Archie “Hubby” Turner served in the US Army during the Vietnam War and always felt the experience taught him, among other things, to appreciate the opportunity you have to add beauty and ...
Mark Vail has preserved some of the music products industry’s greatest history as author and researcher of a series of publications. In 1993, BackBeat Books published Mark’s landmark book...
David Van Koevering worked alongside Bob Moog in the early days of marketing the Minimoog synthesizer. The instrument was the first mass produced synthesizer that produce unique tones, us...
Giuseppe Vecchietti, known throughout his career as Beppe, primarily worked for three companies over his long career. All three were located in the same Italian Marche region by the Adria...
Marc-Pierre Verge came to work on computer generated musical instruments by first studying acoustics. He and his colleagues at Applied Acoustics Systems used physical modeling to recreate...
Brian Vincik was in the right place at the right time. As a synthesizer enthusiast and engineer, Brian graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1979 and moved to the San Francisco Bay A...
Jimmy Vivino wanted to be a blues guitarist when he first heard “Foxy Lady” by Jimi Hendrix! He has since been a successful musician both on stage and in the studios. He and his brother ...
Rick Wakeman was a powerful force in the development of progressive rock thanks in large part to his keyboard musicianship, songwriting and his deep passion for electronic musical instrum...
John Waltrip began being involved in music as a small child and in fact, became the main pianist for his church as a teenager. He played in the school bands and studied music in college....
Scott Wedge and Dave Rossum attended college together and soon developed a few clever ways of combining their engineering training with their passion for music. They began creating sound ...
Joey Welz was a member of Bill Haley’s Comets as well as Link Wray’s Wray Men. He played piano in the early days of Rockabilly for Bat Records with his own group as well as with The Jay R...
Tom White is the President of the MIDI Manufacturing Association. The organization was created following the 1983 introduction of MIDI at the NAMM Show. Since that time Tom has created ...
Gordy Wilcher believes that with the right mixture of passion and knowledge, the independent music retailer has the strength to bring music to young students, build new brands within thei...
Ray Williams grew up in the Caribbean. His father, a police officer, played music during his time off of work. Ray’s brother played guitar, Ray picked up the bass, and he was always encou...
Hartmut Willms is the President of Piano Willms, a firm established by his grandfather and his two brothers back in 1912. Hartmut’s grandfather enjoyed building pianos and created the Wi...
Johnnie Wilson has been involved with music in his church his entire life. He has performed at weddings and church services for many years. So, it seemed like a natural progression to ope...
Shenae Wilson loves providing a musical instrument in the lives of the young children who come into her store. She feels blessed that she and her husband work so closely with local church...
Tom Wilson might have been among the most-suggested people to be included in the NAMM Oral History Program! Suggestions came from those who worked with him over the years who gained resp...
Edgar Winter grew up in a musical family, his older brother being the blues legend Johnny Winter. Edgar played in several of his brother’s bands before forming his own bands, always with...
Sonny Wittkopp studied business in college and landed a job as a bookkeeper for a local music store in Washington state. This experience generated a great passion for the music industry w...
Stevie Wonder has earned the title of the "Mayor of the NAMM Show" for his countless visits to the show floor over the years. He has become an important part of the music products indust...
Bobby Wood enjoyed playing the organ as a child growing up in church in northern Mississippi. He crafted a well-regarded career as a recording artist and studio artist who is perhaps best...
Bernie Worrell began playing classical music as a small child and it soon led to his life-long passion for music! He met George Clinton, who at the time was leading a Doo-Wop group called...
John Worthington began as an engineer in the early days of the Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI), and, in fact, helped program the MIDI time code. John also worked at Apple Comp...
John Wright Jr. grew up in the piano business. His father and his uncle, Dan Hall, formed the Hall Piano Company in 1958. The store is currently located right on David Drive in Metairie...
Casey Young has designed synthesizers and programed electronic instruments for a string of albums and movies over his long career. As a keyboardist in the late 60s, Casey found it easy a...
Kurt Zentmaier fondly recalls the stories his father told him on how the family music store was established back in 1959. Rondo Music’s first location was right outside of New York City ...
Erik Zobler was passionate about sound and music from an early age and seemed destined to carve out a career surrounded by other passionate music makers. As a studio engineer and produce...
