I’m working on more songs with the Hammond B3. That made me wonder how many of my previous songs feature it.
B3 and Beyond History
The B3 and its siblings — models, A, M, and the B-clone C3 — went far beyond church music. Add the rotating Leslie speaker and the magic really gets going. A wonderful sound, but the weight and footprint of a small yacht.
Blues players were deeply inspired by it. Jimmy Smith, Brother Jack McDuff, and many others coaxed more magic from this instrument. They even found ways to tour playing B3 models that were local to the gig or by dragging the whole rig along with them.
Rock keyboardists like Steve Nieve (Elvis Costello and The Attractions), Jon Lord (Deep Purple), Rick Wakeman (Yes and many other bands), Steve Winwood, and many others leaned on that blues background. They brought these sounds into rock anthems even after the Hammond company went into a 27-year hiatus.
Later, the reborn Hammond company as well as Suzuki (with permission from Hammond) made XK organs all the way up to the present. These no longer use the mechanical process that drove the sound of the B3/C3. Instead, they use digital emulations that sound quite convincing. Nowadays, musicians also have a variety of virtual instruments on their computers (also granted the Hammond name and sound) with all the great sounds of the original.
From Subtle to Shining
I have quite a few songs that include the sounds of a Hammond B3. I’ll start with “Confession : Reflection”. Though not prominent, you can hear the organ as the glue in this track if you listen on headphones.
Still not the solo instrument, a B3 holds another song together on “Borrowed Angels”. This harkens to the rock organists mentioned above.
B3 Solos
The Hammond gets to solo and hang out in “Draw Outward” which is more of a big band sound.
Even more in the limelight, a Hammond B3 begins and ends “Wake Up Swinging”.
An EP’s Worth of B3
Challenged by the company that made the B5 — a virtual instrument B3 — I wrote a 3-track EP based on this sound. Enjoy the sights and sounds of the Hammond organ.
Still to come? An album of B3 blues is on the way. Stay tuned right here.
Discover more from Stan Stewart - @muz4now
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
So good Stan. Listened to all the audio upload bars thinking ‘How is Stan getting these awesome sounds’. Then your, very welcome, inclusion of the YouTube video creates the lightbulb moment. So cool!
What is amazing also is obviously your skill as a musician. But to also add, it is also your melodic synergy, tunes and songwriting levels too. Top notch.
Cheers for sharing Stan. Enjoyed this very much.
Oh! And listening through headphones is a must. You really appreciate the depth to it all then.
Gray,
Great to have someone who is so musically adept listening.
Thanks for your kind listening and feedback.
Peace,
Stan