Robert Johnson served as a sales manager for Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI) when the company first acquired the noted violinmakers William Lewis & Son. As a salesman, he worked clo...
Paul Johnson formed one of the early surf bands in Southern California during the golden era of instrumental music. As a guitarist and songwriter, Paul performed and recorded in the days ...
Merle Johnson was a past president of the famous EK Blessing Company in Elkhart, Indiana. Emil Karl Blessing opened a small brasswind valve company in 1906 and soon expanded his products ...
Gary Ingle is the CEO of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA). As a music educator, Gary sought to bring teachers together in ways that could benefit the profession as well as t...
Jack Hotop was among the innovative engineers at KORG during the early synthesizer craze, creating the first MIDI workstation, the KORG M1. During his long career at KORG, Jack has teamed...
Paul Hagen grew up in England playing a number of musical instruments including the bassoon, piano and flute. He was part of the National Youth Band and, although he studied engineering i...
Gary Grimes played a very vital role in the early part of his career, working in the music education department at Wurlitzer. Gary wrote many of the training programs for Wurlitzer as wel...
Gene Gray was a sales rep for the mighty Wurlitzer Company from 1965 until 1988. During his NAMM interview, Gene spoke first hand of the great family feelings many had while working for t...
Günter Graulich is the founder of the German music publisher, Carus. The company was established in 1972 with the mission to publish sacred choral music. Since it’s founding, the focus of...
Betty Gore, along with her husband, established Pender’s Music Company in Texas. The retail store is only one part of the company, as her husband Harold sought to find and publish every m...
Elmer Gibson has served the music products industry for over 38 years as the insurance rep for the NAMM membership. Elmer has worked closely with the NAMM management and members to provi...
Larry Garris is the founder of Corner Music in Nashville, Tennessee. Located in the heart of the country music region, Corner Music has become the place to purchase the latest gear and to...
John Galante was the accountant for the Story & Clark Piano Company beginning in the late 1950s. John oversaw the growth and development of the piano industry during those years and w...
Bob Furst was a veteran of the piano industry for over 50 years, Bob sold nearly every brand of player, upright and grand piano that you can think of. Over the years he also became an exp...
C. Darby Fulton’s father opened a music store, which seemed the perfect place for Darby growing up. He enjoyed the business and worked with his father as the company grew into 26 location...
Larry Fresch has worked by day as a sales manager for piano and organ companies and by night as an accomplished saxophone player and singer in Southern California. He grew up in Sandusky,...
Wolfgang Förster’s family-owned piano company was formed in 1859 by August Förster, who opened a small piano workshop in "Löbau, Germany. Wolfgang grew up in the family business and recal...
John Felice likes to say he was in the right place at the right time when he opened a Hammond Organ dealership in the 1960s. As the home organ market began to take off John had the staff ...
Keith Emerson was the British rocker who in the early 1970s helped define live performances on electronic musical instruments such as the modular Moog. He gained fame as a musical compose...
Vernon Drane played several musical instruments growing up in Tennessee including the trumpet and saxophone. He later studied instrument repair and spent 68 years (!) working with the Amr...
Dave Campbell grew up in a household full of music, with both grandmothers being piano teachers and his father a professional piano player. With such a strong musical background, it was n...
Dean Burtch was a past president of the world famous music publisher and retailer JW Pepper. The company was formed in 1876 and was purchased in 1941 by a group of businessmen headed by H...
Lynn Wheelwright has always been fascinated with the guitar, especially the craft of building the instrument. After performing as a teenager, he developed many of his luthier skills from...
Stephen Stern was born a wood craftsman. In fact, growing up his two passions became building furniture and playing the guitar. When he had an opportunity to put both together in the earl...
Dan Smith was inducted into Fender’s Hall of Fame for good reason. Dan designed the re-launching of the famous guitar company after it was sold by CBS. Dan’s vision was to bring the produ...
Money Mark grew up fascinated with music and musical instruments. He read all he could about the latest keyboards and synthesizers, which were becoming popular during his childhood. In hi...
George Hanson’s father was hired by M. Steinert and Sons, the piano dealer in Boston, in 1900. Forty years later George would help his father out after school and on weekends to earn some...
Frank Green opened his first music retail store in Southern California in 1959 and called it Music For Everyone. He began working in the music industry some 12 years earlier as student en...
DJ Fontana drove down to Houston in a pink Cadillac with Elvis Presley after being hired as the then unknown singer’s first drummer. They pulled up to Herbie Brodstein’s Drum Shop (Herb w...
Lloyd Fillio grew up in the band instrument capital, Elkhart, Indiana. His father worked in the industry as did his uncle and cousin (Ernie Kenaga who was also interviewed). It seemed nat...
