In 1954, Hammond introduced the organ that secured the legend, the Model B-3. Its Chorus-Vibrato and Touch-Response Percussion™ made sounds that were totally new and fresh. It’s hard to determine whether musicians were ripe for a new sound, or the new sounds pushed musicians into uncharted waters; but one thing is for sure: When Jimmy Smith met the B-3, music changed forever. He remains the single most popular and influential musician to touch a Hammond’s keys.
Gospel churches embraced the Hammond B-3 like no one else. The Ministers of Music elevated Hammond playing to a level leaving even the most proficient artists shaking their heads in disbelief. Many believe the Hammond Organ reaches its greatest heights in the hands of Gospel artists.
The B3 also swept the nation in pop during the late fifties. Artists such as Eddie Layton, Lennie Dee, and Jerry Burke on the Lawrence Welk TV show had hit records, and sold out concerts. But perhaps the top of the pop B-3 players was Earl Grant, whose smooth style on the number one hit “Ebb Tide” led him to become a regular guest on the Ed Sullivan show
Jazz Organ became the quintessential “cool” music for the swinging Sixties, Jimmy Smith was the Top Cat, but Jimmy McGriff, Brother Jack McDuff, Charles “The Burner” Earland, Don Patterson, “Groove” Holmes and Dr. Lonnie Smith (to name a few) swung with a ferocious fervor.
The rock revolution was also in full bloom, and the Hammond Organ played a large role. Al Kooper, Brian Auger, Rod Argent with the Zombies, Steve Winwood with Traffic, Felix Cavaliere with the Rascals, Mark Stein with Vanilla Fudge, Keith Emerson with ELP, Rick Wakeman with Yes, John Paul Jones with Led Zeppelin, Jon Lord with Deep Purple, Gregg Rolie with Santana, Neal Doughty with REO Speedwagon, Dennis DeYoung with Styx, and Jerry Corbetta with Sugarloaf all had platinum hits with the B-3 front and center. Even Billy Joel’s very first album was a hard-rocking affair that found the “Piano Man” playing a highly-amplified B-3. (For vinyl aficionados, the LP was entitled “Attila” on the Epic label) Who knows how many youngsters caught the Hammond bug from hearing these (and other) stars?
The B-3 was also de rigueur for the Soul and R&B sounds of Motown and Philly. Keyboard pioneers like Billy Preston and Sly Stone all came of age as Hammond Organists in their Churches, and injected that flavor into all of the music they influenced
In 1975, the last electro-mechanical B-3 left the assembly line. About 270,000 were built.
