Virgil Fox was born May 3, 1912 in Princeton, Illinois to Miles and Birdie Fox, a farming family. He showed musical talent at a young age and went on to study Organ in Chicago with Wilhelm Middelschulte (1863-1943), and in France with Louis Vierne (1870-1937) and Marcel Dupre (1886-1971). He received an artist's diploma in 1930 from the Peabody Institute of Music in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1946 Fox became the organist at Riverside Church in New York City and gained acclaim for his hymn accompaniments during Sunday service. He then began to tour full time around the United States in 1970, performing his famous "Heavy-Organ" concerts in nontraditional organ music venues. Fox toured with a custom four-manual Allen Organ. His Heavy Organ concerts were comprised exclusively of the works of Bach and were accompanied by "Revelation Lights", a live, large-scale light show, projected on a screen behind Fox at the organ. The performance attracted audiences in the thousands, bridging the gap between organ enthusiasts and the general public. Fox died from cancer in 1980 in Palm Beach, Florida.