Manuel Rodriguez Jr. learned as his father did, the deep rooted tradition of building a classical guitar. He is very proud of his father and grandfather, as well as the time-honored craft...
Steve Rorie landed a part time job the very same day he graduated high school at the Vincent Bach plant in Elkhart, Indiana. He later would accompany his grandfather and father at EK Bles...
Luis Ruvina grew up in the music industry! His family established the Daniel Ruvina Music Company back in 1917. Over the years Luis continued in the tradition of the company and the indus...
James Saied, the founder of the Saied Music Store chain in Oklahoma loved the marches of John Phillip Sousa! In fact, he liked them so much that he teamed with then NAMM President Ziggy C...
Robert Saied took great inspiration from his father, James. Robert’s father formed the Saied Music Company in Tulsa, OK in 1946 after serving as a band director in various schools in the ...
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...
David Seville loved the music industry because he loved music! He was born in Birmingham UK and became a well-known opera singer both in recordings and such live performances as Wells Ca...
Ron Sfarzo may be the only interviewee within the NAMM Oral History collection who served as a police officer in California! Ron has been involved with music his entire life, with both h...
Dave Shadoan is the president of Sound Image, one of the largest Live Sound companies in the world. His longtime partner and good friend, Ross Ritto, formed Silverfish Audio with Joel Sil...
Artie Shapiro played the double bass during the golden era of the big bands. His approach to the bass was steeped in the tradition of his classical background. Studio orchestras soon hire...
Brian Shepard is deeply entrenched in the rich history of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), offering insightful reflections during his NAMM Oral History interview. He eloque...
Lowell Simpson spent his entire life in music. As a child he played music as well as sang and in fact, continued to sing over the decades even after working as a sales manager for several...
Michael Skinner grew up in jazz and cut his teeth as a musician at Berklee College of Music. He was a band director right after college and designed several music programs including some...
Craig Smith began piano lessons at the age seven and by the time he was twelve, was fascinated with the sounds of the home organ. He started demonstrating organs for Karnes Music at thirt...
Paul Reed Smith began playing guitar as a teenager. He soon designed his own style of guitar, which he built. At first he did not think about selling the instruments he was designing, but...
Brad Smith is the Senior Sales and Marketing Manager for Hal Leonard. During his career as a writer and industry historian, he worked for MIX Magazine before joining the Hal Leonard team...
Sondra Blanchard comes to music through theatre. She has worked in regional theatre and internationally as an actor, coach, writer, and director. Over the past 10 years, she has specializ...
Marcus Spangler cut his teeth in the furniture business, working with his hands, seeing products to completion and adding his own ideas to the design and function of each piece. When he ...
Stuart Spector’s creation of the Spector Bass is recognized around the world. As Stuart explained, little has changed in the design of the Spector guitar since it was first created in 19...
Ned Steinberger is known around the world for his innovative instrument designs. His guitars and basses created without the traditional headstock gained wide popularity in the 1980s rock ...
John Stowell has been a strong supporter of the music industry as a jazz guitarist and has performed at the NAMM show over the years as well as at the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making ...
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...
Bob Taylor enrolled in wood shop while a student in high school and made a guitar for his final grade. The idea of making his own guitars came easy to Bob and he set out to create his own...
Clark Terry enjoyed a long and celebrated career as a trumpeter playing with nearly ever iconic jazz musician of the twentieth century. His tone and style of playing was an influence on s...
Hans Thomann, the visionary behind the iconic music store empire in Germany, transformed his love for music into a harmonious business venture. From humble beginnings with his father’s mu...
Michael Thomas grew up in Los Angles where he took to music at an early age. He formed a swing band and became a professional musician. Along the way he began making his own valve oil a...
Larry Thomas is the current CEO of Fender Musical Instrument Company. He also served as CEO of Guitar Center during the company’s early growth period. He worked closely with music educat...
Arnold Tubis has always been interested in the mathematics of music. After receiving his PhD in physics at MIT, Arnold began teaching courses on how music relates to science. When he reti...
Orrin Tucker’s Orchestra recorded one of the greatest successes of the big band era, “Oh Johnny Oh.” This novelty number featured the shy voice of Wee Bonnie Baker and has come to symboli...
Midge Ure was on stage for the two largest musical events in the World! As co-founder of Live Aid in 1985 and Live 8 in 2005, Midge created the venue to raise millions of dollars to feed ...
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...
Robin Walenta attended the University of Northern Iowa and Middle Tennessee State University before joining West Music in 1982. She was named president/CEO of the company in 2007. Robin w...
