Jim Peterik was just a teenager when he joined a rock band and knew what he wanted to do when he grew up! He began writing songs and formed several bands including The Ides of March, whic...
Lindsay Petsch happily grew up in the guitar store his parents established in Atlanta, Georgia. He has many memories of sweeping up the store and helping unload boxes as a kid. He played ...
Steve Porcaro vividly recalls watching the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan television program in February 1964 and having the sense that his life would never be the same. After forming...
Porter Howell recalls with a smile that his piano playing mom strongly encouraged young Porter to play the guitar. He participated in choir and a school pop band called PT Express. Future...
Mike Post wrote many hit television theme songs including "Law & Order," "Hill Street Blues," and the "Rockford Files." His theme for the show "Greatest American Hero" was also a num...
Lloyd Price had no idea that his 1952 recording of "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" would become a cornerstone in the foundation of rock 'n' roll! Masterful piano playing by Fats Domino, perfectly tim...
John Primer was born in Camden, Mississippi, where he learned to play the guitar before moving to Chicago to play an important role in the city's blues culture. While recording Magic Slim...
Loretta Pritchard is a songwriter and composer who has had several of her works published, including those written for young students. She wrote her first piece when she was four years ol...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Tito Puente helped revolutionize Latin music, in particular...
Michael Puryear is the president of Final Four Music in Nashville, a music publisher that has worked with Amy Grant, The Oak Ridge Boys and Vince Gill, among many others. Michael’s caree...
Suzi Quatro was six years old when she saw Elvis Presley perform on the Ed Sullivan Show and had what she calls her “lightbulb moment,” knowing that was what she was going to do with her ...
Omar Quezada is a singer and songwriter from the Dominican Republic whose music is defined by its Latin essence and rhythms. His solo career began in 2016 with the release of his first si...
Brittany Quiroz grew up surrounded by music, and by four years old, she was already on stage with her mother’s band. They performed locally in New England and at special events, such as a...
Trevor Rabin was raised in a musical household, with a father who was a musician and he encouraged Trevor to play the piano at an early age. Later, his father gave him a guitar as a gift ...
AR Rahman can be thought of as the Quincy Jones of Indian Music! His love and passion for music began when he was exposed to electronic keyboards thanks to his father. He was proud to b...
Letty Jo Randell formed her own music publishing company, Letting Go Music, after having worked for Screen Gems and a company she formed with her then husband, Denny Randell. She began us...
Eddie Ray was the A&R man for Capitol-Tower Records and Imperial Records for many years. As a result he was instrumental in the careers of such artists as Fats Domino, Sandy Nelson, ...
Del Rey lives and breathes musical passion! Since she was a child she had the skills and desire to communicate through music and soon realized her playing brought happiness to others. The...
Rusty Richards would like to point out the distinction between Singing Cowboys and Cowboys that sing. He was very much a cowboy, having roped, rode in the rodeo and worked as a ranch hand...
Cindy Richardson-Walker sang backup on hundreds of recordings and sang in live shows with the likes of Garth Brooks, George Jones, Shania Twain, Alabama, and many others. Her understandin...
Herlin Riley is a native of New Orleans and a continuing link in the chain of great jazz drummers. Herlin was raised in a musical household by his grandparents and originally played the t...
Paul Riser Sr. was given important musical training when he was in school, which helped set the direction of his career as a trombonist and later as an arranger. He was hired as a trombon...
Lyle Ritz worked for a Los Angeles music store in the 1950s when his career as a studio musician began to take off. Lyle’s studio years were filled with numerous ground-breaking hits, man...
Johnny Rivers had a series of top hits as a pop singer beginning in the 1960s with records such as "Seventh Son," "Poor Side of Town" and "Secret Agent Man.” Within the music products ind...
Charylu Roberts has edited, produced, written and or designed over 700 music publications during her career, which seems to continue at the same breakneck pace it always has. With her own...
Robbie Robertson was a member of the rock group The Band, which backed Bob Dylan and went on to record a string of hit songs, many of which Robbie wrote. During his NAMM Oral History inte...
Smokey Robinson! The man changed popular music! He brought a common, streetwise approach to his lyrics, which were embraced by millions of people the world over who related to his messa...
Lee Rocker formed a punk rock style group that just happened to play rockabilly. The Stray Cats had a host of hit records, first in England and beginning in the early 1980s in the United...
Jimmie Rodgers was a popular singer and songwriter who topped the charts in the 1950s and 60s with recordings such as "Kisses Sweeter than Wine," "Oh-Oh, I'm Falling in Love Again," "Are ...
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 ...
Chan Romero made a significant impact on pop music in the late 1950s and early 60s by blending his Mexican and Native American heritage with rock and roll. He wrote and recorded timeless ...
Jeff Rona played a critical role in the coming together of the minds and companies that would agree on the MIDI specs back in the 1980s. The meetings took place at NAMM shows over several...