Dr. Wolf-Dieter Seiffert is the president of G. Henle Publishers, a noted publishing firm located in Germany. Dr. Seiffert is also a musicologist and historian, who took great pride in ou...
Earl Scruggs was the father of bluegrass and country banjo playing. His style and techniques have been both influential and inspiring for generations of banjo players around the world. Hi...
Don Schlitz likes to tell the story about how he was in the right place at the right time when his song, “The Gambler,” was recorded by Kenny Rogers in 1978. The truth is, if that was Don...
Johnny Rodgers can tell you all about the trends of piano sales in Texas. As salesman for Jent Music in Lubbock, he has watched the market and his customer base change over the years. He ...
Alvino Rey tinkered with putting a phonograph pickup in his banjo to increase the volume in 1927. His inventive mind also led to early guitar pickups and the design of a pedal-steel guita...
Nick Peck’s entire face lights up whenever he talks about a great school music program! The son of a band director, the passion seems to be in his blood. After taking over the store his f...
Sammy Nestico has revolutionized the band and orchestra repertoire by composing and arranging top jazz charts for all levels of bands. As a result, this arranger of Count Basie’s band in ...
Les Paul will forever be known for his role in the popularity of the electric guitar, the design of the Gibson Les Paul guitar, the multi track recording, the early guitar effects, and hi...
Jay R. Morgenstern was a veteran of the record and music publishing industries and served as the Executive Vice President/General Manager of Warner Chappell Music Inc. His amazing career ...
Vic Mizzy wrote a number of hit songs for popular music, movies and television beginning in the 1940s. He wrote “The Jones Boy” for the Mills Brothers and is perhaps best known for writin...
Billy May was a fun loving trumpeter who arranged some of the best-loved music of the Big Band Era! His humor and musical talents provided hit recordings for Glenn Miller, Charlie Barnet ...
Jim Marshall was in a full body cast as a 12-year-old boy due to polio. He managed to overcome the incredible odds to not only walk again, but also to become a trained tap dancer. He foun...
Keith Mardak provided great detail of the history of Hal Leonard Publishing, especially the stories of the company's founder, who passed away years ago, before they could be interviewed f...
Leif Juhl has had quite a life in music! As a boy, he picked up a trumpet – the instrument he still played in his early 90s when his oral history interview was completed at his Arizona ho...
George Holden was the president and co-founder of Smith-Holden Music Store in Bloomington, IN. As a music teacher George partnered with a close friend who sadly committed suicide soon aft...
Brad Hershberger’s mother and father opened a music retail store in rural Nebraska in the late 1950s. Brad grew up in the business and worked side by side with his father to develop and ...
Dr. Sidney Harman, the founder of Harman-Kardon and Harman Industries provided a fascinating interview. He spoke of his early days and the innovative product line that helped develop the ...
Alfredo Flores was born in Mexico in 1908 and moved to San Antonio, Texas with his mother and grandmother when he was a small boy. He took several jobs as a young man including a position...
Alfredo Flores Jr. proudly took over the music store his father established in 1928. Alamo Music Center in San Antonio, Texas, has long been established as a focal point for music making ...
Martin Denny cornered the market on the musical style of the early 1950s known as exotica. The smooth melody of the songs were enhanced by hundreds of different tropical sounding instrume...
Paul Damiano has played a critical role in the growth and development of Kaman Music ever since first joining the company in the early 1980s. With a great understanding and passion for ma...
Andy Clark is one of the great characters of the music publishing industry! Over the years, Andy has served as a musician, band director, arranger, composer, and publisher. With a keen se...
Don Canedy was a beloved band director and professor at Southern Illinois University before being hired by the Roger’s Drum Company in 1961. Don played drums beginning at the age of 10 an...
T. Warren Brown was president of the music store his father established in the Tacoma, Washington area in the years of World War II. Ted Brown Music became an important leader in the musi...
Ernie Briefel played a tremendous role in the wholesaling of musical instruments in New York City, beginning in the 1950s. His understanding of the business and close partnerships resulte...
William Bevan has proudly served as an engineer at Shure Incorporated. for over 40 years. He was a key engineer in many of the company’s products from the early 1960s and running into the...
Lou Berger was an energetic piano salesman in the style of the old piano traveler of a by-gone era. In fact, what Lou knew about selling pianos he learned from some of the old timers when...
Remo Belli revolutionized the music products industry by introducing the Weather King, the single most popular drumhead in the world! As a jazz drummer, Remo was looking for ways to impro...
Jeff “Skunk” Baxter gained enormous international fame as a founding member of Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers. Skunk’s solo licks are among the most noted and influential in rock and ...
Jane Smisor Bastien together with her husband. James Bastien wrote the best-selling method book, Bastien Piano Methods, which was enjoyed by millions of students and teachers worldwide. T...
