Bill (the Buddha) Dickens became a performer/inventor when the speed of his funky bass lines allowed him to do more than the traditional four string electric bass would allow. Working wit...
Rob Cook’s name is very familiar to those interested in vintage drums and the companies who produced them. As an author and publisher Rob has penned a series including “The Slingerland Bo...
David Cockerell designed one of the earliest synthesizers produced in the United Kingdom. The Synthi was introduced in the late 1960s by EMS Ltd. The unit, which came in a case with a KS ...
Ravi Shankar was called the Godfather of World Music by his long time friend George Harrison. Ravi’s role in bringing Indian music to the world was the beginning of many musical exchanges...
Abigail Ybarra was hired to work in the Fender factory back in 1956; just years after the famous electric guitar company released the Stratocaster. She conveyed in her interviews that the...
Speedy West was inducted into the Pedal Steel Guitar Hall of Fame as one of the instrument’s most innovative performers. He was able to apply his unique style to country, jazz, and popula...
Morton Subotnick composed one of the earliest and most important works of electronic music. When his album “Silver Apples of the Moon” was released in the late 1960s, it represented an en...
Artie Shapiro played the double bass during the golden era of the big bands. His approach to the bass was steeped in the tradition of his classical background. Studio orchestras soon hire...
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...
Horst Mucha was one of the most recognizable faces within the music products industry. As a past president of Hohner and a pioneer in the expansion of the company’s product line, Horst tr...
Lloyd McCausland worked with Remo Belli when the famed Hollywood drummer began creating his own line of synthetic drumheads in the late 1950s. Lloyd became a fixture at the company and wa...
Max Mathews was working as an engineer at the famed Bell Laboratory in 1954 when he was asked to determine if the computer Bell was designing could create music. The landmark Music 2 and ...
Jimmy Martin came to the door the day of his interview in nothing but his boxers. He exclaimed, “Was that today!? Well, come on in, let me go get my teeth” and so started one of the most ...
John Majeski Jr. was appropriately given the AMC Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 for a long career as editor of the Music Trades Magazine. During John’s era, the Beatles came to Americ...
Claudia Keith and her husband, Joe, are, together, one of the legendary couples of the print music business in the United States. As owners of the Music Mart in Albuquerque, NM, the Keith...
Del Casher has an impressive scrapbook full of photographs from his career as a professional guitarist and inventor of music products, such as the early guitar effects called the Echo-Pho...
Bob Benedetto is a guitar luthier’s luthier! Respected around the world, Bob has achieved what few have in guitar craftsmanship: a unique style and sound, creative and classic design, and...
Jim Beloff and his wife, Liz, formed Flea Market Music to promote all things ukulele, and together they have played a big part in the resurgence of the instrument. The company is widely k...
Cham-Ber Huang designed one of the best-known classical harmonicas in the world. His instruments are used in most classical works and by those who recognize the skillful design and qualit...
Tom T. Hall loved telling a good old country story, you know the ones with a twist at the end and plenty of references to beer and fishin’. When he set those stories to music he helped la...
Maurice Fox loves selling organs to area churches. In fact, even after a retirement from the presidency of Fox’s Music in Charleston, South Carolina, (his son now holds that position), he...
Clora Bryant was billed as the female Louie Armstrong in the era of the Ed Sullivan variety show. Her raspy-voiced imitations were a big favorite among viewers but the gimmick often over-...
James Moody and his saxophone graced many NAMM Shows over the decades and was a good friend to many within the industry. He was often seen strolling the show floor and encountering frien...
Gregor Zielinsky has been a sound engineer for years, so when he tells you about the correct microphone for any given performance, you should listen. Along with his passion for and knowle...
Tedd Waggoner began his career in the music industry in 1969 and soon joined the Selmer team. Tedd worked in most of the positions for the company but found his greatest satisfaction whe...
Steve Vai is a man that could be described as a planet that revolves around a star named Music. His life is ever entwined in an orbit that includes composing, transcription, performance, ...
Harold Smith ran the Baldwin factory in Greenwood, Mississippi and became president of the famed piano company in the 1980s. In addition to the task of improving production and working co...
Tony Schmidt was the very first volunteer of the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music (located in the NAMM building) to provide 1,000 hours of service. As a kid, he saw Duke Ellington...
Del Roper performed the xylophone for several society big bands, playing on radio with Xavier Cugat in the early 1930s. Del was later a powerful force in studio orchestras and developed a...
George Roeder played the flamenco guitar and sang in Barber Shop Quartets ever since he was young. While he was taking lessons from Evelyn Breu, he took a liking to the retail business –a...
