Chronology of Early Electronic Music (1956-1971)
 

I am a dedicated student of the history of electronic sound, and wanted to offer a few key recordings for anyone interested in exploring this history further.

This is the music of the future.

Compilations:

http://i.imgur.com/Hz3JxuP.jpg

Manhattan Research Inc. - a wonderful 3LP set of electronic musique concrète by electronic pioneer, Raymond Scott. Humorous, engaging, and decades ahead of its time.

http://i.imgur.com/IRhNEbY.jpg

Various – OHM: The Early Gurus Of Electronic Music - one of the better compilations of early electronic sound, featuring Xenakis, Oliveros, Stockhausen, Cage, Eno, Varèse, and others

Original Recordings:

http://i.imgur.com/QRyh4fx.jpg

Louis & Bebe Barron - Forbidden Planet OST (1956) [released in 1976] - recently reissued, this is a monumentally important work of early electronic music.

http://i.imgur.com/6srzvPw.jpg

Edgard Varèse - Poème électronique and Ionization (1958) - written for the Philips Pavilion at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair and released on LP in 1960

http://i.imgur.com/BjdQw7U.jpg

Various - Columbia Princeton Electronic Music Center (1964) - an early release by the Center showcasing their experimental sounds

http://i.imgur.com/3qeUOwO.jpg

Karlheinz Stockhausen – Kontakte & Gesang der Jünglinge (1962) - a milestone of musique concrete

http://i.imgur.com/SQgpaAn.jpg

Max Mathews - "Bicycle Built For Two" (1962) - the three million dollar IBM 7090 mainframe was the very first computer ever programmed to sing, later inspiring the legendary scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

http://i.imgur.com/ZmCKIzi.jpg

BBC Radiophonic Workshop - Doctor Who Theme (1963) - if you don't know this theme, you aren't reading this right now.

http://i.imgur.com/uJ8oBhS.jpg

Perrey and Kingsley – The In Sound From Way Out! (1966) - space age bachelor pad music for the masses. The ladies love this stuff.

http://i.imgur.com/5KvrCbO.jpg

Morton Subotnick – Silver Apples of the Moon (1967) - one of the finest electronic recordings of its decade.

http://i.imgur.com/Te1nKpy.jpg

John Cage, Henri Pousseur, Milton Babbitt ?– New Electronic Music From Leaders Of The Avant-Garde (1967) - excellent examples of early experiments in electronic sound

http://i.imgur.com/6ZS6Xq9.jpg

Pierre Henry - "Psyche Rock" (1967) - the inspiration for the theme to Futurama

http://i.imgur.com/ZcRDtD2.jpg

Silver Apples - Silver Apples (1968) - one of the first groups to employ electronic music techniques extensively within a rock idiom

http://i.imgur.com/oy4fci6.jpg

Charles Wuorinen – Time’s Encomium (1968) - the first electronic composition to win a Pulitzer Prize for Music. Realized at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center in New York.

http://i.imgur.com/kWsNsih.jpg

The Beatles - "Revolution #9" (1968) - The Beatles' Revolver and the White Album, the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, and The Mothers' Weasels Ripped My Flesh albums each featured musique concrete tape loop effects. Perhaps none is more widely recognized than "Revolution No 9."

http://i.imgur.com/OlA8Tnk.jpg

The Nonesuch Guide to Electronic Music (1969) - the album introduced electronic music to a wider audience. Complete with a 16 page syllabus

http://i.imgur.com/C1NS9pk.jpg

George Harrison – Electronic Sound (1969) - fantastic, though side 2 was blatantly stolen from Bernie Krause

http://i.imgur.com/VFYRNPi.jpg

Charles Dodge – Earth’s Magnetic Field (1970) - With the assistance of three physicists, Dodge gathered data about the Earth’s magnetic field, fed the information into a computer, and had a team at Bell Telephone Laboratories convert the data into analog sound. This was one of the first examples of Computer Music.

http://i.imgur.com/jQVUx9k.jpg

TONTO’s Expanding Head Band - Zero Time (1971) - "The Original New Timbral Orchestra," the first, and still the largest, multitimbral polyphonic analog synthesizer in the world. This is the synth Stevie Wonder plays on "Superstition."

What do you think? Have I omitted any critically essential titles? Let me know!

I was about to bring up Poème électronique, Concret PH, and Gesang der Jünglinge before I realized they precede your starting date.
It's strange, I never realized Wuorinen wrote any electronic pieces. I know he's prominently known as a serialist (although apparently he doesn't like being lumped into that category). I've never taken the time to listen to anything he's written, which I guess in part is because I remember reading something a while back from someone I respect (can't remember who now, oddly enough) basically implying he was an antiquated old fuddy-duddy.

Lothar & the Hand People though.

Excellent works and certainly worthy of mention. I'm happy to amend the date range (if I can?) to accommodate these and other pieces mentioned by the group.

Lothar is another great one - "the first rockers to tour and record using synthesizers, thereby inspiring the generation of electronic music-makers who immediately followed them" and were produced by Robert Margouleff, (half of TONTO's Expanding Head Band.)

Zyrada, I've updated the post to include all original album art and added both Poème électronique and Gesang der Jünglinge as you suggested. Jünglinge is actually the second side of the original Deutsche Grammophon release of Kontakte - so you are right on the money!

Lejaren Hiller ‎– Avalanche / Nightmare Music / Suite For Two Pianos And Tape / Computer Music For Tape And Percussion

-1970

I have about half or more of those albums. Some I have never found on CD but vinyl only. Here is a thread I started some time ago that kind of ties in:

http://www.musicbanter.com/electroni...thesation.html

Larehip, it's a pleasure to know ya. It was, in fact, your very article which inspired my post. I plan to read every word of it this week. Thanks very much for your contribution!