Leon Theremin was born as Lev Sergeyevich Terman in Russia on August 15th of 1896. He died on November 3rd of 1993 at age 97.

He is was an inventor who is most well known for inventing the theremin in 1919.

The theremin is one of the earliest electronic music instruments. It is also the first musical instrument that was designed to be played without actually being touched. It is controlled by how the player moves their hands around the the theramin’s two antennae. One antannae is for controlling pitch and the other is for controlling volume.

Besides it’s use in movie soundtracks, the theremin has also been used in songs by bands such as Olivia Tremor Control, The Polyphonic Spree, and The Mars Volta.

Although it’s commonly thought that a theremin can be heard on The Beach Boys hit “Good Vibrations” - that was actually an instrument now known as an electro-theremin which was designed in the 1950s to produce a sound which mimics a theremin. Unlike an actual theremin, an electro-theremin is controlled with sliders.

Check out this example of a theremin in action:

That’s a cover of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” with the vocal part played on a theremin.

August 15, 1896, Gnarls Barkley

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