Don Lewis
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Don Lewis (March 26, 1941 – November 6, 2022) was an American vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and
electronic engineer Electronic engineering is a sub-discipline of electrical engineering that emerged in the early 20th century and is distinguished by the additional use of active components such as semiconductor devices to amplify and control electric current flow ...
. He created an instrument called the Live Electronic Orchestra (LEO), which integrated multiple instruments under a controller system and predated the
MIDI controller A MIDI controller is any hardware or software that generates and transmits Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) data to MIDI-enabled devices, typically to trigger sounds and control parameters of an electronic music performance. They mos ...
by ten years.


History

Donald Richard Lewis Jr. was born on March 26, 1941. He grew up in
Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...
, in the 1940s and 50s. Lewis has stated that his interest in music began as a child after watching an
organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...
perform at his church. Lewis later majored in
Electronics Engineering Electronic engineering is a sub-discipline of electrical engineering that emerged in the early 20th century and is distinguished by the additional use of active components such as semiconductor devices to amplify and control electric current flow ...
at the former
Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a Private university, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was f ...
. While there, he also sang with the Tuskegee Chorus and played music at rallies led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1961, Lewis enlisted in the US Air Force as a nuclear weapons specialist and later stationed for four years in
Roswell, New Mexico Roswell () is a city in and the county seat of Chaves County, New Mexico, Chaves County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 48,422 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fi ...
. After his time in the Air Force, Lewis relocated to
Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
, where he worked as an engineering technician, choir director, and nightclub musician. While there, he was commissioned to write three symphonic works by the Denver Symphony Orchestra. Lewis later resigned his job as an engineering technician in Denver to become a full-time musician. Lewis later studied singing with legendary vocal coach Judy Davis.


Career

After moving to Los Angeles, Lewis worked with several celebrity musicians and producers, including Quincy Jones, Sergio Mendez, and Michael Jackson. He also opened for the Beach Boys during their 1974 tour. Lewis performed at the 1975 and 1976 Newport Jazz Festival at Carnegie Hall. Later he moved to San Francisco and performed there in the late 70's and early 80's. He scored for shows such as ''Rainbows End'' and ''You Were There'' for PBS, among others. Lewis taught at UC Berkeley Extension and was a guest lecturer at Stanford University and San Jose State University. He also started two programs to encourage kids' interest in music and the arts: Young Expressions, a mentorship program for student artists around
Pleasanton, California Pleasanton is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the Amador Valley, it is an upscale suburb in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 79,871 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 cens ...
, and Say "Yes" to Music!, wherein Lewis performed at school assemblies.


LEO and Roland TR-808

Lewis was most famous for having created an early integrated sound controller for analog synthesizers, which he named Live Electronic Orchestra (LEO), ten years prior to MIDI. Lewis designed LEO in 1974 and completed it in 1977 by linking various synthesizers to work together in live performance, limited at the time to mostly studio production. As of 2018, LEO is housed in NAMM's
Museum of Making Music The Museum of Making Music, is a signature program of the National Association of Music Merchants' NAMM Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Carlsbad, California. The museum opened to the public on March 5, 2000. Its miss ...
located in
Carlsbad, California Carlsbad is a beach city in the North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is north of downtown San Diego and south of downtown Los Angeles. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of ...
. The various instruments of LEO include: * Hammond Concorde * (4) Oberheim Expander Module (SEM) * ARP Pro-soloist * (2)
ARP 2600 The ARP 2600 is a subtractive synthesizer first produced by ARP Instruments in 1971. History Developed by a design team headed by ARP namesake Alan R. Pearlman and engineer Dennis Colin, the ARP 2600 was introduced in 1971 as the successor to ...
* Roland Jupiter 4 * Roland Promars * Roland Space Echo * Roland Digital Chorus *
Roland VP-330 The Roland VP-330 is a paraphonic ten-band vocoder and string machine manufactured by Roland Corporation from 1979 to 1980. While there are several string machines and vocoders, a single device combining the two is rare, despite the advantag ...
vocoder *
Roland TR-808 The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, commonly known as the 808, is a drum machine manufactured by Roland Corporation between 1980 and 1983. It was one of the first drum machines to allow users to program rhythms instead of using preset patterns. ...
* Hammond X-66 pedestal * Pascetta Polyphonic Keyboard * Roland 8 channel mixer For over ten years, Lewis collaborated with
Ikutaro Kakehashi , also known by the nickname Taro, was a Japanese engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur. He founded the musical instrument manufacturers Ace Tone, Roland Corporation and Boss Corporation, and the audiovisual electronics company ATV Corporation. ...
on rhythm units including the FR-7L, CR-68, CR-78 and the
Roland TR-808 The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, commonly known as the 808, is a drum machine manufactured by Roland Corporation between 1980 and 1983. It was one of the first drum machines to allow users to program rhythms instead of using preset patterns. ...
, a drum machine that allowed musicians to program and create their own drum beats. He also contributed to the rise in popularity of other synthesizers such as the
Yamaha DX7 The Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer manufactured by Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1989. It was the first successful digital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units. In the early 1980s, th ...
. In the 1980s, the
American Federation of Musicians The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (AFM/AFofM) is a 501(c)(5) trade union, labor union representing professional instrumental musicians in the United States and Canada. The AFM, which has its headquarters in N ...
claimed that Lewis's use of technology was a threat to musicians and encouraged the protesting of his performances as a result.


Documentary

A feature-length documentary film, ''Don Lewis and The Live Electronic Orchestra'', produced and directed by Ned Augustenborg, was released in February 2023 on PBS. The film covers Lewis's life, career, relationships, and his struggles with systemic racism. It explores how Lewis, in the 1980s, was labeled as a "National Enemy" of the Musicians Union partly due to institutional fears regarding the technological advancements that Lewis embraced. In order to delve into the history of electronic music, it includes interviews with
Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...
,
Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...
,
Ikutaro Kakehashi , also known by the nickname Taro, was a Japanese engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur. He founded the musical instrument manufacturers Ace Tone, Roland Corporation and Boss Corporation, and the audiovisual electronics company ATV Corporation. ...
,
John Chowning John M. Chowning (; born August 22, 1934, in Salem, New Jersey) is an American composer, musician, discoverer, and professor best known for his work at Stanford University, the founding of CCRMA – Center for Computer Research in Music and ...
and
Alan Kay Alan Curtis Kay (born May 17, 1940) published by the Association for Computing Machinery 2012 is an American computer scientist who pioneered work on object-oriented programming and windowing graphical user interface (GUI) design. At Xerox ...
.


Personal life and death

Lewis resided in
Pleasanton, California Pleasanton is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the Amador Valley, it is an upscale suburb in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 79,871 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 cens ...
, for 35 years. He lived with his wife, Julie. Lewis had five children. He died on November 6, 2022, at the age of 81.


Awards

In 2016, Lewis won the 2016
Alameda County Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. A ...
Arts Leadership award. Lewis also won the 2016 Tri-Valley Heroes Arts and Culture award.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Don 1941 births 2022 deaths Musicians from Dayton, Ohio People from Pleasanton, California American multi-instrumentalists Electronic instrument players Tuskegee University alumni Singers from Los Angeles