Manfred Mann

Manfred Mann, born on October 21, 1940 in Johannesburg, South Africa, is a renowned musician and one of the world's best Moog players. He began playing piano at the age of 5 and later moved to the UK in 1961 due to dissatisfaction with his home country. Initially hired by Mike Hugg for his band, which eventually became *Mann-Hugg Blues Brothers*, Manfred Mann signed a contract with EMI in 1963 and renamed the band *Manfred Mann*. Throughout the 60s, they achieved a string of pop hits before disbanding in 1969 despite their commercial success.

In that same year, Mann and Hugg formed *Manfred Mann Chapter Three*, an Jazz-Rock oriented group that released two albums but disbanded in late 1970 due to lack of success. Turning towards Rock music, Manfred Mann then created *Manfred Mann's Earth Band* (MMEB) in 1971. The band's sound was defined by his exceptional use of the Moog synthesizer. MMEB experienced great success during the mid-70s and early-80s before disbanding in 1987 as Mann grew frustrated with trying to produce hit records.

Mann subsequently embarked on a project called *Manfred Mann's Plain Music*, focusing primarily on Native American Indian music and releasing one record. In 1991, he reformed MMEB