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6 Awesome Google Doodles For The Music Nerd

1. Les Paul’s 96th Birthday

For the man who created musical history, Google put together an interactive guitar app that allows you to strum, record, and enjoy the wonderful sounds of a classic Les Paul. A sound that has defined guitar for the past century.

2. Robert Moog’s 78th Birthday

A tribute to Robert Moog, who brought us the electronic analog Moog Synthesizer. This, just like the Les Paul, became a staple in musical history.

This highly interactive app let’s you shape just about any sound you want and then record, playback, and share it with your friends.

3. Claude Debussy’s 151st Birthday

This Doodle plays Claude Debussy’s Clair de Lune. The developer was able to sync this beautiful animation to a sequence of one of Debussy’s most recognized and magical pieces.

 

4. John Lennon’s 70th Birthday

To pay tribute to one of the most influential people of the 20th century, Google Doodler’s put together a short animation that plays Imagine synced to a psychedelic landscape of moving pictures.

5. 30th Anniversary of PAC-MAN

This one is probably more on the gamer side, but that music could never be mistaken for any other game in history. Simply click on “Insert Coin” and you’ll kill at least 5 minutes of your day reliving  the most classic game created for arcade.

 

6. Freddie Mercury’s 65th Birthday

An incredible animation for Queen’s “Having a good time” was posted to take you on a visual anecdote in memory of rock legend Freddie Mercury. The animator cleverly incorporated themes from other famous songs like “Bicycle” as well as wardrobe that Freddie sported during his years of fame.

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Remembering the Original Guitar Hero: Les Paul

One of our heroes here at Cakewalk passed away today. Les Paul the original guitar hero, namesake of arguably the most popular guitar of all time, and the innovator of multitrack recording, succumbed to complications from pneumonia at White Plains Hospital. Les was 94.

In 2005, I had the distinct honor of dining with Les Paul at the TEC Awards banquet. Cakewalk had been working with Gibson on the launch of the Digital Les Paul, which included a copy of SONAR Producer, and Henry Juszkiewicz, Gibson’s CEO asked me to join him and Les for dinner. I was so psyched to meet Les, being both a guitar player and someone involved in the art of recording, he represented a double inspiration to me. And getting to sit with Les for a few hours and listen to him casually talk about all sorts of topics ranging from guitar, to recording, to women (yes he was quite flirt, even as an nonagenarian…the ladies at the table will agree) I was on cloud nine. I count that evening as one of the highlights of my career, and I feel so lucky to have experienced it before Les passed on.

Les, we owe it all to you. Beyond pioneering multitrack recording, you had the vision to introduce the world to overdubbing, phasing, delay effects, and more. And where would Eddie Van Halen, Slash, or Eric Johnson be without the techniques you introduced on the guitar.

There have been so many great songs, and countless listeners, that have benefitted from the sonic advances that you brought to the table. Thank you for everything…you will be missed.

– Carl Jacobson, Vice President of Marketing