The Rhodes piano is an electro-mechanical piano, invented by Harold Rhodes during the 1950s and later manufactured in a number of models, first in collaboration with Fender and after 1965 by CBS.
As a member of the electrophone sub-group of percussion instruments, it employs a piano-like keyboard with hammers that hit small metal tines, amplified by electromagnetic pickups. A 2001 New York Times article described the instrument as "a pianistic counterpart to the electric guitar" having a "shimmering, ethereal sound."
The Rhodes piano was used extensively throughout the 1970s in all styles of music. It fell out of fashion for a while in the middle 1980s, principally due to the emergence of polyphonic and later digital synthesizers, but has enjoyed a huge resurgence of popularity since the 1990s — with contemporary artists highlighting the instrument, including Air, Radiohead, The Beastie Boys, Portishead, The Album Leaf, D'Angelo, Zero 7, Erykah Badu Chick Corea, Jamiroquai, Herbie Hancock, Steely Dan / Donald Fagen, The Doors and Stevie Wonder.
The last model, the MkV, was released in 1984, when the factory in Fullerton was closed. Rhodes Music Corporation tried to re-introduce a version of the instrument in 2007.
Read more about Rhodes Piano: History, Models, Sound-producing Mechanism, Notable Uses
Famous quotes containing the words rhodes and/or piano:
“We’re definite in Nova Scotia—’bout things like ships ... and fish, the best in the world.”
—John Rhodes Sturdy, Canadian screenwriter. Richard Rossen. Joyce Cartwright (Ella Raines)
“When you take a light perspective, it’s easier to step back and relax when your child doesn’t walk until fifteen months, . . . is not interested in playing ball, wants to be a cheerleader, doesn’t want to be a cheerleader, has clothes strewn in the bedroom, has difficulty making friends, hates piano lessons, is awkward and shy, reads books while you are driving through the Grand Canyon, gets caught shoplifting, flunks Spanish, has orange and purple hair, or is lesbian or gay.”
—Charlotte Davis Kasl (20th century)