Ray Edenton played guitar on hundreds of recordings as part of the famed Nashville studio band known as the A Team. He grew up in a musical family with his grandfather playing fiddle an...
Dave McLaughlin began his long career with Crown International as a part-time employee in 1968. He later went to college and earned an electrical engineering degree and returned to Crown....
Marty Sheller was the award-winning arranger and jazz trumpeter whose musical skills can be heard on hundreds of recordings. He worked with Mongo Santamaria for many years (yes, that is M...
Ramsey Lewis had a monster hit record with his jazz version of "The In Crowd." The song, which is considered to be the quintessential instrumental jazz hit of the 60s, led to a series of ...
Lucien Hut dedicated his entire career to teaching, selling, restoring and designing the piano! As a retailer he established Pianos International in Colorado. He later moved to Montana ...
Smoochy Smith was hired by Sam Philips at Sun Studios in Memphis to play piano on a few sessions in the late 1950s. Smoochy was being requested for record dates from both local performer...
Phil Thompson enjoyed working in the leather company his grandfather formed in Nashville. As a teenager Phil made himself a leather guitar strap in the shop, although the business at the ...
Theodore Johnson was playing in the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra when he began to think of ideas that would improve his clarinet's mouthpiece. Over time, he designed his own mouthpiece a...
Bill Larson served as a band director for over 35 years in Montana. When he needed the support from a music store to service his bands, he called on Eckroth Music in Bismarck, ND. Bill ...
Dr. Mable John played many roles for a wide variety of people. She was a singer, songwriter, arranger, producer, author, educator, leader, minister, mentor, and friend. Her career as a ba...
Joey DeFrancesco
Joey DeFrancesco single-handedly brought back the popularity of the Hammond B-3, beginning in the 1990s. Joey’s soulful approach echoes his heroes of the past such as Jim...
Beverly Grigsby was enrolled in medical school in Los Angeles when on the way home from class one day she stopped into a small music studio. There she met electronic composer Ernst Krenek...
Chuck Wackerman always enjoyed making music. As a child he took trumpet lessons and later fell in love with jazz. Chuck joined the United States Air National Guard after high school, and ...
Dan Miller grew up with music all around him and joined the school band the first chance he got. Dan was the first to admit how fortunate he was to have opportunities to go to many clinic...
Normalu Cooper was inspired by her piano teachers as a young girl so she eventually began providing lessons in her father’s piano store when she was a teenager. Like her father, Normalu w...
Kal David helped bring the Firebird to the blues! The famed electric guitar was not widely used for the blues until Kal began playing it in bands in and around Chicago. He was a founding ...
Bob Olsen often said because he did not play a musical instrument yet had a successful career in the music products industry that he was “a vegetarian in the business of prime meat.” The ...
Bill Pitman was a first call studio musician in Los Angles who played on a string of hit records and award winning motion pictures. As a member of the Wrecking Crew he played on the Beach...
Jesus "Jet" Fernando opened a small music retail store with his wife, Elizabeth, in their native Philippines. Elizabeth grew up in her parent's store across town and knew the business sid...
Lamont Dozier was one of the most successful songwriters in popular music history. From 1962-1967 he teamed with Brian and Eddy Holland to write a string of impressive hit records for Mo...
Larry Biernacki opened the first of three music stores in Deerfield, Illinois. Like with all three locations, he named it after the local community to provide a neighborhood feel to each ...
LaRoy Edwards was the celebrated piano technician who began his long association with Yamaha back in 1961, the year before the company officially entered the United States market. Along t...
Mike Lang was a well-respected keyboardist who can be heard on over 2,000 movie scores and countless studio recordings over his long and successful career. He worked with composers such ...
Florence Sachs was very active in community organizations, especially those with a focus on continuing education. When she heard about the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music she sig...
Keith Jorgensen opened a piano-focused retail store in the Salt Lake City area that would grow to 13 stores in three states! Keith Jorgensen's Music stores were all run by Keith until hi...
Ralph Sordyl believed in music! Having started a music repair business in his living room while teaching music, Ralph grew the company, Sordyl’s House of Music, to one of the best known i...
Mary Ellin Barrett was the oldest of Irving Berlin’s three daughters and the author of the 1994 book, Irving Berlin: A Daughters Memoir. During her NAMM interview she and her sister Linda...
Jerry White and his brothers all played musical instruments growing up on their family farm in Wisconsin. Their father was a professional musician who played in popular dance bands. Jerry...
Dave Wintz has always enjoyed designing musical gear, whether it be guitars or pickups. His passion lies with creating a product that will provide any musician with the opportunity to ad...
Tommy Morgan played a significant role in elevating the importance and reputation of the harmonica in television, recordings, and motion pictures. Over his 63 year career, Tommy contribut...
George Holden was the president and co-founder of Smith-Holden Music Store in Bloomington, IN. As a music teacher George partnered with a close friend who sadly committed suicide soon aft...
Jim Darby was the band instrument salesman who formed Capital Music in Montgomery, Alabama, and who built a customer base both in school band programs as well as among the elderly. Jim’s ...
