Robert Margouleff

Robert is the son of Great Neck Estates Mayor Jean Margouleff[2] and Ruth Margouleff. He also has one sister.[3]

Most noted for his work with electronic music synthesizer programming for Stevie Wonder (beginning in the 1970s) for award-winning albums including Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions, Fulfillingness' First Finale and Jungle Fever, all projects which featured Margouleff (with collaborator Malcolm Cecil) as associate producers, engineers and synthesizer programmers.

By helping Stevie Wonder develop many new textures and sounds never heard before, Margouleff and Cecil played a major role in bringing synthesizers to the forefront of popular music. As an influential electronic music duo - Tonto's Expanding Head Band - they recorded the album Zero Time (1971) attracting attention from many other leading artists of that era to the newly emerging music technology.[4]

Robert Margouleff was an early customer, friend and collaborator of fellow New Yorker and music instrument pioneer Robert Moog contributing early insight toward Moog's musical instrument development for artists to routinely program and use synthesizers as part of their evolving sound ecology.[5]

Margouleff also worked with and produced music with Billy Preston, Devo, Jeff Beck, Robin Trower, David Sanborn, Depeche Mode, Oingo Boingo, The Doobie Brothers, Quincy Jones, Bobby Womack, The Isley Brothers, Gil Scott-Heron, Weather Report, Stephen Stills, Dave Mason, Little Feat, Joan Baez, Steve Hillage, Paul Rodgers, GWAR and many others.[6]

He also was an early creative resource at Andy Warhol's "factory" eventually co-producing Ciao! Manhattan, a semi-biographical cult film tale of 1960s counterculture film actress and socialite Edie Sedgwick as one of Andy Warhol's Superstars.

In 1980, Robert produced "Freedom of Choice" for American art-rock band Devo. Devo's co-founder and principal songwriter Gerald Casale described the experience working with Bob by saying, "He just brought the right kind of tone and energy to the fact that we are using mini-Moogs".[7] In an interview for Rhino, Gerald described how the usage of the Moog Bass really sold Robert on the track.[8]

In 1968, Robert Margouleff purchased a Moog Series IIIc which was intended to be the "first orchestra of synthesizers".[9] He soon went on to meet well-known bassist Malcolm Cecil who approached him to learn more about this synthesizer. In exchange for Malcolm teaching Robert how to use the recording console, Robert taught Malcolm how to use the Moog. In just two weeks, Robert and Malcolm set to build the largest synthesizer in the world.[9] A few weeks later, they jointly formed a group known as "TONTO's Expanding Head Band" through which they explored the nearly unlimited capabilities of their machine. This machine was pivotal in their relationship with Stevie Wonder because TONTO allowed Stevie to arrange his own tracks and to be involved in each step of the recording process.[9] Over a three day stretch, Bob, Malcolm and Stevie recorded 17 songs together for their first release. They went on to record many records the three of them, however the last was "Fulfillingness' First Finale".[9] It was during this album that Robert and Malcolm decided to walk out due to unfair business relations and a changed relationship with Stevie.

Robert describes the relationship between him, Malcolm, and Stevie as "It was like three meteors in the sky and they're all flying towards one another. For one brief second there's this huge bright light when all three meteors cross paths at the same time and there's just this brilliant flash... and it just goes away. That's how it was with me, Steve, and Malcolm." [9]

In 1974, TONTO's Expanding Head Band resumed with "It's About Time" and the duo went on to work with Quincy Jones, Billy Preston, Bobby Womack, Devo, and Gil Scott-Heron, among others.[9]

In 2013, The National Music Centre acquired TONTO.[10]

• 1971: Zero Time (Tonto's Expanding Head Band)
• 1972: Music of My Mind (Stevie Wonder)
• 1972: Talking Book (Stevie Wonder)
• 1973: Innervisions (Stevie Wonder)
• 1974: Fulfillingness' First Finale (Stevie Wonder)
• 1975: It's My Pleasure (Billy Preston)
• 1975: It's About Time (Tonto's Expanding Head Band)
• 1980: Freedom of Choice (Devo)

Engineering, production and programming credits—other acts (solo)[11]
^{(see also Malcolm Cecil Discography, Margouleff and Cecil (together) Discography)}

• Alexander Courage - Original Television Soundtrack Star Trek From The Original Pilots "The Cage" & "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (1966, 1985)
• Ned Liben - Introducing The ARP Avatar
• Lothar and the Hand People - Presenting... (1968)
• America - Hat Trick (1973, synth progrmamming)
• Billy Preston - Billy Preston (1976)
• Stairsteps - 2nd Resurrection (1976)
• Inner Circle - Ready For The World (1977)
• The Busboys - Minimum Wage Rock & Roll (1980)
• David Sanborn - As We Speak (1982)
• The Innocents - The Innocents (1982)
• The Manhattans All I Need (1986 Producer [Additional], Remix)
• Depeche Mode - But Not Tonight 7in single (1986 Producer [Additional], Remix)
• Branford Marsalis - Renaissance (1987)
• Wilson Pickett - American Soul Man (1987)
• Oingo Boingo - Good For Your Soul (1983)
• Shadowfax - The Odd Get Even (1990)
• 2 Live Crew - Live In Concert (1991)
• Tony MacAlpine - Freedom to Fly (1992)
• Various - Alternative NRG (1994)
• Avalon - "Rumour Has It" / "Catch Us if You Can" / "Messin' with My Baby" / "Blackmail" [12]

• Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical – 1974
  • Malcolm Cecil & Robert Margouleff (engineers) for Innervisions performed by Stevie Wonder

• Mi Casa Multimedia
• Tonto's Expanding Head Band
• Virtual Synthesizer Museum's TONTO page
• Robert Margouleff Keynote Speaker for 129th AES Convention
• Safe Harbor Pictures