Eric Siday

Who was Eric Siday?

Eric Siday was a composer and musician. While most commonly known for his pioneering work in electroacoustic music, his early career was that of a hot-jazz violinist in the London dance bands in the Roaring ’20s, including Ray Starita's Piccadilly Revels. Even then, as a young violinist, his improvised soloing style was amazingly advanced for his era. He played with a remarkably modern chromatic style, verging on atonal, often incorporating multi-stops.

In 1939, he emigrated to the US. He was the first composer to systematically utilize electro-acoustic sound potential within the television medium, particularly with his invention of the sound logo and the Musical Rorschach test.

His now-legendary Maxwell House "Percolator" TV commercial was one of these first innovations. He also commissioned Robert Moog to create the first percussion synthesizer, which he used extensively in his television work. Among his other contributions to the use of electro-acoustic music in television were numerous station IDs and commercials, including that of the National Educational Television network, the 1966 CBS "in color" bumper, the news sounder for the ABC Radio Networks, and the 1965–1976 Screen Gems/Columbia Pictures Television logos.