Howard Bailey was the executive account representative for the Freeman Companies, which serviced the NAMM show. Howard became a beloved part of the NAMM family and helped develop many be...
Bob Ziems (it sounds like "seems as in Ziems it seems") was a dedicated member of the testing department at CG Conn from 1941-1971 and later with Selmer. However, it was what he did for a...
George Ullmann directed the Boosey & Hawks Canadian operation for several decades beginning in the 1970s. It was during those early days of expanding the Canadian music market that G...
Johnny Smith! What can you say about meeting not only your personal hero but also a hero to thousands in our own industry! Johnny Smith was in person what he has been on recordings, warm,...
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...
Leonard Schmitt opened a small guitar shop to provide lessons in the St. Louis area back in 1932. At the time we wrote a method for teaching music called the Schmitt Music Training Approa...
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...
Irwin Robinson played vital roles at many of the largest and most important American music publishers for much of the second half of the 20th Century. Irwin worked for Columbia Pictures (...
Emil Richards played a significant role in the expanded use and knowledge of world percussion instruments. Through his recordings and work for TV and the movies, Emil was known for adding...
Larry Rast has served as President of the Farny R. Wurlitzer Foundation since 1994. With a strong background in teaching, Larry understood the need for music programs for all levels of a ...
Specs Powell played jazz drums during the hey-day of 52nd Street in New York City. He worked hard -- sometimes four gigs a night -- playing behind such legends as Billie Holiday, John Kir...
Marybeth Peters worked in the United States copyright office for over 40 years and became one of the country’s leading authorities on copyright laws as it relates to published and perfor...
Herbert Newton opened his piano store in 1939, a few years after becoming a piano tuner in the Norfolk area. Back in the beginning of the store, traveling out to nearby farms was key to h...
Dr. Robert Moog was the father of the synthesizer and perhaps the best-known promoter of the Theremin and electronic music. When he passed away in 2005 after a short illness, he was eulog...
Bruce Mitchell is a veteran of the Canadian piano and organ industry dating back to 1966 when he was hired as the Hammond Organ sales rep for Canada. Bruce has since been deeply involved ...
Jay McShann was one of the last great original stride pianists, one of the last Big Band Era leaders and one of the few musicians to work with such an amazing list of jazz icons. During ...
Robert McDowell was president of the NAMM Board of Directors from 1969-1971. During that time he assisted William Gard in the expansion of the NAMM organization, including more hands on i...
Kay McDowell now (and may always) holds the record for the most NAMM shows attended --82 in a row (1923 when she was three until 2005)! As a very young girl, she accompanied her father, t...
Ted Krumwiede was a veteran of the piano industry working for Kimball and Story & Clark in the important re-birth of the piano business following World War II. Ted had training and a ...
Ann Jones was interviewed alongside Dick Dolan, the president of QRS, a company known around the world for their piano rolls. As CFO, Ann has been with QRS since the 1980s. She has played...
Mickey Jent opened a small music store in Lubbock, Texas after World War II with her husband, Ray, after his return from military service. The store became a hub for local musicians inclu...
Hal Harrower proudly recalls when he was 14 years old and his mother purchased his first guitar. He fell in love with the instrument and while in high school in 1969 he formed the band, t...
Dr. John Chowning is known throughout the world for his discovery of FM sound synthesis, which, when used in the context of electronic musical instruments, provided an alternative to the ...
AV (Bam) Bamford was a colorful country music producer originally from Cuba. During the mid-1930s, he owned and operated a string of radio stations, mostly in the southern United States. ...
Robert and Willi Zildjian were interviewed together at the NAMM show in Anaheim on January 18, 2006, the year which marked the 25th anniversary of their cymbal company. SABIAN, whose name...
Johnny Wright was among the most popular of the traveling country bandleaders during the big band era. Blending his country music roots with a slight bluegrass feel, Johnny’s band was the...
John Worthington began as an engineer in the early days of the Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI), and, in fact, helped program the MIDI time code. John also worked at Apple Comp...
Gerald Wilson was among the great arrangers of jazz, beginning back in the swing era when he worked for the famed Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra. He established a distinctive style rich in me...
Roger Williams was known throughout the world for his countless albums and top ten hits as a solo pianist. He had a remarkable career in bridging rock and roll and in incorporating jazz a...
Joe Wilder endorsed many musical products during his long career as a trumpeter. In the later part of his life he was very satisfied with the Buescher horns, but had a collection of other...
