Glenda Mims was hired in 1978 in the purchasing department of the Greenwood, Mississippi, Baldwin plant. She remained with the company when it was sold and the Greenwood plant was closed ...
Ellen McDonald is a passionate music retailer who has strived to create programs and events that encourage her community to take part in active music-making. Hartland Music, located in Ha...
John Maher began his career as an employee of a retail store in Illinois before joining the sales team at St. Louis Music Supply. He worked for the wholesaler for 11 years and traveled to...
Barbara La Mair is the niece of the late industry icon Louis La Mair. During her interview, she provided warm and insightful background into the personal life of this one-time NAMM Presid...
Mike Ladd was one of the first music retailers in the United States to provide custom-made guitars. He had three locations in Memphis, the last of which was right across the street from G...
John Kozar is the founder of Piano Productions Press in Philadelphia. This music publishing company was formed to release the works of the First Piano Quartet, which began broadcasting a ...
Lazy Lester developed a unique style of blues harmonica playing that has influenced the beginner as well as the professional performer. His early recordings of his own songs led to his lo...
Wayne Jackson and his saxophone-playing friend, Andrew Love, formed the Memphis Horns, a group that played on countless recordings and on stage for over 40 years! Wayne, on trumpet, began...
Christian Hoyer wrote the book on the history of the Framus Guitar Company and became the director of the museum for the famed guitar company in Germany. His research brought to light man...
Joe Guercio is best known for the 8 years he served as Elvis Presley’s musical director, beginning in Las Vegas in 1969. He formed the orchestra that backed Elvis and his band on every to...
Marty Golden is the founder of the Canadian music distribution company JAM Industries. Marty began his career in retail, first working for his father in a pawnshop and later a music store...
Nick Firth served as the chairman of BMG Music Publishing for several years during his long and noted career in the music industry. His grandfather and great-uncle owned Chappell Music in...
Jimmie Smith designed and built the Trumann, Arkansas, Baldwin Piano factory in the early 1980s after working in the company’s Greenwood, Mississippi, plant for several years. The Trumann...
Bob Sowell had a long run as a Baldwin employee, beginning in 1969 in the Greenwood, Mississippi, factory and running until 2010 in Trumann, Arkansas, when the Gibson Guitar Company owned...
Wilton Syckes was thought to have sold more pianos than any other salesman. A veteran of the industry, Wilton was also a former president of the National Piano Traveler’s Association. The...
Frank Untermyer studied woodworking and instrument building in Germany before returning to the United States to help form Hamer Guitars with college friends, Paul Hamer and Jol Dantzig. T...
Joe Ussery was the supply manager for the Baldwin Piano factory in Greenwood, Mississippi when he first joined the company in 1973. He later helped manage the raw materials for Greenwood ...
Jim Whitehill provided a very important overview of the products and politics of the Norlin Music Company, which was originally named Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI), when Mr. M.H. Berl...
Ralph Zumpano worked in the Kenosha, Wisconsin, Leblanc plant most of his professional career. Ralph married Vito Pascucci’s sister and was alongside Vito from the very beginning of the o...
Imero Fiorentino was considered by many the father of pro-lighting! He began his career just as television was coming into its own in the early 1950s. He worked on live broadcast with new...
Bobby Feldman wrote three hit songs in the 1960s that are still being played and recorded today. His songwriting began at a desk in the Brill Building in New York City. He formed several ...
Rodney Ethridge was the plant manager for the Baldwin Piano factory in Greenwood, Mississippi beginning in the early 1970s. He began working in the engineering department and rose to mana...
Richard Ellis was proud of the three main areas of his professional career; playing, teaching and selling musical instruments. As a teenager Richard traveled with a big band, playing danc...
David Ellis was greatly influenced by his father, Richard Ellis, the band director and music store founder. Growing up in the business, David developed a strong passion for music both as ...
Daniel Dorff has been heavily involved in the music publishing industry for most of his professional life. He has worked for the Theodore Presser Company in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania,...
Charlie Daniels won the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance in 1979 for "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", which reached #3 on the charts. The following year, "Devil" became a ...
John D’Addario's family has been shaping the music industry since the 1670s, when Donato D’Addario began crafting strings by hand. Following in this legacy, John's father pioneered synthe...
Dick Christian has spent his entire career in the piano and organ business and has made many friends along the way. His support for the industry led him to the role as president of the Na...
Bill Cooper was an independent sales representative whose background included a great many experiences that helped Bill best serve his dealers. Bill, who played French Horn in school, tau...
Ted Chapin has many stories about the music industry, making his June 2010 interview fascinating. As president of Rodgers & Hammerstein Music since 1985 he spoke of the growth and dev...
