This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Kay Starr enjoyed a long and successful career as a pop sin...
Georg Steinmeyer was the factory supervisor at the Estey Organ Company in Brattleboro, Vermont. He joined the company in the years following World War II when he moved from Germany to the...
Henry Z. Steinway was quite articulate when speaking about the incredible history of the Steinway and Sons Piano Company. One could say that he lived all elements of being a Steinway as t...
Jim Stella began playing the trumpet in the fourth grade, continued through college, and attended instrument repair school immediately after. He began working for Leblanc in the Martin Ba...
TM Stevens was a prominent figure in the music industry, celebrated for both his design and endorsement of musical products and his illustrious career as a musician. His passion for encou...
Don Stewart was hired in 1957 by the famous composer Roy Harris to copy music – by HAND. Back in those days, the cost for plate engraving was too high and the music typewriters were not y...
Wade Stewart entered the pro audio industry in the late 1960s when he worked alongside Bob Crooks, the founder of Standel Amplifiers. In the early 1970s he formed Wade Electronics and foc...
John Stiernberg was active in the music industry for decades and provided services as a consultant that he developed from his experience and relationships. Before establishing his consult...
Chris Stone was one of the original founders of the famous Record Plant recording studios. With his background in finance, Chris was able to secure the funding that launched one of the mo...
Henry Stone wanted to record musical artists that were not able to sign deals with the large record labels of the late 1940s. As a result, Henry found a string of artists and provided th...
Harold Stone served the music products industry in many ways over a long and celebrated career. After working in a music retail store (Mays Music), Harold joined the CG Conn Company where...
William Stonier always stressed the importance of personal relationships when conducting business in the music industry because the passion for music was a very personal and very critical...
Dan Strait moved his family to Austin, TX,from Houston to open a Baldwin piano franchise back in 1963. The company was called Strait Piano and Organ and Dan’s motto was “Where customers b...
Mirek Jaromir Strizka opened a musical wholesale business in the early 1960s and named it European Craft. The company began as the young Czech immigrant established a business in Los Ange...
Al Sturchio served the Texas Bandmasters Association for over 25 years as director and also as president. His passion and unbelievable energy has been a large part of the success of the a...
Ira Sullivan was just three years old when he pulled his father’s trumpet out from behind the couch and began blowing into it. His father began teaching him how to play and by the time li...
Colleen Summerhays recalled the day in 1940 when she walked into a local music store to inquire about a clerical position. She met the owner, her future husband, Hy Summerhays, who had op...
Scott Summerhays was the President of the company his parents established in Salt Lake City back in 1936. Scott and his brother Briant worked together to grow the family business and even...
Murray Sunshine was a legend in the New York music retailing business. As an employee of Manny’s Music, hired by Manny himself, Murray witnessed first hand the growth of 48th Street as a ...
Lori Supinie was an active music maker since she was a child. Throughout her life she provided music and music lessons to others as well as being a strong leader within the music products...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Ralph Sutton learned the traditional stride piano styles of...
Manji Suzuki had a deep passion for the music industry. He is the founder and president of Suzuki Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company in Hamamatsu, Japan. The company began as a harm...
Frederick Swann was one of the most famous organists of the last 50 years due to his many publications, recitals, church performances and his long run on the television program The Hour o...
Millie Swanson was known as “The Sweetheart of Wurlitzer.” She joined the company in 1931 as an office clerk while still in high school. Over the years, as Wurlitzer grew into the largest...
Bruce Swedien was working with Quincy Jones when Michael Jackson asked the two if they would work on his upcoming album, entitled “Thriller.” It became the biggest selling album on the pl...
Joe Swenson played trumpet in grade school and was influenced by his mother who played the piano and gave lessons. While earning his degree in trumpet performance in college, Joe worked ...
Wilton Syckes was thought to have sold more pianos than any other salesman. A veteran of the industry, Wilton was also a former president of the National Piano Traveler’s Association. The...
Tetsuya Takagi served as Executive Vice President of Yamaha International Corporation (currently Yamaha Corporation of America) and worked for Yamaha Corporation in Japan holding several ...
Wolfe Taninbaum was a leader in the development of synthetic reeds, although he is best known for his mouthpiece designs. The Taninbaum mouthpiece company was established in 1952 to provi...
Paul Tanner joined Glenn Miller's newly formed band in 1938 and recorded all of the band's hits including "In the Mood" and "String of Pearls." He often said "Everything the Glenn Miller...
William Tapia stood up in front of United States solders playing his ukulele and singing at the tender age of eight years old. He was entertaining the troops for World War I and did not s...
Bill Tarpley remembered the stories his father used to tell him about the early days of the family music retail store in west Texas. Times were hard during the era of the dust bowls and d...
