4 Rock Organists Who Were Instrumental to the Sound of Their Respective Bands

When you think of the typical rock band setup, it’s understandable if the first thought is guitar, bass, and drums. Having a keyboardist as a steady member of the outfit isn’t all that common, although some notable exceptions pop up through rock history. In these four instances, the gentlemen in question did a lot of their damage on the organ as steady members of their bands. They also helped to define their band’s respective sound with their work on the instrument. Let’s look at a few of rock’s most valuable organists.

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Ray Manzarek of The Doors

The Doors emerged from the West Coast with a unique combination of hard-driving, psychedelia-tinged music and Jim Morrison’s ominous poetics. Most people focused on Morrison’s flair for the dramatic (as well as the occasional controversies that he stirred up). But Ray Manzarek’s flashy organ playing went a long way to setting the sound of The Doors apart from their rock peers. Their big hit “Light My Fire” devoted a long sequence to Manzarek’s furious solo. “Break On Through”, another of the band’s seminal songs, featured Manzarek’s funky theatrics on the instrument. He established himself as one of rock’s first dedicated keyboard players, and the standard he set still looms large.

Garth Hudson of The Band

The Hawks, who would eventually become The Band, had to convince Garth Hudson to join the group by telling them he could give them music lessons. That’s how accomplished he was, even in his early years. By the time The Band started releasing their magical records, Hudson’s organ work was teaching lessons in beauty and brilliance to legions of rock fans. There’s a reason that Robbie Robertson was able to stick to a kind of minimalist approach to his guitar fills. He knew that he could always leave it to Hudson to provide all the instrumental colors that the songs needed. The image of Hudson, his eyes closed, his head nodding, and his beard waving as he played is one of the most indelible associated with this marvelous quintet.

Benmont Tench of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

When he signed his record deal, Tom Petty was supposed to be a solo act. But he understood that his songs were better served if played by a bunch of old friends. Mike Campbell often took center stage in terms of the instrumentalists within the Heartbreakers with his dexterous work on electric guitar. But Tench’s keyboard work, subtle but unmistakable, often set the emotional tone for Petty’s work. As much of the rest of the rock world turned to synthesizers, Tench mostly avoided the instrument (although a song like “You Got Lucky” displays how good he could be on synths). Instead, his organ lurked in the open spaces of Petty’s taut songs, never overly showy but always right on the mark.

Steve Nieve of Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Elvis Costello put The Attractions together on the fly in between his first and second albums. The guy he chose as keyboardist had a last name that was pronounced as you would the word “naïve.” And it was fitting, because Steve Nieve was barely out of his teens when he joined the band. Yet he immediately made his mark with the vivid sounds he produced with his organ work. Costello’s early songs with the Attractions are marvels of maximalism. There are a lot of words and plenty of instrumental flourishes, many by Nieve on his instrument (although few by Costello himself on lead guitar). It’s impossible to imagine the Attractions’ sound (or that of the Imposters, Costello’s later band) without Nieve’s virtuosity and soul.

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