Steve Chandler began playing music in the fifth grade and went on to enter talent contests, which led to forming a band with his schoolmate Gordy Wilcher. Steve joined The Mags, which tou...
Dr. John Chowning is known throughout the world for his discovery of FM sound synthesis, which, when used in the context of electronic musical instruments, provided an alternative to the ...
Suzanne Ciani played a key role in the early awareness and usage of electronic musical instruments into pop music, film and even the stage. She was experimenting with electronic musical i...
Larry "Moogstar" Clemon gained his nickname playing synthesizers for several funk and R&B bands such as the Zapp Band and Cameo. While working with Roger Troutman with the Zapp Band,...
David Cockerell designed one of the earliest synthesizers produced in the United Kingdom. The Synthi was introduced in the late 1960s by EMS Ltd. The unit, which came in a case with a KS ...
Ed Cohen was booking and managing musical acts and even playing saxophone in a band when he first heard Dave Biro’s innovative synthesizer. This was in the early 1970s. Ed worked with Da...
Chick Corea loved being a music maker! Nominated over 60 times for a Grammy, Chick was among the most high profile musicians we have been blessed to interview for the NAMM Oral History pr...
Ed Cornett was hired by Yamaha to head the team in charge of creating the DX7. His story of the long hours, creative and innovative team members and the support of the company uncover th...
Kimo Cornwell was born in Hawaii and became a sought-after studio musician and sideman for several top local artists there, including Don Ho. After relocating to Los Angeles with his wife...
Michael Cotten was the original keyboardist for the band the Tubes, which took full advantage of the innovations in synthesizers of the 1970s and 80s. Michael experimented with electronic...
Adam Darrell is a third generation piano dealer in New Hampshire. His grandfather was a popular singer (Ken Darrell and the Rockaways) who opened several music stores in Philadelphia and...
Paul de Benedictis recalls the day he was working along side software designer Dave Oppenheim when a series of commands were created to allow a drum machine to sync to Dave's MIDIMAC Sequ...
Papa John DeFrancesco's musical journey began under the guidance of his father, a saxophonist for several big bands during the great Swing era. Initially a trumpet player, Papa John later...
Les Deutsch is a Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) scientist in the aerospace industry who holds several patents for electronic musical instruments. His father, Ralph Deutsch, invited the s...
Herbert Deutsch was down in Robert Moog’s basement when the two men were redrafting the design of an electronic synthesizer in the early 1960s. Herb suggested that the modular unit with p...
Philip Dodds seemed to always be drawn to electric musical instruments as a teen, so it was no shock that he made a major contribution to the field of keyboard and synthesizer development...
Craig Doerge played keyboards in the famous group of Los Angeles based studio musicians known as The Section. The Section, which also included Leland Sklar, Russ Kunkel and Danny Kortchma...
Michel Doidic always enjoyed the technology behind electronic musical instruments. When he was younger he built his own guitar and other equipment before meeting Marcus Ryle while they bo...
William Dollarhide was the president and co-owner, along with his wife Margaret, of Dollarhide’s Music Center in Pensacola, Florida. He grew up in a very musical family, with his mother a...
Doug Beck was hired in the keyboard department at Manny’s Music on the famous 48th street in New York City. The street was lined with musical instrument stores and while Doug worked there...
Pat Downes combined his engineering background with his passion for music to create the electronic air drums. Forming the company Palm Tree Instruments, Pat became an inventor in the wor...
Geoff Downes has seen the curve in technology throughout his musical career. Commonly known as a member of The Buggles, Geoff's successful musical career took off when he incorporated the...
George Duke built his musical career on innovative styles and sounds. His reputation for creative and influential performances cross over jazz, pop and rock music and have since his early...
Larry Dunn played a key role in the success of the legendary group Earth, Wind & Fire! As the keyboardist for the group he added new sounds in the innovative era of electronic musica...
Larry Dvoskin can trace his passion for music back to an early age when he was classically trained on the piano. He purchased a guitar while in high school to gain the attention of girls ...
Ed Eagan was strongly encouraged and inspired by his music teachers growing up including his high school orchestra instructor who flamed Ed’s love of making music. While studying oboe, pi...
John Eaton spent the latter part of the 1960s composing for electronic musical instruments such as early synthesizers developed by Robert Moog and Paul Ketoff. His microtonal music includ...
Keith Emerson was the British rocker who in the early 1970s helped define live performances on electronic musical instruments such as the modular Moog. He gained fame as a musical compose...
Barb Fairhurst was hired by Dave Smith to manage the business elements of his newly-formed company he called Sequential Circuits, back in 1977. The following year, the company released it...
Larry Fast is best known as the innovative keyboardist and synthesizer composer who helped bring electronic musical instruments into pop music, beginning in the 1970s. His Synergy series ...
Tony Fenelon cut his teeth on the Theatre Organ and became the artist in residence at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne in the early 1960s. He recalls performing demos at the NAMM Shows beg...
Mike Finnigan was a leading Hammond B3 performer who recorded with many of the top performers in pop, rock, and jazz for nearly 60 years, although his soul had always been rooted in rhyth...
