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When did organ music get phased out of soap operas?
- Thread starter ixnay
- Start date
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danderson4411
Guest
i love hearing the organ music on "another world" and "the guiding light" would have loved to hear the organ like when maureen died or when hillarly bauer died or frankie frame or ada or mac died or when nola left floyd at the altar
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If I recall correctly, in the early-mid 1970's, there was a re-negotiation of the contracts between the networks and the musicians' union that allowed them to cut back on staff musicians, and it was then that all the soap opera/game show organists got the axe. (Some soaps had always used canned music; "The Doctors" used a particularly old-sounding library that seemed to date back to network radio days.)
Were the soaps originally showed live? Like in the early-mid 50s? That would certainly justify having a musician just off the set, playing music to fit the story - kind of like theaters pre-talkie with organists playing over silent movies.
Exactly. Before the mid-60s, all the soap operas were broadcast live from New York. It's when they switched over to Los Angeles that they started going to tape (probably due to the lack of all those stage actors in LA). Could this be the reason they lost the organ?
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UnregisteredCoward
Guest
A plausible hypotheses
In addition to all the other hypotheses provided here, I would like to add another. The Hammond model B-3 Electromechanical Tone Organ (which was THE commercial-type organ used in its day) was discontinued around 1974. Although Hammond as a company continued for around ten more years after that (and parts are still available for repairing old organs, if you know where to look) the successor organs were electronic rather than electromechanical. The new electronic organs, despite all their transistors (as opposed to rotating tone wheels), had a different (some would say inferior) sound, or perhaps were harder to keep in tune.
Although sampled organs (including those made by Hammond-Suzuki) are available today that very closely emulate the sounds of a real tone-wheel organ, the gap in the 70s in which a broadcaster could not be assured of being able to get a new replacement organ that sounded just like the one heard in a show broadcast yesterday may have had something to do with the studio B-3s being phased out.
That, and the fact that they weighed about 400 pounds apiece.
BTW, I love their sound and used to play one, myself. I would still like to have one in my retirement.
In addition to all the other hypotheses provided here, I would like to add another. The Hammond model B-3 Electromechanical Tone Organ (which was THE commercial-type organ used in its day) was discontinued around 1974. Although Hammond as a company continued for around ten more years after that (and parts are still available for repairing old organs, if you know where to look) the successor organs were electronic rather than electromechanical. The new electronic organs, despite all their transistors (as opposed to rotating tone wheels), had a different (some would say inferior) sound, or perhaps were harder to keep in tune.
Although sampled organs (including those made by Hammond-Suzuki) are available today that very closely emulate the sounds of a real tone-wheel organ, the gap in the 70s in which a broadcaster could not be assured of being able to get a new replacement organ that sounded just like the one heard in a show broadcast yesterday may have had something to do with the studio B-3s being phased out.
That, and the fact that they weighed about 400 pounds apiece.
BTW, I love their sound and used to play one, myself. I would still like to have one in my retirement.
Actually, many of the soaps remained in NYC until their numbers fell off in the past few years. I believe Procter and Gamble even built their own studios (in or near Brooklyn I think) in the 1970's and finally abandoned them when their last daytime serial, As The World Turns, ended in 2010.
NBC's Days Of Our Lives and ABC's General Hospital and Dark Shadows were probably the first West Coast soaps.
I'd like to link you to a video clip by a fine musician named Lance Jackson who demonstrates very well the way it was done by the studio organists of the past...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN8XJb6LOWs
Enjoy!
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UnregisteredCoward
Guest
Lance Jackson is great!
Actually, the instruments he's playing are probably more modern than what the original musicians had available to them at the time, but the sound, the music, and the professionalism of Mr. Jackson are all right on target. He's absolutely great!
Actually, the instruments he's playing are probably more modern than what the original musicians had available to them at the time, but the sound, the music, and the professionalism of Mr. Jackson are all right on target. He's absolutely great!
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danderson4411
Guest
also miss the announcers like bill wolff hal simms alan berns and dwight weist and maybe dan mcullough
Dark Shadows was a New York Soap. I have been watching THE DOCTORS on Retro TV. They started with the Dec 4 1967 episode. They have not had any Organ music at least from this time on. I also find it interesting they have had many mentions to Vietnam especially with Conrad Roberts Character Dr Ed Starke who was wounded in Vietnam. Of course I love Uriah Heep so I think the Hammond organ playing is cool.
Not to get off the subject of organs on soaps but if you are an organ fan and in the Mesa, AZ vicinity you should stop by Organ Stop Pizza one night when the organist is playing. There are several and they are all very good. One makes the organ sound like a variety of sounds (trains, planes and automobiles and assorted animals). You can google info about the organ itself on their website. It will make the pepperoni dance across your pizza!
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