Author Topic: The Fender Rhodes Documentary (Read 107934 times)

Ben Bove · « **on:** October 11, 2011, 10:16:22 PM »

After many long years of complete dedication, my partner Gerald McCauley and I have completed the book and feature documentary on the Fender Rhodes electric piano:

Our mission was to bring together some of music’s most respected recording artists, to discuss how this piano shaped the music they created, and how the Fender Rhodes was a major factor in the electronic instrument revolution. The documentary is brought to life by inside stories and live performances of many keyboard greats, and through them a true historical testament to the Fender Rhodes is captured. A special thanks to all the artists for their support and appearance on this film:

Michael Bearden George Benson Stanley Clarke Chick Corea
D’Angelo Eumir Deodato George Duke Larry Dunn
Donald Fagen Ronnie Foster Rodney Franklin Dave Grusin
Don Grusin Ellis Hall Herbie Hancock Onaje Allan Gumbs
Lalah Hathaway Rami Jaffee Bob James Quincy Jones
Ramsey Lewis Jeff Lorber Robin Lumley Ray Manzarek
Les McCann Marcus Miller Steve Molitz John Novello
David Paich Jerry Peters Greg Phillinganes James Poyser
Patrice Rushen Joe Sample Lenny White Maurice White
Vince Wilburn Jr. Allee Willis

The almost 300 page color book is published through Hal Leonard books, and is available in many retail outlets such as Barnes and Noble, as well as Amazon online. It has many never-before-seen photographs of these artists as well as Rhodes history. The book includes the exclusive Blu-Ray HD version of the documentary features film, while the standard DVD version is available on www.fenderrhodesstory.com separately.

A great thanks to everyone from CBS Musical Instruments who gave their time and input for the film including John McLaren Jr., John McLaren Sr., and Steve Grom. I have to give a special thanks to Steve Woodyard, for being an invaluable resource, expert, and friend on everything Fender Rhodes. The same thanks to Mike Peterson as well for his help and input.

My appreciation goes out to James Garfield and Freddan Adlers for pioneering Fender Rhodes history, and creating a community to gather enthusiasts at FenderRhodes.com. Their work has been fundamental in keeping people connected and interested in Fender Rhodes pianos.

Thank you to Jim Wray and Mark Daniel for their contributions to the film. Thank you to John Novello for providing his audio narration archives. Thank you to Carol Rhodes-Rice and Patricia Rhodes.

We could not have imagined the overwhelming support from the music community on this project. I can only hope this film can also educate and influence lives where we can share in this story together. Please visit www.FenderRhodesStory.com to request a DVD copy or a digital MP4 download, and follow us on twitter / facebook for upcoming webisodes and other bonus material. We appreciate the donation.

I hope that my contributions over the years on this forum and dedication to Fender Rhodes have played a small roll in keeping some of these pianos alive and well. I also hope that this community remains connected so we can all continue the legacy of Harold Rhodes and his electric piano. Thank you to everyone!

Sincerely,

Benjamin Bove
www.fenderrhodesstory.com

YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/FenderRhodesStory
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/fenderrhodes.story
Twitter - http://twitter.com/RhodesStory

musomarc · « **Reply #1 on:** October 12, 2011, 02:14:18 AM »

Hi,
What a find and great story!
Thankyou from a Rhodes lover in Australia! Great to see someone who has researched and compiled this great historical and informative story with pics and artists on a keyboard that has shaped music for over 50yrs.
Can't wait to get my copy and watch the DVD, and yes I have gladly contributed the suggested $ to cover costs!
Thanks again.
musomarc

leon- · « **Reply #2 on:** October 12, 2011, 04:22:22 AM »

Ben,
Happy to have paid the cover costs and look forward to getting the DVD.
All the best from England.
Leon

Abraham · « **Reply #3 on:** October 12, 2011, 06:00:53 AM »

Great! Payment done, cant wait to get my hands on this! I would love a link so I could stream it while it arrives

pianotuner steveo · « **Reply #4 on:** October 12, 2011, 07:53:00 AM »

This sounds excellent, Ben! payment sent. I can't wait!

Dan Belcher · « **Reply #5 on:** October 12, 2011, 10:06:28 AM »

Sent my donation in a few days ago. Can't wait to get my copy!

Dote · « **Reply #6 on:** October 12, 2011, 02:39:04 PM »

Hi Ben,

thanks for all your effort making this docu happening. I sent my donation and look forward to watching the documentation.

Thanks again!

Domnik

Fred · « **Reply #7 on:** October 13, 2011, 09:25:36 AM »

Sent mine... Can't wait!

kphlx2000 · « **Reply #8 on:** October 13, 2011, 05:16:47 PM »

Can't wait to get my copy of the DVD!

Kenneth

Ben Bove · « **Reply #9 on:** October 13, 2011, 06:08:38 PM »

Thanks for the support guys!

kphlx2000 · « **Reply #10 on:** October 13, 2011, 06:10:12 PM »

Can't wait to get the DVD!

Kenneth

Dan Belcher · « **Reply #11 on:** October 13, 2011, 07:35:59 PM »

Well crap. I'm in the same boat as Kenneth! According to my computer's DVD player, the disc is blank.

Edit -- Already got replies from Ben and Gerald that they're sending me a new copy first thing today. That was quick!

Ben Bove · « **Reply #12 on:** October 13, 2011, 09:13:51 PM »

Hey guys thanks for the replies, our manufacturer said it's possible a few blanks or defective discs are created in a large production run. If anyone has any problems with the disc please send me an email to benbove@hotmail.com and we'll immediately send you another copy.

Thanks very much!

pianotuner steveo · « **Reply #13 on:** October 16, 2011, 08:58:30 AM »

Wow! I got my copy yesterday. perfect timing,since my drummer and bass player came over last night, and we watched it together. This is very well done, Ben! One of the best documentaries I have ever seen. I loved your ' Hitchcock moment' towards the end. It must have been awesome to interview all of your keyboard heroes. I have only met one of those artists that you interviewed and that was great, although a bit nerve wracking since I was his tech for a day.

Excellent job! Now you need to raise the price for non forum members and sell it on Amazon, etc.

Then, you need to work on a supplement (or a seperate documentary) touching on Wurlitzers more, and Hohners, etc.!

swenz · « **Reply #14 on:** October 16, 2011, 11:55:16 AM »

Got mine yesterday and had no problems with it. Very well done Ben, I'm very impressed with the number of famous artists that you interviewed. Must have been a lot of fun to do. I really enjoyed watching it and my 14 year old daughter enjoyed it as well. Not too many 14 year old girls really appreciate the Rhodes but she does!

pianotuner steveo · « **Reply #15 on:** October 16, 2011, 02:37:27 PM »

I am also very impressed with how professionally put together this is, the audio quality, the video quality, the editing, fantastic!

AfroNick · « **Reply #16 on:** October 16, 2011, 05:03:28 PM »

Hi I'm new on this forum but if you don't mind a suggestion I would happily have a download link and pay some donation for bandwidth/server costs through paypal or whatever then its less effort than a DVD especially with some of the aforementioned issues people have posted - it might even give the movie a wider audience! Don't worry if you have already considered and cant. I bought some music production tutorials like that cheaper in fact if not i will just take you up DVD offer :-D

Ben Bove · « **Reply #17 on:** October 17, 2011, 11:42:03 AM »

Thanks very much for the compliments! It's been a long process and we made sure to do it right. All the audio was captured direct from each Fender Rhodes so that we could eliminate any room noise etc. that might affect the performances.

As far as the digital download yes we have considered this avenue, though it's not currently available in this format. We may figure this out for the future if enough people are requesting it. Thanks again!

parisiano · « **Reply #18 on:** October 17, 2011, 02:20:06 PM »

Hi I just did my donation

I'm looking forward to receiving it.

Have a good day

Vince from France

kphlx2000 · « **Reply #19 on:** October 19, 2011, 11:21:20 AM »

Ben and Gerald, I received my DVD on Monday and WOW! This DVD is GREAT! The sound, video quality, concept, everything about this DVD is GREAT! Very well done guys and thank you for having the guts to develop and put out this DVD.

Kenneth

Dan Belcher · « **Reply #20 on:** October 19, 2011, 09:48:12 PM »

Finally got to watch it tonight. That was a very, very enjoyable two hours!! Unbelievably well done, and it really touched on so many key Rhodes moments through the years.

pianotuner steveo · « **Reply #21 on:** October 20, 2011, 07:48:21 AM »

I only wish that you miked the two people who sang along when they were playing. i forgot who it was, but the one guy did a Stevie impersonation, and it was awesome!

Abraham · « **Reply #22 on:** October 20, 2011, 08:31:06 AM »

I wish mine had arrived already... Im so jealeous of your comments

So what's the expected delivery time to Spain?

Last time I got a wurlie shipped from the states it took 5 days only, and that thing was big...

David Aubke · « **Reply #23 on:** October 20, 2011, 11:03:40 AM »

Quote from: pianotuner steveo on October 20, 2011, 07:48:21 AM

I only wish that you miked the two people who sang along when they were playing. i forgot who it was, but the one guy did a Stevie impersonation, and it was awesome!

The other was Patrice Rushen.

David Aubke · « **Reply #24 on:** October 20, 2011, 11:21:46 AM »

Quote from: pianotuner steveo on October 20, 2011, 07:48:21 AM

i forgot who it was, but the one guy did a Stevie impersonation, and it was awesome!

Incidentally, I've forgotten who that guy was as well. I recall it being a bit unclear because the segment was about a certain player but just as that performance started, the narration was about Gerald McCauley. From the profile shot, I couldn't tell who was at the keys.

But nitpicking aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the production. Learned a little about the Rhodes that I haven't read anywhere else and was introduced to some players I was not previously familiar with.

Ben Bove · « **Reply #25 on:** October 20, 2011, 04:15:17 PM »

Thanks very much for the comments

Greg Phillinganes was playing, he was in Wonderlove as Stevie's keyboard player for a number of years, and says he was the actual Rhodes player on that song. Take a look at his credit list:
http://allmusic.com/artist/greg-phillinganes-p114162/credits

Is one of the most significant keyboard session players, on many huge records: Songs in the Key of Life, Michael Jackson Off the Wall / Thriller, and hundreds of other records.

As far as shipping to Spain, let me know when it arrives interested to know how long it takes! Thanks

pianotuner steveo · « **Reply #26 on:** October 20, 2011, 07:23:03 PM »

No wonder ( no pun intended) that his playing sounded exactly like the record, but his singing sounded like Stevie also.

I always assumed that Stevie did all of his own Keyboard tracks.

Dan Belcher · « **Reply #27 on:** October 21, 2011, 08:42:42 AM »

I too was surprised by how good Greg Phillinganes' Stevie Wonder voice sounded. I've heard him play for years on assorted things (love his work on the Rhodes on Donald Fagen's Nightfly album) and even saw him backing Boz Scaggs a couple years ago, but I hadn't heard him sing before.

Quote from: pianotuner steveo on October 20, 2011, 07:23:03 PM

No wonder ( no pun intended) that his playing sounded exactly like the record, but his singing sounded like Stevie also.

I always assumed that Stevie did all of his own Keyboard tracks.

Me too. Learn something new every day I suppose!

Cormac Long · « **Reply #28 on:** October 21, 2011, 10:51:39 AM »

He has an amazing voice.. he sang with Eric Clapton mid-80's and into the 90's. You'd see plenty of videos on Youtube with him, Clapton & Phil Collins.

He also toured last year with Herbie Hancock. I went to see them in the Grand Canal Theatre, Dublin. Herbie introduced Greg as his second piano player. He made a big deal of having managed to get Greg on tour with him because he is often in demand.

Of all the songs he sung that night.. his un-mic'd performance of Imagine was amazing.. what a set of pipes that man has!

480 · « **Reply #29 on:** October 27, 2011, 01:24:37 PM »

Payment sent

Thanks to bjammerz for so many great article about the Fender Rhodes repair

Adrian
Denmark

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Author Topic: The Fender Rhodes Documentary (Read 107934 times)