Happy birthday Bob Moog, creator of the Moog synthesizer, the device that made it possible to make every song sound like a science-fiction classic. Moog’s invention was such an important milestone in modern music that Google has dedicated their homepage to the keyboard with a creative play-it-yourself “Doodle Synthesizer.”

A Theremin salesman at 20 years old in 1954, Bob Moog eventually created the first modular synthesizer in 1963. One year later he began taking orders for his creation.

Modern day bands that are vocal about their love of Moog synthesizers include Franz Ferdinand, MGMT, Passion Pit, Stereolab, Brian Eno, Blur, The Cure, The Cars and Depeche Mode.

In an interview during Moog Fest, appropriately located at the Moog factory in Asheville, North Carolina last November, Anthony Gonzales from M83 explained his fascination with the instrument. “I have a love for vintage synthesizers, and this is how it all started. My love of synthesizers is coming from my childhood. And since this moment, I’m obsessed with synthesizers because it looks beautiful and it has a sound of my childhood memories. I don’t think I can ever get rid of this. The history of the bands that played with Moog… they’re timeless.”

-Zack Nechvatal CBS Radio Chicago / Jay Tilles, CBS Local