Hooked on Moog

An unimposing museum in downtown Asheville, North Carolina, celebrates the legacy of synthesizer designer Robert Moog, whose 1964 invention of the commercial synthesizer helped revolutionize the face of music.

Moog opened a door for creativity from some of the world’s most impactful acts. 

The Moog synthesizer first found success in 1968 on the bestselling album Switched-On Bach. 

The Moog was then adopted by keyboardists of the 20th century’s most celebrated rock acts, including the Bee Gees, the Grateful Dead, the Rolling Stones, and the Beatles. Rock acts such as Yes, ABBA, Styx, Earth Wind and Fire and Michael Jackson incorporated the expansive range of the Moog into their most celebrated works.

The list of Moog devotees spans from the Beastie Boys and Devo to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Alicia Keys. 

Moog died in 2005 in Asheville, and the Bob Moog Memorial Foundation was launched in 2006. His family established the foundation to honor his legacy "of igniting creativity at the intersection of music, history, science, and innovation.”

Moog was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2021.

Moog spent 25 years in Asheville, so that was the city chosen for the Moogseum, a “one-of-a-kind immersive, interactive museum where Moog’s pioneering legacy and the science of sound comes alive to inspire people of all ages.”

The foundation's projects include teaching the science of sound through the magic of music, the Bob Moog Foundation Archives, and the museum.

Located at 56 Broadway Street, the Moogseum is open daily.

Despite early warnings that the instrument would put musicians out of work, “I was never worried that synthesizers would replace musicians,” Moog said. “First of all, you have to be a musician in order to make music with a synthesizer.”