Dave Smith was the founder of Sequential Circuits and inventor of the polyphonic synthesizer, the Prophet 5. Dave was also the designer and original pioneer of MIDI (musical instrument di...
Thom Bresh was a Grammy Award nominated country music singer and guitarist. In the early part of his life, Thom worked as an actor and stuntman. He gained stage presence early on, acting ...
Ivan Peykov grew up in the music business as his father formed a company to make traditional Bulgarian instruments. After attending college with a focus on engineering, Ivan returned to ...
Mark Dronge was the President of DR Strings and a veteran of the music products industry, having been involved since he was four years old in his father’s retail store! Mark recalled the...
Emerson DeFord was a master craftsman who as a builder designed a number of flutes ranging from student models to professional instruments. As a businessman, he formed a number of well-br...
Guitar Shorty was born in Houston with the name David Kearney, but found fame with his nickname in the blues world beginning in the 1950s. He grew up in Florida, where he began playing g...
Jack Bullock has always enjoyed bringing music to young players. His long and well-respected career as a composer of works for bands and his method book established him as one of the lead...
Rick Turner was well known for his innovative handcrafted guitars and for pioneering the resurgence of American luthiers in the 1960s and 70s. With an ear for quality sound and an eye for...
Al Jensen began his musical career at the age of 13 playing clarinet in a Vaudeville show. That is, he played until his parents found out where he was playing. His band director convinced...
Scott Lombardo worked in the music products industry since he was fourteen years old! His passion quickly developed after hearing The Beatles three years earlier. He would drill holes and...
Roland White played the mandolin as far back as he could remember. Influenced by the Bluegrass and Country Music he heard as a boy, Roland created his own unique style, which has been a m...
Vera May was the matriarch figure of the iconic Australian acoustic instrument maker Maton Guitars. Wife of the founder, Bill May, Vera worked in the business from 1954 until her retireme...
Franz Mohr was the chief concert technician for Steinway and Sons for many decades. During his long and colorful career, Franz worked on the pianos of many of the great pianists of his ti...
Ed Hamrick enjoyed playing the drums ever since he saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. From that moment on, he played drums and in the early 1970s established his own drum sh...
Wade Stewart entered the pro audio industry in the late 1960s when he worked alongside Bob Crooks, the founder of Standel Amplifiers. In the early 1970s he formed Wade Electronics and foc...
Lloyd Meyer was the president of Renner US, the world-renowned provider of piano keyboard actions. His long and productive career began with retail experience in Minnesota at the large Da...
Robert Petteruti sat in the showroom of Twin City Music in Providence, RI, for his NAMM Oral History interview. The showroom is in the store his father opened in the 1930s and within the ...
Sharon Brown was a teenager when she first began working for Ted Brown Music. While in high school she met and began dating the founder’s son, Warren. Soon she discovered she had a real...
Carol Jones-Zadel introduced new organs and keyboard products to music dealers around the world for over 50 years. Her sharp technical abilities made her a favorite with manufacturers and...
Conrad Janis played a music store owner on the hit TV sitcom Mork and Mindy. Conrad, who became a trombonist as a teenager, played Mindy’s father, the owner of a musical instrument store ...
Harry Gillum was interviewed for the NAMM Oral History program during the Stay-At-Home Orders for Covid-19 in June 2020. His interview was recorded on Zoom and captured his remarkable car...
Jacquelyn Dillon-Krass was a pioneering woman in the music products industry. As a music educator she first connected with the industry when hired by Scherl & Roth in 1970 to head up ...
Tom Lee is one of the most famous names in the Asian market of music retail. With Tom Lee Music stores all around Hong Kong and parts of China, his name has been synonymous with music si...
Clifton “Fou Fou” Eddie began his career as a big band and jazz drummer but soon discovered he has the skills for the blues and pop music. He has played with the likes of The Dells, Patt...
Sandy Nelson was among the small group of musicians who scored a top ten instrument hit record when he recorded "Teen Beat" in 1959. The song sold a million copies and paved the way for ...
William Kraft has dedicated his life as a composer to the world of percussion. With noted works and workshops, William has become an important part of the educational element of the Percu...
John Welch was the president of Sofia Violins, which is an American-made instrument company based in Indianapolis, Indiana. John’s incredible life in music began as a child when he was cl...
DJ Imperial JayCee first played records in the parks back in 1974. The world of Disco had created a career for DJ Kool Herc, a hero in JayCee's Bronx neighborhood, which inspired him to t...
Syl Johnson recorded a string of popular blues and R&B songs in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, which have been inspirational for generations of musicians. Soul, funk and Hip-Hop artists hav...
Hargus “Pig” Robbins became a member of the Nashville studio group of musicians known as the A Team. As a gifted piano player, Pig gained the attention of producers such as Owen Bradley a...
Mark Thomas was a noted flute player who toured the world and recorded several albums during his long career. As a product endorser, Mark appeared in several printed ads over the years a...
Don Wilson was a founding member of the instrumental rock band, The Ventures! He formed the band with his friend Bob Bogle. Shortly after their first hit, “Walk Don’t Run,” Nokie Edwards,...
