Peter Bartkus grew up in Rockford, Illinois and was proud to establish a music shop there in the early 1950s. Tru Tone Music became a hub for musicians and was known throughout the area f...
Marty Baxter entertained the troops during World War II as a member of a singing quartet. While with bands, such as Frankie Master’s Orchestra, she not only sang but arranged the four pa...
Harry Begian was one of the most respected band directors in the United States. Serving at the high school and college levels for over 45 years, Dr. Begian conducted his first band while ...
Richard Bennett served many roles during his long career in music, perhaps most notably as the sales rep for Wurlitzer towards the end of the 1960s. His involvement in retail and his phil...
Dr. Leo Beranek is considered by many to be the father of concert hall acoustics. His amazing career has not only traced the growth of acoustic measurement but has documented it in a seri...
Bugs Bower was one of the great characters of music publishing that helped re-direct the industry following World War II. Before and during the war, Bugs was a musician and arranger who p...
Dr. Richard Brittain was invited to a small gathering of music educators in the months following World War II. The original goal of the meeting was to provide a venue for the music educat...
Robert Bromberg has had a long career in the music products industry, as did his father. In fact, his father designed the mirror piano, which helped keep the industry alive during World W...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Les Brown and His Band of Renown was among the most popular...
Abbott Buegeleisen and his late brother ran the music wholesaling business that his father formed in New York City. Abbott’s father and a friend, who soon after passed away, combined thei...
Harold Burt was just about 3 years old when a musician from a traveling circus came to his North Carolina town and sold his parents a clarinet for young Harold. His life has been filled w...
Joe Campana returned from serving in World War II to his native Oakland, California, with a dream-–and the GI Bill. While taking business classes, Joe established Campana Music in nearby ...
Robert Campbell began his career in the music industry working for Conn Organ in 1947, the year the company gave a unit to President Harry S. Truman. Bob later worked with Don Leslie, th...
Allan Clark began taking training classes as a volunteer docent right when the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music was opened to the public in 2000. Since that time Allan has provid...
Ed Cramer was the long time music attorney who played a vital role in ensuring the performance and composing rights of musicians and songwriters. His list of clients reads like a who’s wh...
Roz Cron was a member of the all female swing band known around the world as The International Sweethearts of Rhythm. She toured with the group during World War II when many of her male c...
Bill Crow had a long and successful career as a jazz bassist for such Bebop pioneers as Stan Getz and Gerry Mulligan. In later years he joined the board for the New York chapter of the Mu...
Fred Davis began playing saxophone as a boy and started his own band, the Freddy Davis Orchestra, which played around Ohio during World War II. He was well equipped with reeds for his gig...
Murray Davison was a trumpet player who had a few gigs during the Big Band Era, but had to get a day job after the war. While he became a successful businessman, music was never far away....
William Demmers volunteered for the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music for over ten years. During that time he provided tours as a trained docent to guests of all ages. His own back...
Theo Dollmann was the sales representative for Schott Music, the famed music publisher located in Mainz Germany. He joined the company in 1939 and continued to work for the company past h...
Gerhard Dotzauer has made a living selling musical instrument parts to companies worldwide. He provides bridges, exotic woods, machine heads, and specializes in necks for banjos with moth...
Dusti Dryer was just one year old when she was dubbed the world’s youngest musician. A photograph of her playing the harmonica, or rather holding it, was featured in a magazine and launch...
Elliot Fine is best known to percussion students for the method book he wrote with Marvin Dahlgren called 4-Way Coordination, which was first published in 1963. Over the years, he has pub...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Chuck Foster was a bandleader's bandleader! During the Big ...
Will Friedwald is an author and music historian who has the skills and knowledge to write about everything from the Blues to the roots of Rock and Roll. The era in between seems to be his...
Trish Gapik has been volunteering at the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music for quite some time now, and could not have wished for anything better. Her aunt was a singer during WWII...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Kenny Gardner was a popular vocalist during the Big Band Er...
Roberto Giannini is part of the third generation running Giannini Musical Instruments alongside his brother, Flavio. Their company has thrived on being innovative and working around issue...
Flavio Giannini is part of the third generation running Giannini Musical Instruments alongside his brother, Roberto. One of their most well-known designs is the Craviola, which is designe...
Peter Goodrich grew up playing piano and got into the music business when he began a job at Lyon & Healy as an assistant to the manager. He got a chance to go to the harp factory and ...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Connie Haines was a noted singer during the Big Band Era.
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