Harry Rosenbloom was the founder of Medley Music and one of the true pioneers of import relations with the Japanese beginning in the late 1950s. He developed and maintained key partnershi...
Ernst Roth is a guitar luthier who over the last 40 years of his career has dedicated himself to training younger craftsman in the art of violin and guitar making. He was born in the musi...
Freddie Roulette pioneered the use of the slide guitar in the blues style. When he began playing slide guitar he was emulating country and western music and felt the instrument would fit...
Fred Rubin ran one of the most active and successful music stores in Miami. His father opened Ace Music in 1955 and Fred grew up in the store. When he took over the business, Fred continu...
Bob Rufkahr's long career in the music business began in retail in 1962! He later moved into wholesale and manufacturing before he formed his own company, Image Marketing in 1980. Along...
Todd Rundgren was interviewed for the NAMM Oral History program the same day he was presented with inducted into the TEC Awards Hall of Fame. His visit to the NAMM show was his first in ...
Juha Ruokangas is a luthier from Finland who set out to create a community of builders within Europe thus establishing the European Guitar Builders Association (EGB). Juha designed his o...
Vic Russelavage was hired by Chuck Levin as a repairman while Vic was playing his trumpet professionally. Chuck became a mentor and encouraged Vic to focus on the details and to take as m...
Ray Russell is the noted English studio musician and composer who has also performed with a number of bands over his long career including the prog rock group Mouse. His guitar can be hea...
Roger Sadowsky is a highly respected instrument maker, who has helped redefine the word luthier to include the subtext of brilliant handcrafted design. His instruments have been played b...
Sharon Sagar is the daughter of Paul Barth, the founder of Bartell Guitars. Paul started his guitar and bass manufacturing factory in Riverside, California, in 1964. As a teenager, Sharon...
Chas Sandford grew up dreaming of being a guitar player on stage. He built up a solid reputation within Nashville and has seen his dreams come true. ASCAP awarded him the Most Performed...
Billy Sanford purchased his first guitar, a Stella, at a pawn shop in his hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana, when he was 13 years old. Still a teenager, Billy became a member of the staff...
Rick Santos enjoyed music from a very young age, played guitar, and after college he went into the banking world where a chance encounter with a local music retailer led him to buy a musi...
Ryoichi Sasaki was hired by Yamaha in 1967 working in the method book division. In 1978, he formed his own publishing company, Rittor Music, which focuses on producing music-themed magaz...
Bob Saunders began working in the accounting department for Kaman Corporation. He was asked by the company’s founder, Charlie, to work with his son Bill for the Kaman Music Corporation. ...
Masaru Sawano began playing guitar as a young student when he first heard the Beatles. He took a liking to music and the first job he took after college is the one he still has, working ...
Leo Scala was born in Belgrade Serbia and moved to Moscow to attend college. He studied chemical engineering, but soon realized this was not his true passion. Having played guitar since h...
Judy Schaefer is the Director of Marketing for PRS Guitars, a position that perfectly aligns with her lifelong connection to music. Raised in a musically rich environment, her mother inst...
Ray Scherr was hired by Wayne Mitchell, the founder of Guitar Center, to help strengthen and develop the small store. Ray added the culture and helped drive the growth of the company fro...
Benjamin Scheuer is a musician and songwriter who specializes in combining his passions for all style of music and musical theater to express himself. He began songwriting at a young age ...
Van Schipper is a guitar luthier who has enjoyed embracing the roots of his craft. As a student of guitar building, he sought the advice of others with a mind to paying tribute to his gre...
Stanley Schireson’s father opened up a small music store in 1902 that would eventually branch out into manufacturing and distribution of musical instruments. The company began making ukul...
Rudy Schlacher has become of the great businessmen of the music products industry, which is incredible considering his humble beginnings. With an idea of detail, customer service and the ...
Frank Schlegel was born in 1967 to a family of musical instrument makers in Markneukirchen. Like so many families in this region, he and his father, Klaus Schlegel, carry on the tradition...
Leonard Schmitt opened a small guitar shop to provide lessons in the St. Louis area back in 1932. At the time we wrote a method for teaching music called the Schmitt Music Training Approa...
Klaus Scholler is the President of Karl Hofner GmbH & Co KG, established in 1887 and now celebrating its 125th anniversary. Over the years Höfner has produced many ground-breaking ins...
Eric Schoenberg opened his own guitar shop in Tiburon, California after working music retail on the east coast for decades. Over the years he watched the vintage guitar market grow and de...
Jeff Schroedl wrote and published a guitar book in his late teens, which led to being asked to join his publisher, Hal Leonard, to be involved with future projects centered around guitar ...
William Schultz turned the struggling Fender Musical Instrument Corporation into an industry leader after purchasing the famed guitar company from CBS in 1985. Born in McKeesport, PA on J...
Jack Schwarz is the founder of Desert Sons Musical Instruments based in Phoenix, Arizona. The company specializes in custom guitars from a small group of luthiers, all of whom Jack, himse...
John Scofield remembers the music retail stores around his town growing up and proudly gives gratitude to the many retail stores involved with his career over the years. As a guitarist h...
