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
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