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 ...
Fred Morgan was one of the few GI’s, returning home from World War II, who were accepted to the Conn School of Musical Instrument Repair the first year it started. The year was 1946 and F...
Dale Miller was just 27 when he decided to open a music store. The year was 1974 and it was the first of many firsts for the passionate guitarist who enjoyed working with others to bring ...
Jesse McReynolds was one half of the popular county and bluegrass duo Jim & Jesse. His late brother made up the other half, which by the way was once called Jesse & James, but th...
Ben McKlveen had a very colorful life as a service man during World War II and a piano technician who cared for the instruments of many top performers and orchestras. He played oboe in th...
Taylor Mackinnon grew up in a very musical family and his father played a key role in introducing Taylor to a variety of instrumental music. Taylor was a choral music major and earned a m...
A. A. (Sid) La Grandeur was trained in band instrument repair in Elkhart, Indiana before returning to Santa Barbara, California where he opened his own shop. The repair shop soon became a...
Ken Ingram served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Selmer Company in Elkhart, Indiana. He enjoyed working with the dealers around the country and the staff at Selmer, whic...
Colin Hilborne has stories to tell! As the drum tech for performers such as Faces and Elton John, Colin has seen his share of wild concerts and screaming fans! Behind those stories are th...
Leo Henrichs and his friend Raughi Ebert formed the group Tierra Negra to combine their love of flamenco and their passion for rhythms to create a fresh feeling to guitar music. They have...
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...
Ray Guntren is the president of Midbell Music in Iowa, a retail store he first began working at when he was a teenager. Over the years the chance came up for Ray to purchase the store, w...
Mark Goff was ready to work for a musical instrument manufacturer after college when he was told that he needed retail experience. Impressed with the idea and eager to learn all he could ...
Joe Glaser has always enjoyed taking a damaged guitar and repairing it to bring it back to playing condition. His passion for the craftsmanship of guitar repairs has made him one of the s...
Richard Fruhauf is the vice president of the company his grandfather established in Wichita, Kansas in 1910. Fruhauf Uniforms has become one of the long time suppliers of marching band u...
Kenny Fruhauf recalls with a smile the years he spent working with his grandfather, Lou, the founder of Fruhauf Uniforms in Wichita, Kansas. Lou built the business on creative designs, c...
Elaine Frizzell was an artist endorser for the Mosrite Guitar Company back in the 1960s. Over the years she became close friends with the company’s founders, Semi and Andy Mosley. She wit...
Ren Ferguson is among the most noted master luthiers in the United States and has been since the 1970s. Many luthiers who wish to follow his style of building have studied his approach to...
G. Frank Emerson is a piano designer whose roots are firmly based in piano technician training and experiences he was involved with in the early part of his career. He became a well respe...
Raughi Ebert along with Leo Henrichs had dreams of combining their love of flamenco-style guitar playing to form a duet and perform together. This dream became a reality in 1994 when they...
Karen Cuneo-Ramirez played piano since she was a girl and as she grew up, she began to teach piano. She was hired by Sherman Clay in Stockton, California, to teach piano after buying an o...
Hal Cowan studied business administration while playing music all through school. He loved playing organ and found himself in the company of fellow organ buffs as well as employees of org...
Jimmy Capps backed nearly every performer at the Grand Ole Opry as a house band guitarist since 1960! The list of artists he played with is nothing more than amazing and represents the gr...
Joe Calzone grew up playing drums. His passion for the instrument lead to his involvement with several bands and memorial concert performances before having the idea of creating his own ...
Wally Brooks grew up in the piano business. His father was a piano technician and Wally followed in his footsteps. Wally was 16 years old when he joined the Piano Technicians Guild in 195...
Ed Blasco was one of the best known organ salesmen in Kansas City during the 1970s. He worked for Sherman Clay, Jenkins Music and even ran his own store, Ed Blasco’s Conn Organ Center in ...
Allen Blasco began to smile during his NAMM Oral History interview when he spoke about how his mother and father met at Jenkins Music in Kansas City. His father was in charge of the music...
Glenn Axelton managed a few stores for the famed Jenkins Music Company in and around Kansas City before opening his own store in Manhattan, Kansas. Glenn’s Music soon became a music cente...
Craig Smith began piano lessons at the age seven and by the time he was twelve, was fascinated with the sounds of the home organ. He started demonstrating organs for Karnes Music at thirt...
Arturo Sandoval is the Cuba born jazz trumpeter best known for the 2000 film “For Love of Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story” in which Andy Garcia portrayed Arturo. Over the years he has ...
