This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Jack Jones was the son of actors Allan Jones and Irene Herv...
R. Thomas Lockie’s grandfather started a small music store in downtown Los Angeles in the 1920s. The store was later owned and operated by Tom’s father who played “keep the store in busin...
Graham Blyth began playing music at the age of 4 and studied electrical engineering in college, which led to his final paper on the topic of electronic organs. While writing the paper, Gr...
Al Sturchio served the Texas Bandmasters Association for over 25 years as director and also as president. His passion and unbelievable energy has been a large part of the success of the a...
James Goldberg grew up in Washington DC and was a journalism major in college, which led to jobs as a writer for newspapers. He later received his law degree at George Washington Univers...
Owen Clayton began playing the double bass while in school. At the time, he had to stand on a box to play, but he didn’t mind at all because he enjoyed the sound of the instrument and it’...
Takeshi Inomata was the noted jazz drummer who, among other things, helped design the first percussive instruments for Yamaha. His work with Yamaha took place during the early 1960s when...
Chuck Dadisman grew up on a farm and went to school to become a school music teacher, which he did for five years before moving to Omaha, NE, where he worked in piano and organ retail. I...
Hisatake Shibuya took great pride in developing music education opportunities for students wishing to bring music into their lives. By forming music schools in Japan and later opening the...
John McLaren Sr. served as the president of BBE Sound, which develops pro audio gear. The company purchased G&L Guitars and has been dedicated to keeping the spirit of the founders an...
Chip Owen was the product specialist at Fox Bassoons who helped engineer a series of instruments for Fox over the years including the Fox Model 900 Contrabassoon, which was first introduc...
Jeff Lee was the president of Resurrection Drums in Hollywood, Florida, a mecca for percussionists for miles around. Jeff was one of the most passionate members of the music industry you...
Sam Mosley and his friend Bobby Johnson played music together as teenagers in and around their hometown in northern Mississippi. Together the team formed a successful band and songwritin...
Gene Kornblum’s father formed the famed St. Louis Music Company, which played a legendary role in the music products industry during most of the 1900s. As President beginning in the 1960s...
Walter Hutcherson began repairing guitars in the 1950s and was one of the first repairmen to work on Fender Instruments. He opened Walters Music Exchange in Austin, Texas, and soon gained...
Jimmy Gilmer was born in Chicago, but spent his formative years in Amarillo, Texas. As a singer and guitar player, Jimmy gravitated across state line to Norman Petty’s studio in Clovis, N...
Dennis Houlihan played many important roles within the music products industry, all of which have been driven by his passion and love of music and music making. After years as a demonstra...
Jack Long co-founded the Long & McQuade music stores in Canada beginning in 1956. At the time, there were few supplier/dealer relations between Canada and the United States. Establish...
John Hornby Skewes was the founder and president of John Hornby Skewes Company Ltd, a noted music wholesaler located in England, which was established in the early 1960s. John was also o...
Bill Hesterman has always been fascinated by the pipe organ. He studied piano and organ as a child, and with the good fortune that one of his teachers was an organist for the Mormon Taber...
Lyndell Thompson was delighted when her two sons, Phil and James, came to her and her husband with a new idea for their Nashville-based leather company. The year was 1978. Until that poi...
John Nady began experimenting with wireless guitar systems as early as 1968, driven by a desire to liberate musicians from the constraints of cables. By 1976, he introduced the Nasty Cord...
Joe Chambers was inspired by his older brother George to play guitar and write songs. The brothers, Joe, George, Willie and Lester, formed The Chambers Brothers and began singing gospel m...
Ron Rowe served as president of JW Pepper following the tenure of his dear friend Dean Burtch. The two men were not only incredible business partners, they were close personal friends. ...
Peter Janis played in school orchestra and rock bands growing up as his mother played piano in the home and encouraged him to pursue music. His first job in the industry was working at S...
Jim Progris attended the Berklee College of Music back in 1956 and witnessed firsthand the development of the school’s courses and programs over the years. He returned to the school to te...
Danlee Mitchell was destined to live a life of music. Raised by parents who were both accomplished musicians, he began his music studies at a very early age. His life took a strange and w...
John Mayall was an enduring voice on the modern blues scene since the early 1960s. Mayall is a self-taught musician well-versed on guitar, harmonica, and piano. Following art school and m...
Jerry Miller was a founding member of the innovative and influential ‘60s rock band Moby Grape. His roots in music go back to his grandfather, who was a famous violin maker in Sweden. Whe...
Jerry Fuller recorded a Rockabilly version of “Tennessee Waltz” which was a favorite of Elvis Presley and gave Jerry extra status among Elvis and Rockabilly fans alike. Yet it was his ski...
Happy Traum began his musical career in the 1960s, greatly influenced by the folk movement that had gripped the culture in America. He and his late brother, Artie, helped establish a New ...
Harry Fleishman was the founder of Fleishman Instruments located in Northern California and has become among the most noted luthiers of his time. His passion for music developed in part ...
