Lester Abrams is the songwriter who teamed up with Michael McDonald to pen the Doobie Brothers hit "Minute by Minute." As a teenager and playing drums, Lester's first band was the El Dor...
Hawley Ades was hired by Irving Berlin in 1932 to assist the legendary American songwriter with musical arrangements. Hawley stayed with Berlin for five years before being hired by choir...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Manny Albam was taught how to arrange jazz for a big band w...
Van Alexander co-wrote “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” with Ella Fitzgerald while both worked in the Chick Webb Orchestra back in 1938. The success of that song led to a job as arranger for Webb as ...
John Altman, the world-renowned composer, grew up in a musically rich family and found his own passion for music at an very young age. His uncles (Woolf and Sid Phillips) were successful ...
Jon Anderson is best known as a founding member of the band Yes. His musicianship, arranging and songwriting helped catapult the band to international fame with hit records and sold out p...
Cowboy Joe Babcock is a singer and songwriter whose career in country music spans over sixty years. As a vocalist he and Hurshel Wiginton formed a backup studio singing group called The N...
Hy Babit can be viewed on the 1966 TV tour of the NAMM Show in Chicago, which highlighted several key exhibitors to the show that year. Hy provided a review of the art of piano roll arra...
H.B. Barnum started his life off as a child actor, staring in TV shows such as the Jack Benny Show and the Amos n Andy Shows. Throughout his life, however, he had a fascination with the p...
Larry Batiste has served as the musical director for the TEC Awards for over 20 years. His love for music all started when his uncle’s piano arrived in his home while Larry was a child. H...
Larry Blank was greatly influenced by attending Broadway musicals with his parents as a kid. As a result he studied drama yet realized he wanted to be a musician. Larry played piano growi...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Bob Brookmeyer played trombone for several name big bands d...
Ed Calle is a saxophonist deeply rooted in Latin jazz. His musical journey began in junior high and high school, where he played in school bands and at his local church at just 12 years o...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Benny Carter was among the most creative jazz composers and...
Mark Casstevens has always had a deep passion for music. He sang in church choirs and began piano lessons at age six, eventually teaching himself guitar. In high school in Ft. Worth, TX, ...
Andy Clark is one of the great characters of the music publishing industry! Over the years, Andy has served as a musician, band director, arranger, composer, and publisher. With a keen se...
Dennis Coffey was a member of the studio musicians at Motown known as the Funk Brothers. Dennis recorded a string of hits with the group in the 1960s and 70s. He later joined the songwrit...
Kimo Cornwell was born in Hawaii and became a sought-after studio musician and sideman for several top local artists there, including Don Ho. After relocating to Los Angeles with his wife...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Frank De Vol was a noted arranger who took jazz to televisi...
Guy Desjardins was composing and arranging music as technology in musical instruments was changing. His adaptation of these developments resulted in his nickname of Mr. MIDI. He was hired...
Dennis Dreith was inspired and encouraged by several music teachers and professors during the early part of his education. A few of his college professors made special accommodations so t...
Walter Ehret was the music arrangers’ equivalent to Mel Blanc – the man with a thousand voices. Walter was the man with a thousand pseudonyms. Under his various names, he arranged for m...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Ray Ellis had a remarkable career as a songwriter and arran...
Barry "Foz" Fasman wrote over 30 songs for the NBC television series FAME, which resulted in the sale of over 4 million records and opened the doors to several other successful projects. ...
Brent Fischer has provided several presentations at the Hot Zone during the NAMM Show, providing his insight regarding the music industry. His career started as a young child listening t...
Stefano Galante is a recording engineer and producer who designed his own studio in his native Italy before moving to Montreal. Over the years, Stefano has witnessed many changes in the t...
Joe Guercio is best known for the 8 years he served as Elvis Presley’s musical director, beginning in Las Vegas in 1969. He formed the orchestra that backed Elvis and his band on every to...
Max Herman played his first professional music job at the age of 13. He enjoyed a stellar music career as the first trumpeter for many of the top name bands of the Swing Era. Most notably...
Jim Hughart was born into a family of professional musicians and is proud of the many musical experiences he had growing up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Right after graduation from the Univ...
Donald Hustad was an editor and arranger for the Hope Music Publishing Company for over fifty years before his retirement. His contributions to printed church music include 120 octavos, ...
Ernie Isley was born into a very musical family and grew up with his older brothers forming a group and singing gospel. When Ernie was 14 years old he played drums as a member of the fam...
