Interactive ROBERT MOOG Google Doodle.

Robert Moog — who revolutionized music with his synthesizers — got an interactive Google Doodle Wednesday on what would be his 78th birthday.


Peter Morgan / Reuters files
Robert Moog speaks with reporters in New York on January 22, 2001, after it was announced that Moog would receive the Polar Music Prize.
Moog, born in New York City May 23, 1934, took interests in both music and electronics at an early age with the encouragement of his parents. By the time he was 14, he’d built his first theremin. By the time he was 19, he’d started a company — R.A. Moog Co. — which produced mail-order theremin kits for hobbyists.

Moog sold 1,000 of the kits, despite the fact he was working from his three-room apartment.

After success with his theremins, and completing a PhD at Cornell University in engineering physics, Moog began experimenting with his own electronic instrument designs.

In 1964, he developed the first voltage-controlled subtractive synthesizer to make use of a keyboard.

The device found early success with commercial musicians — often appearing in ads — but soon caught on with mainstream artists — notably the Beatles, the Doors and the Rolling Stones.

The Minimoog, a much smaller and more portable unit, was released in the 1970s and became widely used across the musical spectrum.

Moog died in Augu.