Larry Taylor joined the rock/blues band Canned Heat in 1967 just before the band’s string of hit recordings. The gig came after nearly 6 years as a recording artist playing both guitar an...
Jack Martin was a leading piano sales rep for Wurlitzer from 1959 until 1963. Although he spent most of his career in the music industry it was those four years that Jack cherishes the mo...
Aspen Pittman grew up in the 1960s as a student of the folk music movement. He studied the art form and performed on every type of string instrument there was to play. During high school ...
Harvey Vogel was having a difficult time finding and purchasing quality percussion instruments and accessories for his daughter Lauren while she was in high school. He decided to do somet...
Betty Lee co-founded Tom Lee Music in Hong Kong with her husband in the early 1950s. In the beginning, Thomas Lee kept his full time work as an English secretary at a textile company whi...
Joe Cardinale played jazz bass in clubs and theaters all around New England. He created his own trio and studied at what would be Berklee College of Music. He joined the wholesaler Harris...
Ellen Cavanaugh brought her innovative business ideas and skillful communication and marketing concepts to expand the historic brands that make up the Super-Sensitive Musical String Compa...
Tommy Moore was introduced to the music industry by his father, Woods Moore, who operated Ault’s Music store in Fort Worth, TX. After earning a degree in finance, Tommy returned to the st...
Susan Brailove was the director of Oxford University Press and later formed her own music publishing company. With a tremendous understanding of the role of the music editor, Susan publis...
Dave Bartholomew was a noted bandleader, trumpeter, and songwriter who captured a pioneering sound known as the “big beat” of rock and roll. His uncanny ability to provide the perfect mus...
Dr. John became the unofficial ambassador of New Orleans music by showcasing the mystic and voodoo rich traditions of southern Louisiana, which has become the backdrop to many Mardi Gras ...
William Dunkley and his wife Dorothy co-founded Dunkley Music Stores in Boise, Idaho. In addition to taking the trade of organ and piano sales out of the store and into the truck to their...
Richard Janda specialized in repairing stringed instruments. It was also something he enjoyed very much. During World War II he was trained to repair the band instruments for the U.S. Mil...
Russell Thomas was a band director for over 34 years. During his teaching years he often felt frustrated that simple repairs would take weeks and often delay concerts or rehearsals. A l...
Kevin Becka started playing guitar at 11 years old and aspired to become a famous guitar player. Eventually realized he had a passion for engineering while working on construction crews b...
Charles Walter was a pillar in the piano business for nearly 60 years. He was hired by the C.G. Conn Company to work in the piano design department back in 1964. While there he worked und...
Manny Lopez was known around the world as the King of the Cha Cha Cha for his 1950s band and hit records dedicated to the dance craze, but Manny’s musical career was far more than just th...
Preston Epps was the percussionist who had a top 20 hit recording in 1959 entitled "Bongo Rock." The success of the song led to additional recordings and concert tours that forever tied ...
Parham Werlein followed in the footsteps of his father, grandfather and great-grandfather as president of Werlein’s For Music in New Orleans, Louisiana. Like his predecessors, Parham also...
Gary DeShazo began his musical career as a Texas bandmaster and then worked with James Caldwell, the founder of Caldwell Music. With a great understanding of the educators’ needs, Gary so...
Johnny Eberle was passionate about sound recordings ever since he was a small child. Developing a love of audio engineering and it’s rich history, John became an expert and a well known ...
Shiro Arai was the founder of Aria Guitars, a Japanese electric guitar company that gained great international success in the wake of the Beatles invasion—both in America and Japan. Mr. ...
Don Mozingo was a teacher in a small schoolhouse for over 20 years and among the topics he taught was music. His love and passion for music can be traced to his parents and, as a child, ...
Harry Rosenbloom was the founder of Medley Music and one of the true pioneers of import relations with the Japanese beginning in the late 1950s. He developed and maintained key partnershi...
Morris Diamond sat down with us for his NAMM Oral History interview at the age of 97 and recalled his career in music which started when he was 15 years old. He was hired to be the “band ...
Joyce Porras was hired to work at Reynald’s Music Store for two weeks in 1946, to help with the Christmas holiday rush. She continued to work for the company until it was sold in the 1980...
William Heese had a reputation like no other in the music publishing world, a reputation well deserved. Bill was not only a mainstay in the industry for over 40 years, he was a tireless p...
Kurt Glaesel was born into a violin-making family, which dates back to 1720, but it was Kurt who made his family name nationally known. After a noted 20 year career with Heinrich Roth, Ku...
Dick Dale was the King of the Surf Guitar whose driving style redefined instrumental music in the early 1960s. His music conjures the mood of the era so successfully that many of his tune...
Bob Hazard was a very familiar face in the Memphis music retail market for over sixty years. His piano and organ business played an important role during the boom of home organs during th...
Hal Blaine was perhaps the most recorded drummer from the California recording studios of the 1950s-'70s. His influential style can be heard on more than 170 number one hit songs and 450...
Jim Slutz served as the Professor of Music Business at Indiana State University before his retirement in 2004. Former NAMM President Mr. F.D. "Bud" Streep from Orlando was the first perso...
