IMHO the Hammond B3 was as important to rock music as the Fender electric guitar.
Only with a “Fender guitar” you don’t need a moving van and four, big, guys to transport it.
The new, lightweight, electronic keyboard emulate the sound quite well, and they weigh only about 30-50 pounds.
I agree 100%.
Yeah, but not just rock, it was also big in jazz, gospel, soul, funk, even a lot of early heavy metal.
It’s kind of sad that they faded out, but anyone can get a cheap Stratocaster (or imitation) and tote it around with them, while Hammonds get rarer and more expensive and you need to also buy a van or station wagon to get it to a gig. Sure, you can get good synthesizers nowadays but even the best synth falls short of a real Hammond.
You bet it was.