Al Bell was in the Stax recording studio in Memphis at the very moment Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed just a few blocks away. Ironically, the recording Al was produci...
Hedges Capers rose to fame in the late 1960s as half of the folk rock duo Hedges & Donns. He and his singing partner, Donna Carson (who was later his wife for several years) began sin...
Willie Chambers and his brothers fell in love with gospel music while growing up singing in church. Even though they received some strong criticism, they expanded the places where church ...
Joe Chambers was inspired by his older brother George to play guitar and write songs. The brothers, Joe, George, Willie and Lester, formed The Chambers Brothers and began singing gospel m...
Buddy Collette changed music in more than one way. As a noted reed man, he played jazz along some of the greatest players in history including his boyhood friend, Charlie Mingus. Buddy wa...
Christy Coobatis is a college music professor whose amazing musical journey includes playing professionally before he was a teenager, beta testing guitars for Leo Fender, and helping to c...
Fat Dog is the founder of Subway Guitars in Berkeley, California. Since the 1960s, the store has become a hub for musicians to gather to discuss everything from politics and human rights...
Clifton “Fou Fou” Eddie began his career as a big band and jazz drummer but soon discovered he has the skills for the blues and pop music. He has played with the likes of The Dells, Patt...
Preston Epps was the percussionist who had a top 20 hit recording in 1959 entitled "Bongo Rock." The success of the song led to additional recordings and concert tours that forever tied ...
Joan Fox was just 15 years old when she met her future husband, Maurice. His parents started a music store in South Carolina, Fox Muisc House, in which Joan would work for many years. She...
Walter Fuller played trumpet for Earl “Fatha” Hines when Earl, a pianist, formed his first big band in 1936. Walter gained fame as trumpet player and singer on several of the band’s hit r...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Lena Horne was a popular singer and actress who was dedicat...
McKinley Jackson’s impressive discography includes his studio work as a trombonist as well as his songwriting and arranging for Motown, Hot Wax and other labels. His band, The Politicians...
Myno Jackson grew up surrounded by music. Her father was the jazz bassist Chubby Jackson who played with Woody Herman, had a hit children’s television program, and toured with Louie Armst...
Chuck Jacobs played bass in Kenny Rogers’ band for more than 40 years and enjoyed every minute of it. His roots in music go back to the Dixieland group his family formed while he was too ...
Ronnie Laws, the younger brother of jazz luminary Hubert Laws (interviewed in 2018), exudes a soulful resonance on the tenor saxophone, yet his musical journey has predominant
Keith LeBlanc was one of the first drummers who used his funk music background to create beats that helped popularize hip-hop music. Keith was there in the beginning and while working for...
Ketty Lester sang several ballads while in a recording studio in Los Angeles in 1963, under the assumption that the point of the session was an audition to explore her musical range and s...
Ramsey Lewis had a monster hit record with his jazz version of "The In Crowd." The song, which is considered to be the quintessential instrumental jazz hit of the 60s, led to a series of ...
Joyce Moore has been encouraged by many friends and family members for years to write a book. After her NAMM interview, we concluded the same thing. Joyce was there when Jackie Wilson rec...
Jason Mraz has won the hearts of millions by the way he expresses himself musically. During his NAMM Oral History interview, Jason displayed that same passion as he recalled the important...
Tom Paxton spoke eloquently about the role folk music played during critical events in American history, such as the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s for which he was involved with. Tom...
Phil Ranelin stood in line at school to pick an instrument for band. He really wanted the saxophone but when he got to the head of the line all the saxophones were gone and he was given a...
Vernon Reid was among the founding members of the cutting edge and influential rock band Living Colour. The band helped break the color line in hard rock music by showcasing an all-black...
Tommy Roe wrote most of the hit songs for which he is best known, such as "Dizzy," "Sheila," "Everybody" and "Sweet Pea." Each were hit songs in the 1960s and were part of the early days ...
David Sancious always had records playing in his home growing up and his dad would take him to jazz clubs when he was just a child to sit by the stage so he could see the piano player. As...
Boden Sandstrom is the founder of Women Sound and a pioneering audio engineer who helped define the sound of the women’s music movement in America beginning in the 1970s. She was on hand ...
Pete Seeger was the American folk icon who made it a personal goal to bring peace to the world by getting people to sing! His role in the folk music movement, beginning in the 1930's, fo...
Billy Taylor was first and foremost a jazz pianist. This fact might surprise some people who knew Billy best for one of a number of other careers he enjoyed in music, including teaching, ...
Joe Wilder endorsed many musical products during his long career as a trumpeter. In the later part of his life he was very satisfied with the Buescher horns, but had a collection of other...
Dr. Craig Woodson has had an incredible and impactful journey in music, a journey which continues. Earning his Ph.D. from UCLA in music with a specialization in ethnomusicology, music edu...
Benjamin Wright is the renowned musical arranger and composer whose talents can be heard on landmark recordings by the likes of Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, and OutKast...
