The Song that is the Holy Grail For Hammond Oragn Players......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8jJ1ORIOes&feature=related

This is a wonderful song and melody that's been a big favourite
since I first heard it. (1967 I think)

Never heard this special perfomance before, really nice.
Thanks for sharing.

Gunnar, man.. this song brings back memories of a special time all over the world when everyone listened to basically the same music......I get chills just hearing that Hammond Organ Every Time on tis tune.. .....enjoy!!

Man, if I had a dollar for every time I've played that tune...

Timeless, for sure.

Ian

I always thought it was this one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bpS-cOBK6Q

Nope not even close..for me

One of my favorite song writer/performers, and cool Hammond player.

He was just a kid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-96Pfmbcdc

Yep...another classic.

Oh Yeah!!

Give these rockers a rest! Try some Groove Holmes, or Jimmy Smith... now THAT'S the Holy Grail..!

Heck, I can still remember the first time I heard that song on the radio. My dad was driving me somewhere and I was transfixed listening to it. I decided then and there I was going to learn to play keyboards.

I do wish I hadn't sold my Hammond B3, though....

Steve Winwood was a major influence on me...and at the other end of the scale, Jimmy Smith played a big part in me wanting a Hammond.

I couldn't coax that sound out of my Howard Baldwin Combo Organ, even with a Leslie...I had to get a Hammond...first got an M-3, and then a B-3.

The sound of a Hammond is timeless...like a piano, or an acoustic guitar. It breathes, it snorts, it growls, it sings, it wails...it's a style, a feeling, a mood, a color.

I sometimes regret selling my B-3, but lately, I've had the opportunity to play organ several times a month in a little jam group...and it's a B-3 with a 122 Leslie...man, it is the most fun you can have with your clothes on.

Ian

How about this one? It's from a Dutch band in the early 70's. Hope you like it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MHUjz-eRDc

Love it!

Here's the group.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v7LzOeTkfM

All these songs were nice, but in no way IMO do they feature the "HAMMOND ORGAN" in a way & on a World Wide scale of
Procol Harems "Whiter Shade Of Pale"

Of course they don't...AWSOP is still the definitive Hammond tune to me.

Ian

Exactly Ian....now this would be a great opportunity to share playing techniques if each of us would offer their own version demo of AWSOP showcasing the Hammond sound recreation on each of our arranger kB's.



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 10-30-2010).]

I don't know Donny, I remember riding in my friends 1967 Ford Mustang Convertible when this song came on and epitomized the Hammond tone to me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxA3atHD2QM

And then I saw Santana do this one and that Hammond Solo was permanently imprinted with the whirling Leslie Horn in my mind forever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiGSsP60BLA

Evil Ways...another tune I'd like to get a dollar for I every time I played it...

Gregg Rolie did a lovely solo...always stays in my mind too.

Spencer Davis...Winwood was just a kid in that band.

Used to like "I'm A Man"...another goodie.

Great stuff.

Ian

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OorZcOzNcgE

Ok If we are gonna get "Hammond Serious" for me as a teen 1968 this rock group were my idols ...Mark Stein made the B3 do things I had never heard before....when I heard the B3 Intros on these Four songs I was hooked..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5WMh9BAFmM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wrS-LchqME


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoRz9lCPDwA&feature=related[/URL]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaHo4rFH_VU&feature=related



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 10-30-2010).]

Great posts everyone. I've really eenjoyed this thread. Here's my contribution: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVhcTF4E_SQ&feature=related

AWSOP..eh...IMO.

Keep in mind the link below is a LIVE band that allowed a Hammond to be on an equal basis as the Gtr.Bass. and drums and not just a soundbed. DP changed how rock sounded and influenced many great acts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgZSnAkQc4c&feature=related

Jon Lord always great no doubt......
but I would still say AWSOP is Hammond Rock Hierarchy...it is showcased throuout the whole song and is world renowned.

Yeah, I used to play the EXACTLY as the original recording in my band playing days. Unfortunately, I have forgotten everything but the intro part. You know the old saying when someone says "He has forgotten more than I will ever know"? Well, now I have forgotten more than I will ever know at this stage of my life....

So much of this playing music stuff is tied to memory, and it's downright discouraging that my mind doesn't seem interested in retaining new things unless I beat it into it. Old dogs/new tricks problem, I guess.

I love Focus. The album "In And Out Of Focus" that these tracks were released on was very memorable. Every track was a gem.

Now we are getting into Prog Rock territory that featured some highly talented keyboard players like Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson.
Don't get me started.

Loved Focus but was more into Ekseption.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4EgKH2ynac&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU0hRvKL0a4&feature=related



------------------
Bo pen nyang.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-7QSMyz5rg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHq4laFwAEM&feature=related

Rich sounds like a pefoect time to pic an organ patch sit down and start again playing AWSOP.....

Cool thread. Below are a few of my favorite Hammond B3 videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWl8zE8MguI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh4mfOYWcjY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60ut7yIuCEY



------------------
Wm. David McMahan
The Modulators

Favorites are one thing.......
But,.......
we're talking
"HOLY GRAIL" that shows the world bigger then life that HAMMOND SOUND!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbWULu5_nXI&feature=related

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 11-01-2010).]

I am more in harmony with Dave...Maybe because I go back to more early years with the Hammond..What showcases the B3..is the soul and emotion from it..more so than the screaming , guitar lick type from the rock n roll stuff posted..I am not saying that some of the old classic rock stuff isn't cool..but for the most part it was very predictable...It was a case where the keyboardist wanted to be a guitarist...both can be annoying as they try to out do the other ..volume wise...

I much prefer the path ..jazz artist and players that were able to express the "standards" with more feeling...instead of trading licks ..Energy is one thing (and a good thing) but making the B3 talk is another..

What is incredible is that the Hammond B-3 covered nearly all genres; it's even used in Country music.

Jazz, R&B, Rock&Roll, and Rock music all have been "enhanced" by the B-3.

In A Whiter Shade of Pale, it is not just the organ line at the intro and between the verses...it is also the tasteful counter-melody played during the verse and chorus, and well as some pretty neat Leslie fast/slow at the perfect times.

A timeless song for sure.

Ian

I think the Holy Grail of the general Hammond B-3 category for organ/keyboard players is anything by Jimmy Smith. I think the Holy Grail of R&R Hammond "explosion" is Donny's find, and, to a lesser extent some of the others mentioned.

My Holy Grail Hammond Pop benchmark is the B-3 ride from the Three Dog Night song, "Out In the Country".

Point is, we AL grew up listening to that GREAT B-3 sound.

I have a B-3, a C-3, an M-100 and a useless little 1949 M., plus an XB-2, a C-1, 145 an 147RV Leslies, a 145 Motion sound and an old Motion sound top Rotor box (Sold the XK-1 system to a neighbor and re-did the little M-100 for the music room-looking for a C-122 to re-do to match).

Still get to play the B-3 3-5 times a month for Jazz Night at a local country club.

Great find, Donny; not off topic at all for us interested in the history of keyboards; the B-3 is, hands down, one of the greatest!


Russ

[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 11-01-2010).]

Funny thing is, the original Whiter Shade of Pale featured a L100, not really close to a B3.

124 you are correct....but my OP never stated a B3...

Actually, Matthew Fisher of Procol Harum used an M-102 on the 1967 recording "A Whiter Shade of Pale."

http://www.procolharum.com/awsoporgan.htm

The M-100/102 were very close to the B-3 in overall sound...they had different keys/keyboards (2X44 notes) than the B-3 and M-3 (it also had 2X44 notes).

Ian

[This message has been edited by ianmcnll (edited 11-01-2010).]

Yes, very Tasteful indeed perhaps due to the fact that "A Whiter Shade Of Pale's" melody is based on the Johann Sebastian Bach's Cantata 140 . More so, however, the song is based on Bach's " Air for G String ": if you hear that, you certainly recognise "A Whiter Shade of Pale", but different enough to say that Procol Harum's song's more than simply an adaption of "Air for G String". Scott

Scott Yee Entertainment

To me the term Holy Grail as used in your post means the sound, song or use of the instrument that moved me into a love for the Hammond organ. For me that was mostly Jimmy Smith. The video of Walk On The Wild Side that I linked to is a prime example; when he brings in the full drawbars on the second 5 chord at the end of the phrase shows how instantly dynamic the Hammond organ can be.

This can also be said to an extent with A Whiter Shade of Pale, but not quite to the same degree.

Sure, there are a lot of rock tunes as well as other styles that utilize the Hammond organ. I lean more toward groups like Santana and BS&T for some other great Hammond playing.

Another very great video I found a while back is one from the late, great Billy Preston. Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlxxmNP2MKw
That is a Holy Grail moment if I ever heard one.

Wm. David McMahan
The Modulators

[This message has been edited by WDMcM (edited 11-01-2010).]

I think what sends chills down my spine is the plaintive sound, almost like a human voice.

Very judicious use of the Leslie fast/slow...almost a perfect example of how to comp and adding excitement, and then solemnity to the song.

One of the better examples of the Holy Grail, if not the best example.

Another favorite organist/Hammond player was Earl Grant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDc0IUh01uQ&feature=related

Ian

The M and L series, made from 1961 till I believe 1971-72...did not sound like the B-3's at all..They were a lot different..as I recall..

When I worked for Hammond in the mid 60's...the models that attracted folks were the A and B series..of course at a steep price..

Ian: Right you are. You'd think I'd have known that after years of lugging my own M102 about.

Dave: Walk on the Wild Side was the first JS album I ever bought. A classic beauty.

Donny: I know you didn't mention the B3 in your opening, but the thread got kinda B3'ish after that.

Fisher used an M-102 for AWSOP, and many, many people believed it was a B-3 being played, so they must be pretty similar in sound.

I had an M-3 for awhile before I splurged on the B-3 (and a second Leslie), and only for the shorter staggered 44 note manuals, it sounded and felt like playing my B-3.

The M-100 series was identical, except they had six presets and reverb (the M-3 had neither),and they didn't have waterfall keys like the M-3 and B-3.

The L-100 series differed much more...I didn't like the sound.

Ian

Did you have it chopped...it was a favorite for chopping, as was the M-3?

My M-3 is still in use a studio here in Cape Breton...it's painted flat black (it got pretty beat up), and they are using a Leslie 147 with the Leslie Combo Preamp I sold with the organ.

Those were the days.

Ian

Focus were very good...and you're right, each track is a gem. Emerson and Wakeman were awesome...they used C-3's, if I remember. Emerson also used an L-100.

I actually met Keith Emerson in the Montreal Airport...our then Yamaha keyboard manager, Paul, knew him from years back, and they had a grand chat...I believe Keith was on holiday.

Very nice guy.

He was using a Yamaha GX-1 synthesizer(below) in ELP at the time, so was always in touch with the company.(sorry for going a bit OT)

Did you ever see Yes or ELP "live"?











[This message has been edited by ianmcnll (edited 11-01-2010).]

Ask someone that still owns both...Russ has an M-100 and a B3...I think he will say they are much different sound wise..

Fran...I played Hammond for a long time...I know what I heard...you don't have to believe me, that's your prerogative.

Yes, they (M-100/102) could sound slightly different than a B-3, if you played them side by side (and so could two different B-3's), but not different enough to notice otherwise...that's why many people thought AWSOP was done on a B-3, and not an M-102.

My M-3 used the identical chorus vibrato that was in the B-3, and the tone-wheels were the same design.

If it wasn't for the shorter manuals on the M-3 (2X44), I'd have kept it...it sounded like the B-3 to my ears.

You may have sold them, but I played them, and even worked on them, for many years.

They are electromechanical instruments, and consequently, no two sound exactly alike, even the same model...and, there are "good" Hammonds, and "bad" Hammonds, much like totally acoustic instruments...you could have a "good" M-3 or B-3, or a "bad" one of each.

Fender Rhodes pianos were the same way.

Ian



[This message has been edited by ianmcnll (edited 11-02-2010).]

Yep. Took a circular saw to my M102 a couple of inches below the generator housing and cut a hand-hole at either end of the top half. It took 10 multi-pin connectors to hook the wiring between the two halves. A real amateur job.

I originally bought an L102 in 1965 and gigged with it for about a year. That one wasn't chopped and I was concerned for its cabinetry. So it was one guy at each corner to lift it in and out of the van. Anyway, we played some dingy joint one night and, in a back corner of the stage, covered by an old curtain, stood an M102, beer stains, cigarette burns an' all. So a word with the manager guy, who was ogling my pristine L102, and I walked out with the M102 in exchange. You know, so what if this did gain a few more battle scars.

To those who think that might have been a poor exchange, well the M102's sound is a lot more B3-like than the L102, and that was my sole reason for the swap. That old M battled on on the road for many years after that, and it still does duty in our old guitarist's studio. Built like a tank.

LOL

You are so predikitable.

I put that in just for you.