Marsha Berman grew up in a home filled with music. Her mother sang and her father played, so she was encouraged to play piano. She took lessons until college, at which point she studied m...
Eric Bettelli noticed that Los Angeles based musicians had a need for a magazine that could help them find gigs. He also realized that clubs needed the same such magazine to showcase thei...
Paul Bierley was a leading expert and author on the life and music of John Philip Sousa. A passionate fan of band music, Paul noticed several elements of Sousa’s career that were not docu...
Joseph Boonin formed two successful music-publishing companies, which have played an important part in the music products industry. The first of his companies was Joseph Boonin Inc and th...
Q David Bowers contributed greatly to the archiving of the music products industry. As an author, he researched and published several books on the early era of mechanical instruments. His...
Garrett Bowles was always interested in computer technology, music and library science, so it came to no surprise to his family that Garrett found a way to combine the three fields long b...
John Boylan is best known as a hit-making record producer working with Charlie Daniels, Linda Ronstadt, Boston and the Little River Band. In addition to his successful career, John has a ...
Monica Burdex grew up enjoying music of many styles and having a real interest in research and library science. She combined her passions becoming the music librarian for California State...
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...
Richard Collins had a colorful career as a jazz trumpeter in the evening while he studied for his masters degree by day. Two topics always fascinated Dick, music and research, so he sou...
Rob Cook’s name is very familiar to those interested in vintage drums and the companies who produced them. As an author and publisher Rob has penned a series including “The Slingerland Bo...
Gary Cooper enjoys a well-regarded career in journalism with a run in recording and popular music magazines before his work in the music products industry. He branched out with celebrated...
Richard Crain has been at the forefront of music education for the better part of his life. As a Texas bandmaster and educator, he has been instrumental in the growth of school music prog...
Alan Dale, as a lover of swing music, found himself as a radio station host in the San Francisco Bay Area. He graced the airwaves over several stations and along the way began approaching...
Sidney Davis took over the Musical Merchandise Review (MMR) trade magazine in the 1980s. Originally the magazine began reporting on the industry in the 1880s and became an important resou...
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...
Joan Flintoff LoPear joined the Southern California chapter of the Music Library Association (MLA) in 1967 just as the organization and the field of music librarians were recreating thems...
Steven Fry pioneered electronic cataloging as a music librarian for UCLA. He brought his love of music and people together when he revived the then-fading Southern California chapter of t...
Mitch Gallagher grew up in a musical family. His mother and her sisters sang three-part harmony for dance bands, encouraging all of the children in the family to get involved with music. ...
David Goggin is known throughout the industry as Mr. Bonzai, the author and photographer behind several books and thousands of articles on recording, engineering and the people who work i...
George Gruhn is without question one of the top experts of vintage guitars on the planet! George collected guitars before opening the world renowned Gruhn Guitar Shop in Nashville, TN in ...
Norman Harris loves guitars! His vast knowledge and collection has made him one of the industry’s leading experts on vintage guitars and basses. As the founder of Norm’s Rare Guitars in T...
Sam Hinton was a national treasure. It seems appropriate to use that term when talking about him because he become an important and invaluable preservationist of some of our nation's grea...
Don Hogue worked with Dr. Kent in the C.G. Conn Research Department. The historic lab created or improved many mathematical and engineering theories used in countless musical instrument d...
Don Johnson received his degree in journalism and later landed the editor’s job at a recording industry trade magazine. Years later the magazine was sold to the owners of the Music Merc...
Marvin Jones is the founding editor of Polyphony, an early and important magazine covering the growth and development of the synthesizer industry and its many innovators and leaders. Marv...
Gez Kahan, on a whim, offered to be the musical director for his college’s production of Tommy. The experience lit a fire under him and soon he was exploring all of the latest gear, espec...
George Klein first met Elvis Presley when the two attended Humes High School in Memphis. Over the years, George became one of Elvis’ closest friends. He was a part of many of the King’s i...
Dan Kobida was first interviewed for the NAMM Oral History program back in 2004 during the Wurlitzer company reunion in Oak Brook, Illinois. Dan was not only a respected former employee o...
Walther Krüger was the chief scientist at the music instrument institute in Markneukirchen Germany before his retirement in the 1980s. His specialty was research on the acoustics of instr...
Ray Kurzweil appeared on the popular 1950s and 1960s quiz show “I’ve Got a Secret” to reveal that he had made a computer that could make music. Since those early days, Ray has come to def...
Dr. Tim Lautzenheiser was presented the highest honor from the American Music Conference (AMC) when he was given the Henry Grossman Lifetime Achievement Award. The award honors those dedi...
