Popcorn

by Gershon Kingsley

“Gershon Kingsley could have been just a vanguard for electronic music, and that would have been more than enough honor to bestow upon a man and cement his place in musical history. ”

It would have sufficed that Kingsley spearheaded electronic music, influencing the next few generations, and retreated as a hero cautious about more work that just might put a dent or a speck on his legacy. He could have well been another run-of-the-mill composer.

It is famously said, "Pioneers get slaughtered." The meaning is that the person who starts a great and novel idea will only go so far that another comes along, 'borrows' the idea makes it his own, and finds immeasurable success with it.

Kingsley was the type of trailblazer that, in addition to being credited with making the Moog Synthesizer popular and mainstream, happened to enjoy some celebrity and had had his name-in-the-lights; he had a good ol' hit record. A mega-hit, to be exact.

And the song in question is 'Popcorn,' released in 1969 on the album Music to Moog By. It became a major success on the pop music charts for decades as subsequent generations would - several times over - revive this irresistible tune.

Imagine the first-ever computers. Maybe you'd heard; computers started as these enormous square or rectangle-shaped machines that could fill up nearly a whole part of a room, wall to wall, floor to ceiling. It gradually shrank down. The introduction of the personal computer eased things up a bit, taking away the pain, and maybe even absurdity, of housing such a necessary, depended upon item. Today, you can carry a computer in your suitcase, backpack, or even in your pocket, your phone.

The synthesizer charted a much similar path and, yes, right now can fit into your pocket. While electric musical instruments had become commonplace in the early 1900s, it wasn't until the 1950s that we saw the advent of the synthesizer.

And being as colossal a machine as it was, Robert Moog, an engineering physicist (and seller of an earlier electronic instrument called the theremin), sought to solve this by making synthesizers a little more portable and widely available. In doing so, Moog put himself at the forefront of a revolutionary change in the music industry that would span over decades.

Kingsley had met Mr. Moog, famed as a music industry disrupter, in 1969. He took advantage of the opportunity and enquired about the Inventor's synthesizer. Kingsley would learn, regrettably, that it was priced well beyond his means.

“ Disappointed, Kingsley still revered the instrument, which he viewed as having “endless possibilities.””

It was the first commercially available synthesizer, and it wasn't until his wife gave him the go-ahead that he was ever able to get his hands on one. 'Popcorn' would be a result of this move.

Kingsley has his roots in classical music. Besides having originated from Germany - home of classical music behemoths like Beethoven, Bach, and Haydn - in the 1940s, he had studied extensively at music conservatories in Germany, Palestine, and Los Angeles in the U.S.

Classical composers of the 17th and 18th centuries had long been in the practice of incorporating "Turkish music" into their compositions. The name - Turkish music - may be a bit of a misnomer. Rather than being actual music from Turkey, it's a classical music take on marching music played by Turkish military bands - as heard and stylized by classical composers in Europe.

“‘Popcorn’ has prominent classical music writing devices and melodic properties of an undeniably Arabic musical scale. He fashions it as an electronic pop piece, and it works. ”

Kingsley related that the melody came to him almost effortlessly, but he had to work it out to its final development. He reveals that its creative process, which comprised a good amount of improvisation on the piano, felt much like playing an 'Invention' by Bach.

The title "Popcorn" came after completing the recording session for the instrumental. Kingsley had informed the studio personnel that he hadn't thought of what to name the song, to which one studio employee suggested "Popcorn." The musician accepted that title right there and then. The gentleman then explained to Kingsley the meaning: "Pop" is for pop music, the "corn" is for "kitsch." The man loves the idea, and the rest is history.

The instrumental was a huge commercial success for Kinglsey's later bandmate, Stan Free. In 1972, Free's band Hot Butter had its re-recorded version of 'Popcorn' it spent weeks at no. 1 on several European music charts; that include Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, to name a few. This was only its first revival. It would have many more into the 2000s.

In our era, Kingsley's timeless piece was revived in a version by Crazy Frog, which we remember as being constantly on the airwaves in 2005. Its successes were seen all across Europe and Australia. The Muppets would follow suit. And many, many others.