Simeon Coxe has gone beyond the velvet rope.

 In the late 1960s, Coxe was a member of the Overland Stage Electric Band when he decided to incorporate the sound of a vintage oscillator into the music. He formed a new duo called Silver Apples with drummer Danny Taylor, and their debut self-titled album was released in 1968. The electronic rig of his own creation was dubbed the Simeon, and it featured 16 oscillators, foot pedals, telegraph switches, wah-wah pedals, Echoplexes, and more. Jimi Hendrix was a fan of Silver Apples, and Coxe jammed with Hendrix on “The Star Spangled Banner” prior to Hendrix’s iconic Woodstock performance.

Silver Apples were revived by Coxe in 1996. A new lineup featuring Xian Hawkins produced two albums in the ’90s: Beacon (1997) and Decatur (1998). In 1998, Coxe and Danny Taylor reunited the original lineup for live shows and a new album called The Garden. That same year, Coxe sustained extensive injuries in a car crash, including a broken neck. Taylor died in 2005, and Coxe continued to sample his drumming in subsequent Silver Apples performances. The last Silver Apples album was 2016’s Clinging to a Dream.

Evan Minsker

for Pitchfork.