Hammond Organ

electric instrument · jazz · sound invention · 1930s

Spinning metal wheels. Instead of pipes or strings, the Hammond organ created sounds by spinning metal tonewheels very close to electrical pickups, kind of like how a record player reads grooves. The faster the wheel spun, the higher the note.

Sliding drawbars. Players could pull and push sliding drawbars to change the organ's tone and mix different sounds together, giving them way more control than other keyboards. It was like having dozens of sound dials right at their fingertips.

Leslie speaker magic. Hammond organs worked best with a special Leslie speaker that had a spinning part inside, which made the sound swirl and wobble in a groovy way that became super popular in soul and funk music.

Church and jazz favorite. The Hammond organ found homes in both churches for hymns and in jazz clubs for improvisation, making it one of the most versatile and beloved electric instruments ever made.

Born in 1935. Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert invented the Hammond organ over 85 years ago, and musicians are still using it today because its warm, expressive sound is hard to replace.