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>They don't make them like that any more: the Yamaha DX7 keyboard

Greg Kihn Band Breakup Song with the unforgettable lyric, "they don't write 'em like that any more" did not use the DX7 at least because it was not available in 1981, but the keyboardist Gary Philips was known to use Minimoog, Prophet-5, Wurlitzer, Rhodes and Yamaha pianos with the band. In 1983 Gary Philips was an early adopter of the DX7. They don't make them like that any more either.




I didn't know how to play the keyboard but the DX7 was seen in so many music videos in the 80s that it became an object of desire for me. If I were going to learn how to play the keyboard, it was going to be on the DX7! To me it was the Lamborghini of keyboards. I had zero understanding of synths or even basic music theory. I just knew all the cool bands had a DX7 and I wanted to be like the cool guys on saw on MTV. We eventually got some cheap consumer keyboard from K-Mart which was completely forgotten by New Years Day.

As an aside, I find it's a bit weird how overlooked the Greg Kihn Band is in current 80s culture. It might not have been as big as Michael Jackson or Chicago but they were quite well known. Weird Al even did a parody of one of their songs but their cultural impact seems to have not survived as well as other acts of that era, which is a pity.


As an aside to an aside, Greg Kihn became a DJ for a classic rock station in the Bay area that I used to listen to. Even then I only know one of his songs.


Same, but in my case it was the Roland D-50.




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