The zamphone (also known as the Hurdy Gurdy) is a strange medieval string instrument that sounds by the rub of a resinated wheel that spins by action of a crank and whose sound is modulated through a keyboard that gives a chromatic scale of two octaves extension. It has three main strings that carry the melody, and two or more companions that give a simultaneous sound; one serious and fixed at octave interval, and another acute at fifth interval. According to studies by some musicologists, the z

On this Day in Music History – June 11, 1966 Peace, love... and a knock at the door. Donovan, the psychedelic minstrel who brought us tunes like "Sunshine Superman," "Mellow Yellow," and today's feature, “Hurdy Gurdy Man,” became the first high-profile rock star to be busted by London’s newly formed drug squad. It wasn’t exactly a rock ‘n’ roll raid of mayhem and madness—Donovan and his girlfriend were quietly taken to Marylebone Police Station, booked, fingerprinted... and served a cup of tea.