Betty Bennett was inspired to pursue a career in music when she was brought along to gigs by her mother and was allowed to sing with her. After Betty’s first paying gig, making 50 cents f...
Max Bennett was among the jazz world’s most percussive bass players. With a strong knowledge of drums, he explored and helped design the rhythm of jazz of the 1970's and 80's in the pre s...
Harry Benson became the president of William Lewis & Son when the company was under the ownership of Chicago Musical Instrument (CMI). Harry’s guiding principles resulted in the expan...
Dr. Leo Beranek is considered by many to be the father of concert hall acoustics. His amazing career has not only traced the growth of acoustic measurement but has documented it in a seri...
Arne Berg always thought of himself more as an inventor than an engineer, but nevertheless, his forward thinking and creative designs led to a number of successful products in the pro aud...
Lou Berger was an energetic piano salesman in the style of the old piano traveler of a by-gone era. In fact, what Lou knew about selling pianos he learned from some of the old timers when...
Marilyn Bergman grew up very close to her future husband in Brooklyn, New York. This may provide some insight into their magical partnership both as a couple and as one of the most celeb...
Lee Berk’s father had a unique approach to teaching music, bringing the passion and fun of music making into the classroom. The Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, was founded with th...
Byron Berline established the Double Stop Fiddle Shop in Oklahoma back in 1995. The store became a major hub for musicians which bought and sold a great number of both vintage and new in...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Memo Bernabei led a popular society orchestra during the gr...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Johnny Best started off learning the piano but switched to ...
Charles Bickel was working on the bench at Selmer when George Bundy decided to try a different plastic emulsion for his idea of a plastic clarinet. The first try was not successful. Mr. B...
Miriam Bienstock was one of three founders of Atlantic Records, which set the stage for over 60 years of recordings of primarily black artists. In the early years this was one of the only...
Paul Bierley was a leading expert and author on the life and music of John Philip Sousa. A passionate fan of band music, Paul noticed several elements of Sousa’s career that were not docu...
Larry Biernacki opened the first of three music stores in Deerfield, Illinois. Like with all three locations, he named it after the local community to provide a neighborhood feel to each ...
Zeb Billings opened Billings Pianos in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1956 beginning a long and celebrated career in the music industry. With great success as a retailer, Zeb branched out into ...
Terry Bingley was a leader in the Canadian Music Products Industry for several decades. He began his career when he formed a music retail store before working with Yamaha and, later, serv...
George Bishop had the idea of bringing the Canadian music industry together in 1971. With the help of some friends, the Musical Instrument Association of Canada (MIAC) was established not...
Hal Blaine was perhaps the most recorded drummer from the California recording studios of the 1950s-'70s. His influential style can be heard on more than 170 number one hit songs and 450...
Jerry Blavat was a DJ and radio broadcaster with a lot of energy! Also known as “The Geator with the Heater” and “The Big Boss with the Hot Sauce,” Jerry started his career on the origina...
Graham Blyth began playing music at the age of 4 and studied electrical engineering in college, which led to his final paper on the topic of electronic organs. While writing the paper, Gr...
Crane Bodine’s father, Elmer, was a piano man who formed a retail store in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1933. When Crane was 17 years old, he began working in the store. In 1962, he took ove...
Jerry Bongard enjoyed playing music since he was a kid. Along the way he became eloquent in his explanation of the benefits of music making and the passion music can add to your life. Jer...
Ernie Borr was a band director from Mandan, North Dakota who was an early supporter of the Eckroth Music store. Ernie was on hand for the Eckroth Music Center's 40th anniversary party in...
George Borun began his luthier endeavors as a hobby and soon found himself enthralled with the angles, the woods and the tools of the trade. He embarked on a mission to assemble the bluep...
Bob Boss was encouraged to pick up an instrument at a young age by his parents and quickly gravitated toward the guitar when he received his first electric guitar: a Sears Silvertone for ...
Jim Botti always had a passion for music education and in fact taught most of his life. In 1958, after he met Jim Kaplan, the two opened a teaching studio that would grow into a music st...
Bugs Bower was one of the great characters of music publishing that helped re-direct the industry following World War II. Before and during the war, Bugs was a musician and arranger who p...
Garrett Bowles was always interested in computer technology, music and library science, so it came to no surprise to his family that Garrett found a way to combine the three fields long b...
Ed Boyer began working for Yamaha Corporation of America in 1983 with a focus on the band and orchestral products. With a strong background in retail, Ed developed long-lasting partnershi...
Theo Boylan hailing from a quaint town 80 miles from Chicago, cultivated her musical prowess from an early age, immersing herself in the exciting realms of piano and oboe performance. Her...
