Sammy Ash was named after his grandfather, the founder of the Sam Ash Music Company in New York City. Like his grandfather, Sammy had a deep passion and understanding of the music busine...
Dan Strait moved his family to Austin, TX,from Houston to open a Baldwin piano franchise back in 1963. The company was called Strait Piano and Organ and Dan’s motto was “Where customers b...
William Bartolini and his wife, Patricia, are among the world’s foremost experts on the science of acoustics. Their early publications on the subject in the 1960s and 1970s have since bec...
Joe Calato was the inventor of the nylon-tipped drumstick, who turned the small idea of preserving his favorite sticks into an industry success story. He formed Regal Tip to produce his u...
Gordon B. Peters spent decades performing, teaching, and composing for the percussive arts. He worked to provide meaningful tools to students and teachers alike while keeping his techniqu...
Bobby Feldman wrote three hit songs in the 1960s that are still being played and recorded today. His songwriting began at a desk in the Brill Building in New York City. He formed several ...
Betty Meyer and her husband, Ted, decided that their teaching salaries were not enough to raise their family in the early 1960s so they decided to open a music store. It turned out to be ...
Robert Neu grew up in the Cincinnati area and went to work for Baldwin Piano Company on August 2, 1946, right after World War II. In fact, Bob started out as a time keeper to keep track o...
John Allegrezza began working in the piano business in 1957 and soon discovered he had a real passion for the business and the people. In 1981 he opened his store, Allegrezza Pianos, in R...
Robbie Robertson was a member of the rock group The Band, which backed Bob Dylan and went on to record a string of hit songs, many of which Robbie wrote. During his NAMM Oral History inte...
Robert J. Jones traveled on a tour bus with his father and sang gospel music together for many years as the Song Fellows. They recorded for Homeland Records in Nashville and performed aro...
Rusty Richards would like to point out the distinction between Singing Cowboys and Cowboys that sing. He was very much a cowboy, having roped, rode in the rodeo and worked as a ranch hand...
Ross Cole was inducted into the Australian Music Association's Honor Roll in 2017 for his life long career in music education. In 1978, Ross and his wife Marilyn opened Cove Music and lat...
This audio only interview was conducted by David Schwartz and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Tony Bennett, the legendary jazz and pop music singer, provided his thoughts about ...
Ronnie Drumm had a full and fulfilling life in music! As a child he picked up the trumpet, which he played during his time as a big band leader, musical director and educator. Ronnie work...
Richard Boynton had many fond memories of the music industry. His grandfather was once the owner of CG Conn Musical Instruments in Elkhart, Indiana. In fact, Mr. Greenleaf purchased the c...
Lori Supinie was an active music maker since she was a child. Throughout her life she provided music and music lessons to others as well as being a strong leader within the music products...
Jerry Ash recalls his father, Sam Ash, giving him a pocketful of change and sending him off on the subway to New York City to pick up the sheet music orders from the publishers. With nick...
Keith Alexander played the important role of Director of Operations for the Los Angeles-based swing band, the Big Band Alumni. The band, whose leader is Bill A. Jones, was established in ...
Jerry Masters grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he heard his mother playing piano in church as far back as he could remember. After serving in the US Army, Jerry formed his own rock...
Ray Benedetto and Gene Garb were interviewed together in connection with the 50th anniversary of NEMC (National Educational Music Company) at the NAMM show in 2007. Ray, the president and...
Bobby Osborne is the mandolin/guitarist who teamed with his brother to form one of the most beloved duets in bluegrass music history. The Osborne Brothers recorded several key songs for ...
Jim Whitehill provided a very important overview of the products and politics of the Norlin Music Company, which was originally named Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI), when Mr. M.H. Berl...
Jesse McReynolds was one half of the popular country and bluegrass duo Jim & Jesse. His late brother made up the other half, which by the way was once called Jesse & James, a name...
Janet Faulhaber always had a special interest in the sheet music department of the Ward-Brodt Music Company in Wisconsin. Janet and her husband purchased the store and expanded the produc...
Loren Zimmerman owned Byerly Music in Peoria, Illinois during the 1970s and 80s and is credited for being among the first music retailers to have locations in shopping malls. When he pur...
Floyd Newman is among the most noted studio musicians from the early days of Stax Records in Memphis. As a saxophonist, Floyd became an integral part of the studio band at Stax Records kn...
Janice Goodman shared the history of the music products industry with music lovers of all ages as a docent for the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, California. Among ...
Dr. Carlton Young has had a most interesting career as an editor and arranger of church music for hymnals and for music publishers such as Hope Music. His passion for church music began ...
Johnny Clark was a sales rep for the Slingerland Drum Company for nearly his entire career. He began working for the company when the founder’s son, Bud, was president and served under ev...
Yukio Sakurai studied photography and art at the university in Tokyo before his uncle asked if Yukio would come to work for him. His uncle was the founder of the Japan Music Trade Magazin...
John Musselman enjoyed a long and successful career in the music industry with Selmer, Leblanc and American Way. His zeal for the industry and understanding of international markets prove...
