to cart around these days and plays a Kurzweil 2500x. Though he still says, "The Hammond B3 is the only keyboard in the world for me."

SEE ALSO:
Roy's Discography