From: Dik de Heer 
Date: Sun Nov 2, 2003 2:34am
Subject: Born To Be With You : Maximilian
 
MAXIMILIAN (MAX CROOK)

Born Maxfield Doyle Crook, 2 November 1936, Lincoln, Nebraska

Max Crook was an electronics wizard, the inventor of the Musitron
organ, which can be heard prominently on Del Shannon's megahit
"Runaway", jointly written by Shannon and Crook. Max created this
hybrid synthesizer in 1959. On his website, Crook tells us: "I built 
the Musitron out of a variety of things. A clavioline was part of it, 
but I also threw in some resisters (too early for transistors), tubes
from television sets, parts from appliances, and other such household
items". 
By the time Crook was fourteen, he had already built his own studio.
He released his first (instrumental) single in 1959 with his college 
band, The White Bucks, on Dot (Get That Fly / Orny). In that year
he met Charles Westover, the later Del Shannon, who asked him to
join his band as keyboardist. Crook's musitron became the centerpiece
of the combo. The next year Del signed a management/recording deal
with Irving Micahnik and Harry Balk's Embee Productions in Detroit 
(they also handled Johnny and the Hurricanes, for whom Max wrote
"Mr. Lonely", the B-side of "Ja-Da"), which led to Shannon's first
recording session in August 1960. The two ballads, "The Search" and
"I'll Always Love You", were considered too slow for single release
(they later appeared on Del's first LP) and Shannon was encouraged 
to come up with a beatier number. During a live set, Crook hit an
unusual chord change on the organ one night, going from A-minor to
G, and Del and Max developed the lick into a song, which became
"Runaway".
In January 1961, Crook and Del Shannon travelled from Michigan to 
New York City to record four tracks at Bell Sound Studios, which
would be issued as two Bigtop singles. Del's tracks were "Runaway" 
and "Jody", while Crook recorded the two instrumentals, "The Snake"
and "The Wanderer", with Balk and Micahnik as producers. Crook's wife, 
Joann, remembers that they were short of people during the session:
"Harry [Balk] had Shirley [Westover, Del's wife] and I stand in and our
clap hands on "The Snake". They wanted one more handclapper and 
so they literally dragged some guy off the street. Some man came in 
and clapped on the number with us, and I guess he was paid $40 or 
something to do it."
Crook's website tells you all you ever wanted to know about the making
of "Runaway" and more. "The Snake", credited to "Maximilian", failed to 
make the Top 100, infectious as it was. But it was a hit in Argentina, 
where, according to Crook, it is still being played on the radio. 
"The Snake" was mistakenly put on the B-side of "Runaway" (as "Jody"
by Del Shannon), on approximately 1,000 record singles in the UK
(London HLX 9317) and also on the first French Del Shannon EP.
Maximilian's next two singles, "The Twistin' Ghost" (1961) and "Greyhound"
(1962) both made the Top 40 in Canada. Crook continued to write and record
instrumentals all through the sixties and seventies. In the 1980s he changed
his musical direction to that of gospel and spiritual music. He has recently
constructed a new studio beside his home in Deming, New Mexico, where
he now resides.

CD: Maximilan. Released in 2002 on his own label, ML-O-D Records.
25 tracks, including "The Snake", "The Wanderer", "The Twistin' Ghost"
and "Greyhound".

Website: http://go.zibycom.com/members/002222119/Site4/maxcrook.html