Birth name Okie Duke Role Keyboardist Name Farley Parkenfarker | Years active 1978 - present Occupation(s) Keyboardist | |
 | ||
Albums Farley Parkenfarker Plays Elvis (Remastered) Origin Lehigh Valley, United States of America | ||
Farley Parkenfarker is the stage name of keyboardist Okie Duke. Best known for his 1978 recording, Farley Parkenfarker Plays Elvis, which he performed on a highly modified Hammond B-3 organ.
Technology
The modifications to Parkenfarker's Hammond B3 organ were extensive, not only integrating features from Hammond's X-77 transistor organ, but also a highly customized "percussion boost", built-in phaser effect and 8 audio outputs. Perhaps even more remarkable was its custom reed system, which allowed Parkenfarker to play up to 15 different keyboards or synthesizers directly from his modified organ.
This functionality, which predated MIDI by several years, was designed by organ tech Bill Beer of Keyboard Products in Los Angeles, CA and was claimed by Parkenfarker to have been "studied very closely by Japanese engineers from [the] Roland Corporation" in their development of the now ubiquitous Midi protocol.