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[Alan Lenhoff]

David Robertson (who has posted on this forum as "Ozdoc") and I, both longtime members of this group, have been working for more years than we care to admit on a big, beautifully photographed hardcover book that pays tribute to vintage keyboards.   Electric pianos, Hammonds, combo organs, Mellotrons, Clavinets, Pianets, the Minimoog, and many others.  The book, "Classic Keys: Keyboard sounds that launched rock music," is being released late next month, and is available now for pre-order on Amazon and leading book sites world-wide. https://www.amazon.com/Classic-Keys-Keyboard-Sounds-Launched/dp/1574417762/

Want a preview?  Check out the book description, sample pages, "famous player" endorsements and other info at ClassicKeysBook.com.  And if you want to keep in touch with the latest on the book, Like us on Facebook, @ClassicKeysBook .

We look forward to hearing your reactions to our labor of love.

Alan (and David)

[pianotuner steveo]

 Can't wait! Thanks for posting this, Alan!

[Alan Lenhoff]

Thanks Steve!  It's been a long time coming...

Alan

[Alan Lenhoff]

Retailers are starting to ship Classic Keys this week! Strong pre-orders have left the book in short supply. (The pre-release orders from retailers greatly exceeded the book's initial print run.) If you've not yet ordered, you may want to shop around to find a retailer who can ship immediately. Otherwise a second printing will be available in mid-to-late January. In the US, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target.com and Books-A-Million (among others) all have supplies. For a preview, go to http://www.classickeysbook.com/. Or check it out on Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/dp/1574417762 .

Thanks,

Alan

[Alan Lenhoff]

Just wanted to pass along this enthusiastic review of "Classic Keys" in Sound on Sound magazine, the highly regarded music technology publication:  https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/book-review-classic-keys-keyboard-sounds-launched-rock-music?fbclid=IwAR0Y_XAH_LWI-i608PB8xMZER8dIshoqEQqZWx4MPKI5RW5IpizUul2MpeY

For US buyers, Amazon is still promising pre-Christmas delivery:  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1574417762

Alan

[vanceinatlance]

Ok, I finally got around to ordering my copy. It arrived today and I thought they had shipped me a box full of bricks, this book is so heavy! I found out the weight is because of the intense amount of information and endless beautiful pictures of some pretty amazing and rare keys. It is obvious to me that there was a lot of time, thought and effort put into this. Thanks for all of your work putting this together, I know I will be spending a lot of time enjoying it's contents!
Vance

[Alan Lenhoff]

Vance:

David Robertson and I appreciate your comments, and hope you really enjoy the book!

Alan

[The Real MC]

"Classic Keys" just arrived yesterday.

I bought the hard cover version. The book was bigger than I expected. The photos are excellent quality, there are lots of them, the paper stock is very good quality. I have some guitar books made out of nice paper stock with excellent photos, and I have to say it is about damn time we had a keyboard book with similar quality. The book "Prophet of Silicon Valley" started this trend, this book elevates it to another level.

I shared my dad's passion with trains; when he passed away I inherited his collection of over 1000 long-out-of-print books on railroad history. Many are over fifty years old; books from that era were top quality which were constructed from hard cover and heavy paper optimized for photo reproduction. When I first held "Classic Keys" in my hand I recognized the same quality.

From what little I have read so far, there was a LOT of research that went into the history of the instruments. Even well-read seasoned pros (like me) will find themselves saying "I did not know that" as they read along.

"Classic Keys" fills in gaps long overlooked; electro-mechanical instruments (hohners, mellotrons, hammonds, rhodes, wurlitzers, electric grands, etc) and early electronic keyboards (RMI, combo organs, electronic pianos, K250, etc). Although many have long been out of production, the authors dug into factory records and interviewed artists, former employees, and dedicated enthusiasts on the history behind these instruments. The attention to detail is equal to those with hands-on experience with these classic keyboards. The assessment of the instruments are unashamedly honest; they discuss the pros as well as the cons, such as which era has better playing sound/action and cautions on locating replacement parts. For instance if you are shopping for a Rhodes piano with a particular sound in mind, this is a valuable resource.

Well worth the money. Excellent resource and fascinating reading.

[Alan Lenhoff]

Thanks so much for the very kind review. The way The Real MC responded to the book is exactly how we hoped and dreamed readers would:  Classic Keys was meant to echo the beauty and high quality of the many keepsake books about guitars, and to drill deeper in telling the story about these great instruments than what's generally been done before.  This was a seven-year labor of love for David and me, and the enthusiastic reaction we're getting from readers makes that long journey feel quite worthwhile.

Alan

[Alan Lenhoff]

After "Classic Keys: Keyboard Sounds That Launched Rock Music" quickly sold out at many retailers following its December release, a second printing has arrived! Now available at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Target.com, booksamillion.com, and many others. To learn more about this big, beautifully photographed celebration of vintage rock keyboards, go to https://www.classickeysbook.com/.

[Alan Lenhoff]

Thanks to Marc Myers, music journalist, historian and author, for these kind words yesterday about Classic Keys on his award-winning jazz blog, JazzWax.com:

BOOK OF LOVE: If you love rock and electronic keyboards, Alan S. Lenhoff and David E. Robertson have just published Classic Keys: Keyboard Sounds That Launched Rock Music (University of North Texas Press). The 406-page coffee table book is beautifully written and features page after page of photos of electronic keyboards that gave rock its personality. There are in-depth chapters on the Hammond B-3, the Vox Continental, the Farfisa Compact, the Hohner Clavinet, the Minimoog, the Wurlitzer, the Hohner Pianet and many others. Each chapter is loaded with history about their development, the rock bands that used them and hits that featured them. Enormous fun reading through while listening to vintage vinyl.

ClassicKeysBook.com
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1574417762/

Alan

[bujbot]

Oh cool!  Thanks for updating the thread otherwise I wouldn't have seen this.  Definitely going to pick up a copy!

[Alan Lenhoff]

I hope you'll enjoy it!

Alan

[bujbot]

I hope you'll enjoy it!

Alan

Hey Alan, I just got the book and it's amazing.  This must have been a massive effort!  Really impressive, I look forward to slowly working my way through it.  Thanks!

[Alan Lenhoff]

I hope you'll enjoy it!

Alan

Hey Alan, I just got the book and it's amazing.  This must have been a massive effort!  Really impressive, I look forward to slowly working my way through it.  Thanks!

Thanks!  It was a 7-year labor of love for David Robertson and me. 

Alan

[wurl it up]

I've read it cover to cover and it's a really fun read. I'm still dropping in randomly in chapters and enjoying it! Whoever edited it did a great job. I ordered it from my local book store and was beyond excited when it finally came in. 

[Alan Lenhoff]

Really glad you're enjoying it!

Alan

[Alan Lenhoff]

Better than getting another pair of slippers as your Father's Day gift: Celebrate the legacy of some of the greatest rock keyboard instruments of all time in a beautifully photographed gift book you'll treasure for years. Rhodes, Wurlis, Hammonds, Clavinets, Moogs, combo organs, Mellotrons, Pianets and many more. And all you have to do to make this happen is to drop a few not-so-subtle hints to family members...

For more info, please visit ClassicKeysBook.com

To buy it: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1574417762

Alan

[sean]

Awesome idea.  I just sent the link to my wife.  ...Crossing my fingers that she thinks I am worth three internet clicks.

Sean

[Alan Lenhoff]

Awesome idea.  I just sent the link to my wife.  ...Crossing my fingers that she thinks I am worth three internet clicks.

Sean

One reader confessed to me that he talked his wife into buying it for him as a Christmas gift by pointing out that with 416 pages and 560 photos, Classic Keys would keep him out of her hair for weeks.

But hopefully you're in a better spousal situation...   

Alan

[Major Bloodnok]

My copy of this gorgeous book has recently arrived, and I would respectfully add my two-penn'orth to what appears to be a well-earned favourable response here.
There has clearly been a lot of diligent research and honest toil in the making of this book. It's well written, beautifully illustrated, well printed and bound. Worth every penny.
I am looking forward to many happy hours' browsing. Thank you, Messrs. Lenhoff and Robertson, for a veritable tour de force.

[Alan Lenhoff]

Thanks so much, Major!  Tell your friends!  (Well, I guess you just did.) 

It was truly our labor of love!



Alan

[Peter Hayes]

Here's a link to the interview Alan did with WYSO Radio's The Book Nook. Full disclosure - my day job is at WYSO.

https://www.wyso.org/show/book-nook/2020-05-27/book-nook-classic-keys-keyboard-sounds-that-launched-rock-music-an-interview-with-alan-lenhoff

[Alan Lenhoff]

Thanks Peter!

Alan

[Alan Lenhoff]

David Robertson and I are quite pleased that "Classic Keys: Keyboard sounds that launched rock music" was just awarded a certificate of merit in the 2020 Awards for Excellence of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections. The book was recognized in the category of "Best research in recorded rock and popular music." The ARSC, founded in 1966, is dedicated to the preservation and study of sound recordings. Its members include historians, archivists, museum curators, musicians, record collectors, music producers, reviewers and broadcasters.

Alan

[wurl it up]

Wow...that's so great! Congratulations!

Reminds me that I have to get my copy that I loaned to my piano teacher back. Ha!     

[Alan Lenhoff]

Yeah, I'd get it back today! You never know when you might have a sudden need to read about how Wurli's were assembled in Mississippi in the 1950s!   

Thanks!

Alan

[Alan Lenhoff]

A holiday gift suggestion this week from JazzWax, a three-time winner of the Jazz Journalists Association's best blog award, written by Marc Myers who writes about music for The Wall Street Journal:

Classic Keys: Keyboard Sounds That Launched Rock Music.

This 400-page hardback coffee-table book by Alan S. Lenhoff and David E Robertson features every conceivable electric keyboard produced and includes a superb, fascinating history. Plus hundreds of large color photos of the instruments, ads and other images. Best of all, you learn which rock bands used which keyboards. Set aside a couple of hours of reading and page-turning and listen as you read. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1574417762/

http://www.classickeysbook.com/

Alan