Don Lewis was a legendary synth player who worked with Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson and who invented the Live Electronic Orchestra, the inspiration for MIDI.
- Died: Sunday, November 6, 2022. (Who else died on November 6?)
- Details of death: Died at the age of 81.
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Synth Legend
Don Lewis learned how to play the piano and the organ at a young age. He attended Tuskegee Institute and played music for rallies by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He joined the Air Force and afterwards moved to Denver and quit an engineering job to focus on music. In the mid-1970s he invented the Live Electronic Orchestra, a device that linked several synthesizers together that he could control with one device. The invention was an inspiration for the MIDI that is used today. He created sounds for music legends Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson and performed with the Beach Boys. His career was the subject of the documentary film “The Ballad of Don Lewis.” He created programs in California to help children get involved in music and the arts.
Notable Quote
“My interest in playing the organ was piqued by a young man playing at our church — I sat behind him and watched him play.” “One evening I went to sleep and had a dream that I was sitting there playing the organ. The feeling I had in that dream, I had never felt anything like it.” – 2016 interview in the Pleasonton Weekly
Tributes to Don Lewis
Full Obituary: Music Radar
