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'{{short description|American composer and musician (1922-2019)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2016}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Gershon Kingsley | image = | caption = | image_size = | background = non_vocal_instrumentalist | birth_name = Götz Gustav Ksinski | alias = Gershon Kingsley | birth_date = {{Birth date|1922|10|28}} | birth_place = [[Bochum]], [[Weimar Republic]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|12|10|1922|10|28}} | death_place = [[Manhattan, New York]], U.S. | genre = [[Electronic music|Electronic]], [[Classical music|classical]], [[Pop music|pop]], [[Sacred music|sacred]], [[Crossover (music)|crossover]] | occupation = Composer, [[Arrangement|arranger]], keyboardist, conductor | instrument = Synthesizer, piano | years_active = 1954–2019 | associated_acts = [[Perrey and Kingsley]], First Moog Quartet | website = {{official website}} }} '''Gershon Kingsley''' (born '''Götz Gustav Ksinski'''; October 28, 1922&nbsp;– December 10, 2019) was a German-American composer,<ref name="reuters1">{{cite news|last=Graham |first=Dave |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63I3UW20100419 |title=Pop pioneer hails Germany despite Holocaust misery |publisher=Reuters |access-date=March 24, 2017 |date=April 19, 2010}}</ref> a pioneer of [[electronic music]] and the [[Moog synthesizer]], a partner in the electronic music duo [[Perrey and Kingsley]], founder of the First Moog Quartet, and writer of rock-inspired compositions for Jewish religious ceremonies.<ref>{{cite news|last=Caramanica |first=Jon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/21/arts/music/21cara.html |title=Funny, It Doesn't Sound Jewish – New York Times |work=The New York Times |date=August 21, 2005 |access-date=October 18, 2011}}</ref> Kingsley is most famous for his 1969 influential electronic instrumental composition "[[Popcorn (instrumental)|Popcorn]]".<ref name="reuters1" /> Kingsley conducted and arranged many Broadway musicals,<ref>{{cite web|author=The Broadway League |url=http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=95953 |title=The official source for Broadway Information |publisher=IBDB |access-date=October 18, 2011}}</ref> and composed for film, television shows<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0455521/|title=Gershon Kingsley|work=IMDb}}</ref> and commercials.<ref name="commercials">{{cite web|url=http://www.gershonkingsley.com/Film_Vid.html |title=Film Video TV |publisher=Gershonkingsley.com |access-date=October 18, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821070417/http://www.gershonkingsley.com/Film_Vid.html |archive-date=August 21, 2014 |df=mdy }}</ref> His compositions were eclectic and vary between [[Avant-garde music|avant-garde]] and [[Pop music|pop]] styles. Kingsley also composed classical chamber works, and his opera ''Raoul'' was premiered in [[Bremen]], Germany in 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.operacompetition.hu/english.asp?id=33 |title=Raoul |publisher=Operacompetition.hu |date=May 9, 2008 |access-date=October 18, 2011}}</ref> His work was recognized with a [[Tony Award]] nomination for Best Conductor and Musical Director,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/tonyawardssearch.cfm?year=1959&cat=Best+Conductor+and+Musical+Director|title=Tony Awards Database 1959|website=www.broadwayworld.com|access-date=2019-12-30}}</ref> two [[Clio Awards]] for his work in advertising music, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the [[Bob Moog Foundation]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://weimprovise.com/index.php?section=news&entry=3356|title=Moog Music Announces "The Bob" Award Winners|last=Rodrigues|first=J.|website=WeImprovise!|language=en|access-date=2019-12-30}}</ref> Kingsley died on December 10, 2019 at the age of 97 in [[Manhattan, New York]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Newman |first1=Melinda |title=Gershon Kingsley, Moog Synthesizer Pioneer, Dies at 97 |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/obituary/8546355/gershon-kingsley-dead |magazine=Billboard |access-date=15 December 2019}}</ref><ref name="nytimes">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/15/obituaries/gershon-kingsley-dead.html/|title=Gershon Kingsley, Master of Electronic Sounds, Dies at 97|first=Jon|last=Pareles|date=December 15, 2019|access-date=December 28, 2019|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> == Biography == === Early life === Kingsley was born '''Götz Gustav Ksinski''' in 1922 in [[Bochum]], [[Weimar Republic]], the son of Marie Christina, a homemaker, and Max Ksinski, a carpet dealer and pianist. His father was born Jewish and his mother, originally Catholic, [[Conversion to Judaism|converted to Judaism]].<ref name="nytimes" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Gershon Kingsley|website=[[iTunes]] |url=https://itunes.apple.com/ca/artist/gershon-kingsley/id28739340}}</ref> He grew up in [[Berlin]] where his parents ran a large carpet shop. They had originally met in [[Essen]], when his father, returning from Berlin on a business trip, had dropped in to a wine bar managed by two sisters, one of whom soon became Kingsley's mother. The elder Ksinski had spent the evening playing the piano in the bar, after which romance quickly blossomed.<ref name=GKlautDLFKul>{{cite web|url= http://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/sound-pionier-ein-revolutionaer-der-musikgeschichte.1079.de.html?dram:article_id=273584|title=Ein Revolutionär der Musikgeschichte&nbsp;... Gustav Ksinski komponierte den ersten Welthit des Elektro-Pop|author=Tobias Feld |date=3 January 2014| publisher= Deutschlandradio Köln (Deutschlandfunk Kultur)|access-date=24 December 2017}}</ref> {{Quote box|bgcolor=#FFDEAD|align=right|width=45%|In 1938, while his parents and brother made their way to [[Cuba]] and, ultimately, the United States, Kingsley traveled via [[Genoa]] to Palestine and joined a [[kibbutz]]: {{Quote | style=font-size-100% | We were all very happy in the kibbutz. We were in Palestine. It was such a great experience to be sort of in our own country (''"... quasi in unserem eigenen Land zu sein"''). In the mornings we worked in the fields, and in the afternoons we attended classes on farming. Half of us were boys, the other half girls. We talked, we danced, we were in love: we were free and the Nazis were far away. It was like an oasis. It was such a wonderful wonderful wonderful time.}}|source= —Gershon Kingsley, ''quoted in 2014 by Tobias Feld''<ref name=GKlautDLFKul />}} As his father was Jewish, he fled [[Nazi Germany]] in 1938 to settle in [[Mandatory Palestine|Palestine]]-[[Land of Israel]] where the 15-year-old, self-taught musician began his career in music.<ref name="GKlautDLFKul" /> He escaped Germany a few days before [[Kristallnacht]] and joined [[kibbutz]] [[Ein Harod]], [[Mandatory Palestine]], while his parents stayed behind at that time. At the kibbutz he taught himself to play the piano. He joined the [[Hagana]] [[Jewish Settlement Police]] ([[Notrim]]) and also played jazz in [[Tel Aviv]] and [[Jerusalem]]. He studied at the Jerusalem conservatory of music. His parents and brother had escaped to [[Cuba]], from where, eventually, they succeeded in obtaining visas for the United States,<ref name=GKlautDLFKul /> where Kingsley met up with them eight years later.<ref name="reuters1" /> After World War II, Kingsley emigrated to America where he became a pit conductor for [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] musical shows after graduating from the [[California Institute of the Arts|Los Angeles Conservatory of Music]]. === Musical career === In 1965, Kingsley after ceasing to be a colleague of the avant-garde composer [[John Cage]] meets and forms a duet known as [[Perrey and Kingsley]] with the French musician [[Jean-Jacques Perrey]], both release two albums:''The In Sound from Way Out!'' in 1966 and ''Kaleidoscopic Vibrations'' in 1967, and subsequently went their separate ways.<ref>{{cite news |title=Jean-Jacques Perrey: Elektronik-Pionier stirbt mit 87 Jahren |url=https://www.spiegel.de/kultur/musik/jean-jacques-perrey-elektronik-pionier-stirbt-mit-87-jahren-a-1119967.html |access-date=13 August 2022 |work=Der Spiegel |date=6 November 2016 |language=de}}</ref> Embarking upon a solo career, Kingsley, in 1969, released on [[Audio Fidelity Records]], the album ''Music to Moog By'', an album consisting of covers of popular songs, some of which were by [[Ludwig van Beethoven]] and [[The Beatles]] as [[Für Elise]], [[Nowhere Man (song)|Nowhere Man]] and [[Paperback Writer]], while others were traditional like the British ballad [[Scarborough Fair (ballad)|Scarborough Fair]]. ''Music to Moog By'' also contains original works such as "Hey, Hey" co-written by Eileen Davies and sampled years later by RJD2 on the song "The Horror".<ref>{{cite web |title=Gershon Kingsley "Music To Moog By" (Audio Fidelity, 1969) |url=https://jivetimerecords.com/2018/07/gershon-kingsley-music-to-moog-by-audio-fidelity-1969/ |website=Jive Time Records |access-date=15 May 2022 |date=31 July 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Kreps |first1=Daniel |title=Gershon Kingsley, Electronic Music Pioneer, Dead at 97 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/gershon-kingsley-moog-popcorn-dead-927382/ |access-date=15 May 2022 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=15 December 2019}}</ref> Another of his original tracks is "[[Popcorn (instrumental) | Popcorn]]", his signature song.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Verbist |first1=Audrey |title=Le mois d’août 2022 dans la ziquemachine à remonter le temps |url=https://www.lavenir.net/culture/musique/2022/08/01/le-mois-daout-2022-dans-la-ziquemachine-a-remonter-le-temps-JXV24QRXHZFMRN5N4LWLG4CFEU/ |website=lavenir.net |access-date=13 August 2022 |language=fr}}</ref> His next musical effort was with a band called [[First Moog Quartet]] in 1970: As the result of a request by famous [[impresario]] [[Sol Hurok]] to hear the [[Moog synthesizer]]'s capabilities demonstrated live. Other group members included Howard Salat, [[Stan Free]], Eric W. Knight, and [[Ken Bichel]]. On January 30, 1970, the group became the first to ever play [[electronic music]] in [[Carnegie Hall]]. With [[Robert Moog]] present, they were accompanied by several other musicians and four singers.<ref>[http://www.kingsleysound.com/FMQ1.html Kingsley Sound]. Site includes some multimedia archives.</ref> While reactions were mixed,<ref name=ks-carneg>{{cite web|title=REVIEWS OF THE FIRST MOOG QUARTET AT CARNEGIE HALL JANUARY 30, 1970|url=http://www.kingsleysound.com/Carnegie.html|publisher=Kingsley Sound|access-date=28 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020613154341/http://www.kingsleysound.com/Carnegie.html|archive-date=13 June 2002}}</ref> immediate results included a university tour, and some interesting collaborative works with the [[Boston Pops Orchestra]]. They only recorded one 1970 album entitled ''First Moog Quartet'', on [[Audio Fidelity Records]], which consisted of live recordings from his nationwide tour featuring four Moog synthesizers. Some of these compositions are more experimental, featuring [[spoken word]] and [[beat poetry]] backed by synthetic noises and tones. Kingsley then moved beyond the Moog, and later pioneered the use of the earliest [[Fairlight CMI|Fairlight]] and [[Synclavier]] digital synthesizers.{{Citation needed|date=July 2008}} And at least one 45 rpm single. [[Arthur Fiedler]] asked Kingsley to write a ''Concerto for Moog''; the quartet performed the work, scored for synthesizer quartet and symphony orchestra, with the Boston Pops in 1971.<ref>[http://www.spaceagepop.com/kingsley.htm Space Age Pop, ''Gershon Kingsley''.]</ref> ==== Baroque Hoedown & The Savers ==== {{Main Article|Baroque Hoedown}} Gershon Kingsley with Perrey is also credited with composing the song "[[Baroque Hoedown]]", released in their 1967 album, used by [[The Walt Disney Company|Walt Disney Productions]] for the [[Main Street Electrical Parade]] at its theme parks; and the song "The Savers", best known as the theme for the game show ''[[The Joker's Wild]]'' from 1972 to 1975 would go on to fame in 1968 as the [[Clio Award]]-winning music for a television ad for No-Cal diet drinks.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Joker's Wild |website=classicthemes.com |url=https://classicthemes.com/50sTVThemes/themePages/jokersWild.html |access-date=19 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Gershon Kingsley |website=www.spaceagepop.com |url=http://www.spaceagepop.com/kingsley.htm |access-date=19 February 2021}}</ref> He also wrote the logo sting (animated logo accompanied with music) for [[WGBH-TV]] in Boston, that appears throughout the United States on [[PBS]] programming produced by the station.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Northrop |first1=Daphne |title=GBH's Iconic "Sting" Gets A Facelift |url=https://www.wgbh.org/foundation/gbhs-iconic-sting |website=WGBH |access-date=6 November 2020 |language=en}}</ref> ==== Popcorn ==== {{Main Article|Popcorn (instrumental)}} Many artists have covered his song "[[Popcorn (instrumental)|Popcorn]]", including; [[Hot Butter]], The Popcorn Makers, [[Jean-Michel Jarre]] as ''Pop Corn Orchestra'', [[Anarchic System]], La Strana Società, [[Los Pekenikes]] (1972), [[Jiri Korn]], [[Klaus Wunderlich]] (1973), [[Vyacheslav Mescherin|Vyacheslav Mescherin's Orchestra]] (1979), Magic Men (1983), M&H Band (1988), Slotmachine & Gemini 7, [[Aphex Twin]] (1992), [[Gigi D'Agostino]] (1994), [[The Boomtang Boys]] (1999), [[Marsheaux]] (2003), [[Crazy Frog]], [[Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass]], [[Messer Chups]] (2005), [[Muse (band)|Muse]], [[The Muppets]] (2010), [[Red Axes]] (2019) and others. The song was used in the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] animated series ''[[Well, Just You Wait!|Nu, pogodi!]]''.<ref name='"Popcorn" used in soviet program Well, Just You Wait! "Nu pogodi".'>{{cite news |author1=Ben Jolley |title=Synth pioneer and maker of "Popcorn", Gershon Kingsley, dies age 97 |url=https://djmag.com/news/synth-pioneer-and-maker-%E2%80%98popcorn%E2%80%99-gershon-kingsley-dies-age-97 |access-date=29 January 2021 |agency=djmag |date=16 Dec 2019 |location=UK |page=djmag.com}}</ref> the [[Japan]]ese release of [[Pengo (video game)|Pengo]] used an [[8-bit (music)|8-bit]] interpretation of this Gershon Kingsley track.<ref name="Popcorn's cover in the video game Pengo">{{cite journal |title=Las conversiones de Pengo |date=25 Nov 2019 |page=xtremeretro.com |url=https://xtremeretro.com/las-conversiones-de-pengo/ |access-date=29 January 2021 |trans-title=Pengo conversions}}</ref> in early 2019, the year Gershon Kingsley died, the experimental composer Blanck Mass chose "Popcorn" as one of the 10 most influential compositions of his career.<ref name='"Popcorn" used in soviet program Well, Just You Wait! "Nu pogodi".' /> Also particularly interesting is the cover version of the Italian pop group [[La Strana Società]] from 1972, whose ensemble back then included [[Umberto Tozzi]], who was still unknown at the time, but which would later achieve world fame with hits such as "[[Gloria (Umberto Tozzi song)|Gloria]]",<ref>{{YouTube|KTM_qG_NPC8|Video of Tozzi singing his original "Gloria"}}</ref> "[[Tu (Umberto Tozzi song)|Tu]]" and "[[Ti Amo]]". == Discography == * 1960: ''Love and Laughter'' (with Davey Karr & [[Betty Walker]]) * 1962: ''Helen Jacobson Presents Fly Blackbird Original Cast Album'' (with Clarence Bernard Jackson) * 1963: ''Shoshana!'' (as conductor) * 1964: ''Mozart After Hours'' (as conductor, arranger, harpsichordist) (with [[Maureen Forrester]] & [[Wiener Akademie Kammerchor]]) * 1964: ''[[Jan Peerce]] on 2nd Avenue'' (as conductor, arranger) * 1965: ''Fleury&nbsp;— The Isles of Greece'' (as arranger, conductor) * 1966: ''The In Sound from Way Out!'' (with Perrey) * 1966: ''New Songs of the Auvergne&nbsp;— [[Netania Davrath]]'' (as orchestrator) * 1966: ''Jan Peerce&nbsp;— Art of the Cantor'' (as conductor, arranger) * 1967: ''[[Kaleidoscopic Vibrations: Electronic Pop Music from Way Out]]'' (with Perrey) * 1968: ''Shabbat '68'' * 1968: ''The New Exciting Voice of Sol Zimel&nbsp;— Favorite Jewish Melodies'' (as arranger, conductor) * 1969: ''Jan Peerce Neapolitan Serenade'' * 1969: ''Music to Moog By'' * 1970: ''First Moog Quartet'' * 1970: ''Gershwin (Alive & Well & Underground)'' * 1971: ''[[Greta Keller]] Sings Love Is A Daydream And Other Songs By Yulya'' * 1971: ''Kaleidoscopic Vibrations: Spotlight on the Moog'' (re-release of 1967 Kaleidoscopic Vibrations album under other name) * 1972: ''Popcorn'' (with his band [[First Moog Quartet]]) * 1973: ''The Best Of The Moog'' * 1974: ''The 5th Cup Featuring [[Theodore Bikel]]'' * 1975: ''Incredible Synthesizer'' * 1975: ''The Essential Perrey & Kingsley'' * 1980: ''[[Julia Migenes]] Latin Lady'' (as producer, conductor, arranger) * 1982: ''Julia Migenes-Johnson Sings Gershwin'' (as conductor, arranger) * 1986: ''Much Silence'' * 1987: ''Das Schönste Von Julia Migenes'' * 1989: ''Cruisers 1.0'' * 1990: ''Anima'' * 2001: ''The Out Sound from Way In! The Complete Vanguard Recordings'' * 2005: ''Voices from the Shadow'' * 2006: ''God Is a Moog'' * 2007: ''Vanguard Visionaries: Perrey & Kingsley'' * 2012: ''The Electronic Pop Songs'' * 2012: ''Space Age Computer Music'' == Filmography == * 1969 ''[[Sam's Song]]'' * 1970 ''[[The Dreamer (1970 film)|The Dreamer]]'' (''Ha-Timhoni'') * 1972 ''[[Silent Night, Bloody Night]]'' * 1973 ''[[Sugar Cookies (film)|Sugar Cookies]]''<ref>{{cite journal |title=Tags: Perrey And Kingsley {{!}} Dangerous Minds |website=dangerousminds.net |url=https://dangerousminds.net/tag/Perrey-and-Kingsley |access-date=7 February 2021}}</ref> === Broadway productions === * ''[[The Entertainer (play)|The Entertainer]]'' musical director (February 12, 1958&nbsp;– May 10, 1958) * ''[[La Plume de Ma Tante]]'' musical director (November 11, 1958&nbsp;– December 17, 1960) * ''Vintage '60'' arranger, musical director (September 12, 1960&nbsp;– September 17, 1960) * ''[[Josephine Baker]]'' musical director (February 4, 1964&nbsp;– February 16, 1964) * ''[[Cafe Crown]]'' vocal arranger, musical director (April 17, 1964&nbsp;– April 18, 1964) * ''[[I'm Solomon]]'' vocal arranger, musical director (April 23, 1968&nbsp;– April 27, 1968) === Off-Broadway productions === * ''[[Ernest in Love]]'' arranger (opened May 4, 1960) * ''[[Fly Blackbird!]]'' arranger, musical director (opened February 2, 1962) * ''King of the Whole Damn World'' arranger (opened April 14, 1962) * ''[[Put it in Writing]]'' arranger, pianist (opened May 13, 1963) * ''[[The Cradle Will Rock]]'' musical director, Clerk (opened November 8, 1964) * ''[[Hotel Passionato]]'' orchestrator, musical director (opened October 22, 1965) * ''Great Scot!'' additional musical arrangements, musical director (opened November 10, 1965) * ''Hooray! It's a Glorious Day&nbsp;... and all that'' orchestrator (opened March 3, 1966) == See also == * [[Jean-Jacques Perrey]] * [[Popcorn (instrumental)|Popcorn]] * [[Baroque Hoedown]] == References == {{reflist}} == External links == * {{official website}} * {{IMDb name|id=0455521|name=Gershon Kingsley}} * {{IBDB name}} * {{Discogs artist|Gershon Kingsley}} * {{YouTube|dZWfywvuHt0|Kingsley performs "Popcorn" on an acoustic piano}} * [http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2007/03/79_versions_of_.html Seventy-nine different versions of ''Popcorn'' at WFMU's ''Beware of the Blog] *[https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/gershon-kingsley NAMM Oral History Interview] September 14, 2005 {{Electronic music}} {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Kingsley, Gershon}} [[Category:1922 births]] [[Category:2019 deaths]] [[Category:American electronic musicians]] [[Category:American people of German-Jewish descent]] [[Category:Jewish American composers]] [[Category:Jewish American musicians]] [[Category:Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States]] [[Category:People from Bochum]] [[Category:Electronic musicians]] [[Category:21st-century American Jews]]'