Tim Miller was watching The Ed Sullivan Show when the Beatles came on and changed his life. From that moment on, he wanted to play drums! Tim’s very supportive father drove him to lessons...
Bix Johnson’s parents started a small retail business out of their home following World War II, which grew into the multi-chain of stores for Mississippi Music. Bix grew up in the busines...
Liz Jones joined Mississippi Music in August 1977 when the company was operating Peavey’s Melody Music in Meridian. Her husband, Barry, was hired a few months earlier to make deliveries f...
Barry Jones joined Mississippi Music in April 1977 serving as the delivery man for Peavey’s Melody Music in Meridian. The store was later moved to the local mall and rebranded with Missis...
Dr. Michael Peters is the former Managing Director of Messe Frankfurt and an avid musician. Early on he formed several skiffle bands and later founded the Musikmesse Frankfurt Allstars. F...
Cornelia Kinzelmann is CEO of ESM which produces mouthpieces for clarinets and saxophones. Cornelia remembers her grandfather, Wenzel Schreiber, from the time when she was a child. Wenzel...
Willie Hatcher gives a great deal of credit to the public-school system in Mississippi when he was growing up in the 1950s for providing a variety of shop classes. Those instructional cou...
Courtland Gray joined the Peavey Electronics team in Meridian, Mississippi in 2001 working in the finance department. As his career developed at Peavey and his position changed to CFO, Co...
John Fields grew up in Meridian and took a great interest in his mother’s job at Peavey Electronics. As a kid, John worked on electrical components and built his first guitar at the age o...
Tammie Harper was born and raised in Meridian, Mississippi and like so many people in the town she was interested in music, so she joined the Peavey Electronics team. Her first job for th...
Bill Richardson played drums and his brother played guitar growing up in Canton, Mississippi. His drum kit came together very slowly, first a Ludwig part, then something from Slingerland ...
Lloyd Turner happily landed his first teaching job right out of college as band director for Madison Central High School in Jackson, Mississippi in 1966. The job cemented in Lloyd’s mind ...
Jerry Puckett was a studio musician for Malaco Records in Jackson, Mississippi who played guitar on the hits “Groove Me” by King Floyd and “Mr. Big Stuff” by Jewel Bass, among many others...
Luroy Hart was in the ninth grade when his family moved to Jackson, Mississippi. His father was a preacher and filled the home with music. Luroy picked up the bass horn and tuba with drea...
Terry Hart is well known at Mississippi Music for her expert saxophone repair skills. Students and professional musicians from around the state (and sometimes outside of Mississippi too) ...
Tommie Vaughn was just seven years old when his father purchased a piano. He played in church since age 11 and was inspired and encouraged by the church organist who also took time to sho...
Dr. John Hanbery joined the school band in the fourth grade in his hometown of Greenwood, Mississippi. He was encouraged and inspired by his band director, which is a strong reason why he...
Raphael Semmes (pronounced Raf-yul) has fond memories of his mother singing as he was growing up. The feeling of her music became an inspiration for him and when he was given a Silvertone...
Dawn Dixon formed Music Plus in Birmingham, Alabama with the goal of providing the same teaching opportunities for local vocalist that she was afforded. After a strong college experience ...
Jewel Bass is known for singing backup on countless Malaco recordings since 1969 and with her own band, These Days. She started singing in church, influenced by her uncles who sang in a g...
Vince Massimino was surrounded by music growing up as both of his parents taught music. His father was also a composer who wrote educational music. As a result, Vince played in bands (wit...
CD Hagan was always a believer in the benefits of the social aspects of being involved in a school band program. While playing in his college band, he met his wife and while teaching band...
Donna Reed wanted to continue to provide music lessons even after retiring from teaching in a traditional school setting. After 30 years as a music education teacher in the public schools...
Jesse Robinson grew up in Benton, Mississippi, the son of a Holiness Preacher. His father was always very encouraging of Jesse and his music, which was a major source of empowerment for t...
Duncan Goff was a band director in Mississippi for 33 years. His first teaching job, at a junior high school, showed Duncan he was in the right line of work as it was a meaningful experie...
Marc Johnson was a band director for 27 years and in retirement felt he could help the younger generation of directors. While working for Mississippi Music as a school road rep, Marc has ...
Sam Hart’s father was a preacher who sang with his siblings as the Hart Brothers. Sam grew up surrounded by music and was encouraged to join the school band in the sixth grade. In 1975, a...
Doug Williams heard his father singing as far back as he can remember. As a member of the Big Five gospel group, his father encouraged his children to sing in church. Doug sang with his t...
Jason Stanfield has always enjoyed finding new and funny sounds, which means he really enjoyed the synthesizer developments of the 1990s! He worked for Mississippi Music in Hattiesburg, M...
Richie Jones Jr. began playing drums professionally when he was 12 years old for teen clubs and skating rinks. While gigging, he developed skills in production and worked for Morris Broth...
