He was best known for his association with Todd Rundgren, the singer,
songwriter and producer. It was Mr. Rundgren who announced that Mr.
Klingman, an original member of his band Utopia, died on Nov. 15 in
Manhattan. He was 61.
Mr. Klingman lived most of his life out of the limelight, though he and
his groups, most recently the Peaceniks, had long been part of the New
York music scene.
As Mr. Klingman’s health declined, starting with bladder cancer, Mr.
Rundgren summoned him and the other original members of Utopia to play a
series of concerts. They had not played together in more than 30 years.
They are continuing their tour to help pay Mr. Klingman’s medical
expenses. Information on survivors was not available.
Mr. Klingman produced and played keyboards on “Buckets of Rain,” Ms.
Midler’s duet with Bob Dylan of the Dylan song for her 1976 Atlantic
album, “Songs for the New Depression.” “Friends,” also known as “(You
Got to Have) Friends,” a song Mr. Klingman wrote with Buzzy Linhart, was
a hit for Ms. Midler in 1973.
Original compositions included on Mr. Klingman’s own first album,
“Moogy” (Capitol, 1972), were later recorded by Carly Simon, Johnny
Winter, James Cotton and Thelma Houston.
Mark Klingman was born on Sept. 7, 1950; sources differ on whether he
was born in New York City or Great Neck, N.Y. His nickname from
childhood, Moogy, had nothing to do with the Moog synthesizers he
played.
As a youth Mr. Klingman developed a distinctive style of piano playing
informed by boogie-woogie and jazz, and by the time he was 16 he was
spending more time in Greenwich Village than in high school. He formed a
rock group and sat in with top musicians, including Hendrix.
In 1968 he played on the soundtrack for the Jane Fonda science fiction
film “Barbarella.” He met Mr. Rundgren outside the Cafe Au Go Go in
Greenwich Village that same year.
Mr. Rundgren and Mr. Klingman built a recording studio, Secret Sound, in
Mr. Rundgren’s Manhattan loft. When Mr. Rundgren formed Utopia in 1973,
he used members of Mr. Klingman’s band, Moogy and the Rhythm Kings, as
the core.
Mr. Rundgren was scheduled to produce a “super session” in 1969
involving Mr. Clapton, Mr. Beck, Dr. John, Linda Ronstadt and other
musicians. But after Mr. Rundgren’s manager refused the payment offered,
Mr. Klingman, at 18, took on the project and found himself supervising
his musical idols. The effort led to a single album, “Summit Meeting,”
and a double album, “Music From Free Creek,” both released in England in
the 1970s. The musicians used pseudonyms on the album. Mr. Clapton was
“King Cool” and Mr. Beck “A. N. Other.”
In a 2001 interview with the magazine Heavy Metal Mayhem, Mr. Klingman
said he had approached the sessions dreading that someone would say,
“Who are you, Sonny, to tell us what to do?” No one did. “I knew when to
back off,” he said.
Article on Moogy in Keyboard Magazine! Moogy Klingman, On Fighting Cancer with Music
Mark “Moogy” Klingman has been a part of rock ’n’ roll history for
more than four decades. As a loyal sideman to Todd Rundgren on some
of his most celebrated albums, Moogy tackled a wide variety of piano,
organ, and synth parts on classics like “Hello It’s Me,” “Sometimes I Don’t
Know What To Feel,” “Utopia Theme,” and “The Ikon.” As a founding
member of Utopia, he was at the forefront of progressive rock, with a style
deeply rooted in funk, boogie-woogie, and jazz. He co-wrote Bette Midler’s
signature song “Friends” and produced her album Songs for the New
Depression, which featured her duet with Bob Dylan, “Buckets of Rain.”
Klingman has never stopped playing all over New York City, but a
recent diagnosis of an aggressive form of cancer has given him a new
outlook on life and a supercharge of energy. In February, the original
lineup of Utopia reunited for two sold-out shows at the Highline
Ballroom in New York to raise funds for his treatments. Klingman was
overwhelmed with emotion, playing with musicians he had not seen in 30
years. He credits music as a major part of his recovery.
How did you get the nickname “Moogy?”
My real name is Mark, and my original nickname was Marky. My little
sister used to mispronounce it, and that’s how I ended up with Moogy.
It’s coincidental that I ended up playing the Moog synthesizer in Utopia.
What made you decide to play piano?
I saw the movie Rhapsody in Blue, and of course, the opening music was
George Gershwin’s composition of the same name. The next day I started
playing piano. Utopia’s song “Freak Parade” was based on Rhapsody in
Blue. Two of my biggest influences are Gershwin and Aaron Copland.
There are similarities in the way you and Todd write on the piano.
How did that happen?
We were both listening to a lot of Laura Nyro when we were 18 and 19;
specifically, we both learned a lot from listening to her album Eli and the
Thirteenth Confession. We went on to influence each other greatly.
Who are some of your piano influences?
Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, Bill Evans, Art Tatum, Bud Powell, and Keith
Jarrett, who I studied with.
What were some of the classic keyboards you used in Utopia?
The Fender Rhodes, Minimoog, Univox Mini-Korg, a Hammond L-100
organ, Sound City Piano, an RMI Keyboard Computer and Rock-Si-
Chord, a Clavinet, and a Yamaha Grand in the studio.
How did you prepare for the Utopia reunion shows?
We rehearsed ten times without Todd and three hours with Todd. I think
it came out rather well.
How did it feel playing the long sets?
Music eliminates all the pain from the battle with “the big C.” Music is a
real pain reliever. Music is magical. I’ve been going through operations
and treatments, and I felt no pain onstage. It was a real rebirth, but it’s a
shame that it had to take the form of a fundraiser for me.
What’s next for you?
More Utopia shows, I hope. I have a band called the Peacenicks that plays
a few times a month, and now I’ll be doing some shows with the Utopia
Brothers, which includes John Seigler and Kevin Ellman. I have to play a
lot because I don’t know how long I have left in this world. Ultimately, if
I can hang around for a few more years it would be amazing. But if I go
soon, I have to say that it was a miracle that I could do these shows, and
every show will be a miracle.
New!
Moogy & The Rhythm Kings ~ Utopian Dreams
Tracks:
1. Intro, 2.Midnight Train, 3. Stranger, 4. Dust in the Wind, 5. Heaven
on Earth, 6. Gimmie that Bread,
7. Welcome To My House, 8. You Can Love, 9. Cryin' In The Sunshine, 10.
Kilpatrick's Defeat, 11. the Man at Ease,
12. I'm A Ram, 13. Makin' The Rounds At Midnight, 14. Raised On An
Island, 15. Do The Slop, 16. Acapella Hi
folks how are you doing, this is Moogy Klingman. This is my band's new
album and we just finished it this fall. We just got the Cds back from
the pressing plant 12/24/10. It's all songs I either wrote or co-wrote
and it's sung in three part harmony in shared lead vocals between
myself, barry Gruber and Patti Rothberg with Jim Satten's stinging lead
guitar and Mark Greenberg's incredible drumming, this 6 page digipack
is the thing to buy at Moogymusic.
Available
now!
The Peaceniks 2nd Album
New World Coming
The
Peaceniks at the P&G Bar, October 24th, 2010
Patti, Jim & Barry playing
CS&N Medley
Jim
playing New World Coming
Patti,
Jim, Barry, Cliff & Moogy playing Bring the Troops Home Now
Patti
Rothberg, David Lloyd, Jim Satten & Ian LLoyd
Cliff Hackford, Patti Rothberg & Ian Lloyd
after Ian sang
his song Brother Louie
Patti, Jim, Barry, Cliff
& Moogy
singing Obama on Mars
Patti, Barry & Moogy singing
Get Together
Patti
Rothberg
front: Barry, Moogy &
Patti; back: Jim
& Cliff
The
Peaceniks at the P&G Bar, April 17, 2010
Click on photos to enlarge
Barry Gruber
The Peaceniks
Moogy
Klingman
Mark Greenberg, Jim Satten, Moogy Klingman, Joe Henderson
The
Peaceniks
Barry
Gruber,
Jim Satten
Jim
Satten
Patti Rotherberg
The Peaceniks
The Peaceniks
Barry Gruber, Jim Satten, Joe
Henderson
Moogy singing
"Jimi in the Sky"
Mark Greenberg,
Moogy Klingman, Jim Satten
Barry Gruber
Patti Rothberg
The Peaceniks
Mark, Jim, Moogy, Joe
Barry Gruber
Jim,
Moogy, Joe
Barry,
Joe
Mark Greenberg
Jim Satten
The Peaceniks
Patti Rotherberg
The
Peaceniks
Marg, Jim,
Moogy, Joe
Barry
Patti, Barry,
Moogy
Moogy on YouTube
Alligator on my Trail
Let me just follow
behind
Barry Gruber and Moogy Klingman's band - the Peaceniks have
done many gigs in the New York area over the past year. Playing clubs
on the Lower East Side like Sapphire and the National Underground. They
have also played several big shows over the summer opening for Pete
Seeger at the Clearwater outdoor concert at the Pier, and at the
Universal Peace
Day concert. They have also done many radio shows this past
summer including several appearances on WBAI's various shows and they
even did Joey Renolds show twice.
The Peaceniks have a new album out on Band Together Records called,
"Here come the Peaceniks".
MOOGY KLINGMAN is the co-founder of the Peaceniks, along with Barry
Gruber.
Moogy was the original keyboardist for Todd Rundgren and Utopia. He
played on 10 Todd Rundgren albums, as well as several Utopia albums.
Moogy co-wrote “You gotta have Friends” with Buzzy Linhart. He produced
and played keyboards for Bette Midler on her "Songs for the New
Depression".
Moogy played keyboards and produced a record for Bob Dylan - "Buckets
of Rain" - a duet Dylan did with Bette Midler. He was musical director
and associate producer, as well as keyboardist on "Music from Free
Creek", an album where Moogy played and recorded with Eric Clapton,
Jeff Beck and Keith Emerson among others. He has also played live for
Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, Buzzy Linhart and in the 90's - with members
of the Allman Brothers/Gov't Mule and a summer tour with blues
legend, Bo Diddley.
Moogy has performed at many legendary venues with various groups. From
Carnagie Hall to Radio City Music hall from NYC's Bottom line to Live
radio concerts on WBAI FM and K-ROCK.
Moogy has had solo albums out on Capitol and EMI records, as well as on
his own label. Many artists have recorded Moogy’s songs including Bette
Midler, Carly Simon, Johnny Winter, Eric Clapton, Todd Rundgren and
Barry Manilow. www.moogymusic.com
BARRY
GRUBER is the co-founder of the Peaceniks, along with Moogy Klingman.
Barry is a guitarist, singer-songwriter and Peace
activist. His former band, Krazy Lyin’ released a CD “If the
Moon Could Sing”, and performed all over Seattle, including Seattle
Peace Concerts. In his career, Barry has performed in New York
, including the C-Note, CBGB’s, Elaine’s, Trudy Heller’s, the Bitter
End, and the Bottom Line.
As
president of Band Together Records, Barry has also been the Producer or
Executive Producer for several CD’s, including PF Sloan (author of Eve
of Destruction and Secret Agent Man), Peace Troubadour James Twyman,
Kimberly Bass, Afire, and jazz pianist David Arnay.
Barry is also the co-Director of
Universal Peace Initiative, an organization that puts on events
commemorating the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, turning a day of
horror into a re-affirmation of life. Pete Seeger, Peter Yarrow (of
Peter Paul and Mary), Odetta, Richie Havens, and others have performed
at these events. www.barrygruber.org
Jim
Satin - Lead guitar for the Peaceniks - Jim
did 14 years as Bo Diddley's band leader/lead guitarist. He also was
band leader for the Ron Wood band (of the Rolling Stones) for a year. He
has played for R & B greats, Ronnie Spector, Ben E. King, David
Ruffin & Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations, Sam and Dave, and
members of the Allman Brothers. www.jimsatten.com
Patti Rothberg - She is a rock legend in
NYC with a gold album "Between the 1 and the 9" and many hit singles
such as "inside" reaching the upper levels of the Billboard charts. She
has toured with some of rock's biggest stars and just put out a new
album this year. www.pattirothberg.com
About the
Peaceniks
The
Peaceniks are a rocking jamming band dedicated to peace, love,
great rockin' songs and a hippie jam vibe along the lines of the Dead,
Phish, the Allman Brothers and Gov't Mule (whom Peacenik Moogy use to
play with). Their songs are somewhere between the lyrical content of
early Bob Dylan, and the harmony sounds of the Beatles.
In the year since they have started playing and recording they have
done many shows, concerts and recently put out their first album, "Here
Comes the Peaceniks" on Band Together Records.
This
past September, The Peaceniks played at New York's premiere rock club,
BB King's. The concert on Sept. 9th, 2009 brought out hundreds of fans.
The Peaceniks opened the show and then backed up American Idol's
Sanjaya for a long set of his songs. In all, the Peaceniks performed
over thirty songs that night, either as Peaceniks or as Sanjaya's band.
Their skills as musicians were tested that night and they got an A plus
for their performances.
The
Peaceniks began writing and recording their songs for their first CD on
Band Together Records in the winter of 2008. Their album "Here Come the
Peaceniks" was released in the summer of 2009.
Over the summer of 2009 the Peaceniks held
court weekly at the hot Lower East Side music club owned by
Gavin Degraw, "The National Underground". Here, they played songs from
their new album and had a "Peaceniks Jam" that went on into
the night.
During the summer of 2009 the Peaceniks also performed at several
important peace concerts. Opening for Pete Seeger at the New York
Friends of Clearwater at Manhattan's Pier 23 in July of 2009. The
Peaceniks also opened for Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul & Mary)
at Universal Peace Day concert in August of 2009. The
Peaceniks started their career last summer, 2008 with an appearance at
Riverside Church for Universal Peace day, August 5th, 2008.
The
Peaceniks have also done several radio shows and concerts over
the last year. With two appearances on WOR radio's Joey
Renolds show performing their songs the summer of 2009. Joey
was so impressed that he invited them back. On WBAI 99.5 FM, they
recently did a two hour late nite concert on legendary free
form radio host, Bob Fass's radio show and also
recently appeared on WBAI's Cat Radio Cafe.
Bob Dylan and Bette Midler in Moogy's recording studio in 1975 -
working on Buckets of Rain, produced by Moogy Klingman and released on
the Moogy produced Bette Midler album, "Songs for the New Depression"
back in 1976. Unfortunately many of the songs that Moogy produced were
left off the album. (about 10 at last count!!). There is now an
international movement to get these trax released!
Sign the Petition for
demanding the release of the lost
Bette Midler Album that Moogy produced:
Moogy can produce your songs or co-write songs
with you. Play on your album project.
Moogy can get other singers to sing your songs and he can also arrange
them. Moogy can produce great masters of your songs with you
or
without you present (thru the mail). Please email Moogy Klingman at
Moogyking@aol.com with your project or idea and Moogy will get back to
you quickly with an answer and price estimate.
The
same years that Todd was with the Nazz, I
was with a group called the Glitterhouse. Now available at my website
is the CD "The Glitterhouse - the almost complete recordings, 1966 to
1975" - This almost forgotten group came mostly from my
hometown,
Great Neck. The drummer from Great Neck was good friend Joel O'Brien.
He later went on to play with James Taylor in the Flying Machine and on
Jame's first solo album for Apple records. Joel also played with Carol
King on many of her early albums including "Tapestry", the biggest
selling album of the early seventies.
The leader of the Glitterhouse
was Mike Gayle,
also from Great Neck. He wrote, sang and played lead guitar on most
songs. His greatness as a songwriter and musical force cannot be
emphasized enuff. ... More
It
was a good ole time of utopian dreams and Capitol schemes. It was a
time when I knew then, that you gotta have friends. Though a quarter
century away, the music still sounds vital today. Moogy & the
Rhythm Kings would meet a wizard named Todd and the musical sparks
would fly! Kings would soon turn Utopian. So here is a musical blue
print of these flying sparks, presented for your listening pleasure!
This CD includes all Moogy songs from his early days including rare and
previously unreleased material with many of your favorite musicians
including Todd Rundgren, original Utopia members Ralph Schuckett and
John Seigler and other rock legends such as Rick Derringer and Buzzy
Linhart
Bob Dylan and Bette Midler in Moogy's recording studio in 1975 -
working on Buckets of Rain, produced by Moogy Klingman and released on
the Moogy produced Bette Midler album, "Songs for the New Depression"
back in 1976. Unfortunately many of the songs that Moogy produced were
left off the album. (about 10 at last count!!). There is now an
international movement to get these trax released!
The
same years that Todd was with the Nazz, I
was with a group called the Glitterhouse. Now available at my website
is the CD "The Glitterhouse - the almost complete recordings, 1966 to
1975" - This almost forgotten group came mostly from my
hometown,
Great Neck. The drummer from Great Neck was good friend Joel O'Brien.
He later went on to play with James Taylor in the Flying Machine and on
Jame's first solo album for Apple records. Joel also played with Carol
King on many of her early albums including "Tapestry", the biggest
selling album of the early seventies. 
Mark “Moogy” Klingman has been a part of rock ’n’ roll history for
more than four decades. As a loyal sideman to Todd Rundgren on some
of his most celebrated albums, Moogy tackled a wide variety of piano,
organ, and synth parts on classics like “Hello It’s Me,” “Sometimes I Don’t
Know What To Feel,” “Utopia Theme,” and “The Ikon.” As a founding
member of Utopia, he was at the forefront of progressive rock, with a style
deeply rooted in funk, boogie-woogie, and jazz. He co-wrote Bette Midler’s
signature song “Friends” and produced her album Songs for the New
Depression, which featured her duet with Bob Dylan, “Buckets of Rain.”
BARRY
GRUBER is the co-founder of the Peaceniks, along with Moogy Klingman.
