Steven Wasser grew up in a very musical family, played reed instruments as a child and dreamed of owning his own business. After graduating from Harvard Business School, Steven worked in ...
Fred Walecki grew up in a musical family. His father was an expert on the violin who established a rare instrument dealership in Southern California back in 1946. Fred worked with his fat...
Yohsihiro Doi joined Yamaha in 1980 and worked in retail for the company for two years before transferring to the wholesale department within the musical instrument division. Doi-san work...
Manuel Rodriguez Jr. learned as his father did, the deep rooted tradition of building a classical guitar. He is very proud of his father and grandfather, as well as the time-honored craft...
Johnny Tillotson had a music television program as a teenager in Florida before landing a string of hit recordings including his smash hit “Poetry In Motion” in 1961. A year later Johnny ...
Robert Tall is among the most successful and popular organ salesmen in the music industry –historically and presently. He earned his masters and doctorate in music performance and began w...
Stefan Stenzel has been a passionate music maker since he was a child. When he had the chance to combine his love of music with his technical skills, to begin working for Waldorf Electro...
Hidesato Shiino’s great-grandfather formed a music business in Japan, which gave young Shiino-san a strong background in the industry. He also had a passion for playing musical instrument...
Al Schmitt’s career as a recording engineer covered more than 60 years of innovations in pro audio development in nearly every musical style. Al was the recording engineer for many musica...
Elliot Scheiner was hired by famed record producer Phil Ramone of A&R Recordings in the fall of 1967 to assist with engineering. The career path seemed perfect for Elliot and he soon ...
Ed Roman opened a guitar store in Las Vegas after a successful career in the motorcycle industry. What he learned about that business and the customer base he found, he could easily apply...
Jack Ripperger was the director of marketing for the Hammond Organ Company for seven years, at the height of the home organ boom in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s. During hi...
Hillel Resner wrote for Mix Magazine for several years before the idea of creating a special award for audio engineering came into existence. Hillel worked alongside David Schwartz, the f...
Arnold Poppenberg was hired by the Winter Piano Company as a traveling salesman in 1959, the same year he attended his first NAMM Show. He remained with Winter for ten years, but went on ...
Jim Petercsak grew up in New York and recalls the days he visited the Henry Adler Music Shop, and how he became so passionate about drumming and music that he made it his career. Jim has ...
Thomas Parnell formed an independent music rep firm at a time when few such firms existed. Tom wanted to focus on providing tools and ideas to his dealers to grow their business in order ...
Hai Muradian sang in his Kindergarten class and soon realized he really wanted to be on the stage to entertain people. After singing and playing flute in rock bands as a teenager, Hai beg...
Yoichi Minagawa began his career in the music industry in 1961 on the sales floor of a large music store in the heart of Tokyo. Minagawa-san soon met Moridaira-san, the founder of the co...
Buddy Merrill played the pedal steel guitar on the Lawrence Welk TV program from its start in 1954 until he left the show in 1974. Buddy played Fender products while on the Welk Show, whi...
Al Marinaro has helped define the role of the independent rep in the music products industry for over 40 years. Al’s passion for music and the industry has played a critical part in his q...
Manny Lopez was known around the world as the King of the Cha Cha Cha for his 1950s band and hit records dedicated to the dance craze, but Manny’s musical career was far more than just th...
Ron Larcombe formed a rock band with his friends while in high school and fell in love with music. He toured the United States and Canada with several tribute bands before deciding he wa...
Tsunesaburo Kurosawa has a deep passion for instrument building and has become one of Japan’s leading classical guitar luthiers. The success of his guitars grew into the need to create a...
Kiyokazu Ishibashi is proud to be in the music products industry and to follow the path of his father, who started the business following World War II. The music store was small in the be...
Werner Hotan has a background as a radio technician and worked in a music retail store in Switzerland before he began working for Mr. Sacher. Werner learned about drum making and many oth...
Jon Hammond's career is a testament to his musical prowess and unwavering passion for the industry. With more than 40 years of experience, Jon has not only graced the stage alongside lege...
Bill Gray was a music major in college and played drums professionally before joining the industry. Bill worked in music retail and as a manufacturer’s rep, which provided valuable experi...
Ken Edgington has many friends in the music industry, several of whom suggested he be included in the NAMM Oral History program, but when approached Ken was rather humble about his role i...
Dorothy Demmers was proud of the volunteer work she and her husband Bill provided the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music. For over a decade she gave her time and talents by providi...
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...
