Hammond Times Promotional Magazine 1953

Hammond Times was published by the Hammond Organ Company from around 1938 through at least 1962 (the last issue that I have personally seen is 1962).  Click on the link below to download the 12-page issue Vol XV, No. 11, from March of 1953.

HammTimesXV11

This is, of course, the Pre-Rock-Era.  The Hammond  Organ, long a staple of rock music, began its career as an instrument for churches that wanted a reliable, inexpensive alternative to pipe organs.   When you think ‘Hammond Organ,’ you probably imagine something like this:

…but, of course, this was not Hammond’s intention for these devices.  They were imagining something more like this:

The Hammond Organ’s incredible sound (owing in large part to the rotating Leslie speakers that often amplified it) was intended to be the sound of the heavens… the sound of the Lord.  What better way to bolster your Rock-anthem than with the Chords Of God.  It’s adaptation to RocknRoll was inevitable.