John Nady‚ the guy who made rock stars go cordless passed away about a year ago. He was the brain behind those wireless mics and guitars that let musicians move around freely on stage.
It all started when the Rolling Stones were planning a big US tour roughly 43 years ago. They heard about Nadyʼs cool gadgets and wanted something special: a 12-channel wireless setup so they could run all over their huge stage. Mick Jagger loved it so much he even stuck the mic in his pants while strutting around.
Nadyʼs journey to rock-and-roll fame began at his kitchen table in Berkeley. He was both an engineer and a musician‚ which gave him a unique perspective. At first‚ people thought wireless gear was too “Vegas“ for rock bands. But Nady didnt give up.
He figured out how to use FM radio waves for music‚ and it worked great. His own band‚ Chains was the first to try it out. People were so surprised‚ they thought it was fake!
We went rogue
By the mid-80s (about 40 years ago) almost every big band was using Nadyʼs wireless stuff. He helped out huge stars like:
- Madonna
- Stevie Wonder
- Bruce Springsteen
Nadyʼs life was pretty interesting too. He was born in Hungary but came to the US as a kid. He studied at fancy schools like CalTech and Berkeley‚ getting degrees in engineering.
His company kept growing‚ and he even got an Emmy Award for his tech skills roughly 28 years ago. About 5 years back‚ he sold the company heʼd built from scratch.
John Nady changed how we experience live music forever. He cut the cord and set the rock stars free