Yasuharu Mano’s grandfather opened a toy business in 1902 in Japan and by 1917 expanded to include a small line of harmonicas. Soon, the harmonica became in high demand and the company ch...
Tsutomu Katoh had many ideas for using electronics to improve the way people make music in their homes. As the founder of KORG, Katoh-san (also spelled Kato) was able to see his ideas tur...
Kazuo Kashio was president of the Casio Musical Instrument Company during the heyday of electronic keyboard sales. The company produced some innovative products during that time and conti...
Toby Capalbo formed La Habra Music in Southern California back in 1960. Over the years he built up strong relations with local band directors and created a popular lesson program. When ...
Leona Yousling was married to one of the most beloved members of the Wurlitzer Company team of the 1960s and 70s, John Yousling. John created many of the sales training classes, which he ...
Steve West took over his father’s store and went on to become an industry leader who served as president of the NAMM Board. Steve recalls the days as a boy running around West Music as hi...
Rose Wernes Drake traveled with her husband, Ivor, when he became the second salesperson hired for the Winter Piano Company following World War II. He often said the company got two for t...
Dee Vinton was known as Dancin’ Dee around the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music where she was a noted docent since the early 2000’s. Dee was fond of telling her tour groups that h...
Billy Vera spent 40 years waiting for overnight success, which came in the form of his 1985 hit song “At This Moment.” His road to overnight success is a very fascinating story that began...
Russ Turner opened his own organ repair company in the early 1960s in the early days of the home organ boom. He worked with all of the organ dealers in and around the San Francisco Bay Ar...
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...
Jay Schreiber is the General Manager for the Band & Orchestral Division of Yamaha Corporation of America. It is a fitting position as the horn player worked for some 12 years as a tra...
Rosemary Rodd is the president of Leo’s Pro Audio in Oakland, California, and a strong supporter of several key music industry advocacy programs designed to encourage music and music maki...
George Roberts is known in the jazz world for his recording of “Stella By Starlight” with the Stan Kenton Orchestra, which featured George on bass trombone. He is known among music instru...
Ikutaro Kakehashi, the founder of Roland Corporation, created more than a successful business with a host of important innovations in electronic musical instruments; he has also paid trib...
Charlotte Jansky and her husband Joe set off to fulfill his long time dream, owning a music store. They opened Allegro Music in Fremont, California, in 1960 much to the delight of Joe who...
Jerry Jackman is proud of the strong ties he has developed by providing choral and orchestral music to the LDS church in his native Utah. As a music publisher, Jerry has focused his effo...
Stuart Isacoff, a pianist and composer, is founding editor of the magazine, Piano Today, Executive Editor of Sheet Music Magazine and the author of the 2000 book Temperament: How Music Be...
Bud Isaacs designed a line of pedal steel guitars, teaming with fellow country music performer Shot Jackson to form the Sho-Bud Company. In his pursuit to create and develop new sounds fo...
Glenn Holtz was raised in the music products industry. His father, Ed, was a sales manager for Ludwig Drum Company. Glenn spent 9 years as Selmer District Manager then 2 years as Field Ma...
Don Hogue worked with Dr. Kent in the C.G. Conn Research Department. The historic lab created or improved many mathematical and engineering theories used in countless musical instrument d...
Karl Hirano was an electronic engineer for Yamaha in Japan during the great MIDI boom of the early 1980s. In fact, Karl was a member of the team that gathered at the 1983 NAMM Show to dis...
James Glanville was part of the team that relocated the Conn instrument manufacturing operations from Elkhart, IN to Nogales, Mexico, back in 1972. The result was a heavy blow to Elkhart,...
Paul Gentile has created a series of artwork in the form of miniature musical instruments. His art incorporates the passion and history in works such as the saxophone, violin and piano. ...
Marv Drucker spent his early career in New York playing all types of venues from showrooms, to hotels, dives, clubs and theaters, more than you can imagine. Such performers were referred ...
Herbert Deutsch was down in Robert Moog’s basement when the two men were redrafting the design of an electronic synthesizer in the early 1960s. Herb suggested that the modular unit with p...
Ellis Day was a familiar face to NAMM show attendees for several decades as the front line trombone player on the opening day’s Petiot All-Industry Marching Band performances. Ellis has h...
Madeleine Crouch always has an endless amount of energy. In the role of industry association manager, Madeleine took over the company established by Don Dillon, which offers organizationa...
John Connolly established the Connolly Music Company (originally Connolly & Co., Inc.) back in 1970. Best known for distributing such brands as Thomastik-Infeld and König & Meyer,...
Gene Chrisman was among the celebrated studio musicians from Tennessee who played on countless recordings and helped shape the Memphis Sound during the 1960s and 70s. Gene’s creative drum...
