Joe Beard doesn't remember a time when he didn't have a guitar. He grew up near Ashland, Mississippi becoming friends with locals Syl and Jimmy Johnson and Floyd and Matt Murphy. In Memp...
Arnold Berlin was a one-time president of Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI) and co-founder of Norlin Music Corp. He is also Mr. M.H. Berlin’s son, one of the true icons of the industry. A...
Bruce Bolen has had a long and colorful career in the music industry spanning nearly 50 years and with two of the best-known guitar makers in the world. Mr. M.H. Berlin, the president of ...
Michael Bradford grew up in Detroit and found he had a deep passion for the electric bass. After playing for local bands before and after school, Michael met guitarist Earl Klugh and the...
Will Braham’s father gave him a guitar when he was in eighth grade. It is then, as Will puts it, that his career began. He played all throughout school developing his skills and his drive...
Jim Broadus was a true fan of the Gibson guitar he purchased as a kid growing up and chasing his dream to be a rock star. He was overjoyed in the early 1970s when he had the opportunities...
Walter Carter along with his wife, Christie, formed Nashville's "friendliest guitar store" when they opened Carter Vintage Guitars. With a last name so well known in country music, you c...
JD Crowe recalled seeing Earl Scruggs perform in Lexington with Lester Flatt when he was a kid. The sound was so unique and different that all young JD could think about was getting a ba...
Susan M. Davis has fond memories of Les Paul and Mary Ford coming over to her house for dinner when she was a little girl. Her father was Gibson Guitar president Ted McCarty who signed Le...
Gregg De Lorto has had a passion for music and playing the guitar from a young age. Growing up playing in multiple bands and feeling the influence of popular music, Gregg eventually enter...
Sharon De Lorto truly discovered her passion for music upon marrying her husband, Greg, and was introduced to the culture behind Heritage Guitars, Gibson, and the iconic factory at 225 Pa...
James Deurloo walked through the old Gibson workshop, which is now the home of his company, the Heritage Guitar Company. Pointing proudly to a workstation in the middle of the old buildi...
Gerhard Dotzauer has made a living selling musical instrument parts to companies worldwide. He provides bridges, exotic woods, machine heads, and specializes in necks for banjos with moth...
Benjamin Dudley is the executive director of the non-profit organization Free Guitars 4 Kids. Growing up with a passion for music and the guitar, Benjamin sang and played in his church an...
Elliot Easton often visited Grayson's Music in Long Island, New York as a kid. He ordered his first custom left handed electric guitar from Mr. Grayson, who always treated Elliot with kin...
Duane Eddy has profoundly influenced generations of guitarists and helped establish instrumental songs as viable hits in popular music. Beginning in the late 1950s, Duane recorded numerou...
Ren Ferguson is among the most noted master luthiers in the United States and has been since the 1970s. Many luthiers who wish to follow his style of building have studied his approach to...
Hubert Friar was hired by the Gibson Guitar Company in Kalamazoo in 1959. Hubert worked for the company over 25 years. He worked at the end of the line, doing fret work. Hubert grew up...
Wilbur Fuller took to woodwork at a young age. When he was 16, from the instructions in a magazine, he made a desk, which still stands in the corner of his small farmhouse in western Mic...
Roy Gaines, like his brother, Grady, who played saxophone for Little Richard, made his mark in the early days of rock and roll. As a blues guitarist, Roy recorded a number of songs for RC...
Bryan Galloup somehow convinced his parents to set up a guitar repair shop in their basement back in 1975. Their support encouraged young Bryan to learn all he could about the art of guit...
Steve Gibson repeated, “I’ve been blessed,” which acted as a recurring theme throughout his NAMM Oral History interview. The sentiment comes from a review of his extraordinary career as a...
Dan Hagedorn grew up watching his father run the family’s music retail business and always knew he would work in the music industry. His father, known as Crazy Al, began his business in t...
Mary Lou Hoogenboom was a factory worker for the Gibson Guitar Company when it was located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She was hired in 1951 and began working in the sanding department, but ...
Tony Hosking grew up surrounded by music. His father, Ray, was a respected studio session trumpeter and helped young Tony land his first job in the brass department of Allan's Music store...
Dee Hoyt played professionally since he was a teenager including in local clubs and played for the National Guard as well as for dances. His band, the Tornados, recorded and performed ro...
Henry Juszkiewicz, Gibson Guitar Corporation’s former CEO, attended the Rainforest Alliance’s annual gala concert in 1994, where he first heard about the SmartWood program. He realized by...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Barney Kessel was a well-respected and sought-after studio ...
Little Freddie King has become a mainstay within the New Orleans music scene. His energetic performances, often with high kicks, always feature his main instrument, the Gibson Flying V! ...
B.B. King spoke of his great love of music making and provided sound advice for those who want to play an instrument. He smiled as he recalled buying his first guitar amplifier and spoke ...
Mike Korpak enjoyed his work in the factory at Gibson Guitars beginning back in the 1960s in Kalamazoo, Michigan. During his career at Gibson, Mike was able to grow into management and ra...
John Kuziel was a long time factory worker for the Gibson Guitar Company when it was located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He worked as a final inspector for the guitar line and later was in t...
