Al Rich, the former president of Pearl River Pianos in the United States seems to have pianos in his blood. He grew up in DeKalb, IL, the home of the mighty Wurlitzer Corporation. Al’s fa...
Tom Rhodes was a Texas bandmaster who felt strongly about the need for sheet music dealers to work closely with school band directors. Along with two partners, Tom established the RBC Mus...
Delores Rhoads began teaching music in 1939. Seventy years later when she was interviewed by NAMM, she was still teaching. After World War II Delores and her husband opened a small teachi...
Earl Remaley began working for the C.F. Martin & Company before World War II. His long career with the company included nearly every phase of production and assembly. During the 1950s...
Bennett Reimer’s name is familiar to millions of music college students who have read his books, A Philosophy of Music Education and the Silver Burdett Music book that he co-authored. The...
William Reglein played a key role in the growth and development of the jj Babbitt Company since taking over its presidency from his father, Bud. William’s great uncle was the company’s fo...
Bud Reglein’s uncle formed a small mouthpiece company in Elkhart, IN and named it jj Babbitt as he felt it sounded better than Jessie James Babbitt. Bud took over the company in 1939 and,...
Les Ray was a well spoken advocate for music education. As the founder of ASM Music Schools in Florida, he created a respected educational program that includes some 2,500 students each w...
Warren Price’s father started a small Canadian music retail store when Warren was just 17 years old. Soon after Warren purchased his first drum kit and discovered he wanted to join his fa...
Flip Oakes is the designer of the Wild Thing series of trumpets and cornets. Although Flip is a master of many musical instruments including the clarinet and saxophone (for which he was w...
Paul Murphy has served his industry well, just as did his father, his grandfather and his great-grandfather. Paul was elected to the NAMM Board of Directors where he served for over a dec...
Roger Murrah has enjoyed an incredible career as a country music songwriter and with passion for the craft has dedicated his time and talent into creating a Nashville Songwriter Hall of F...
Gavin Mortimer spoke with great understanding of the current challenges the music industry faces. He observed with a brilliant insight that changes such as the advent of Internet are not ...
Peggy Lamb began working at the record division of the Acuff-Rose Company before transferring over to the publishing division in the early 1980s. She worked with Mr. Wesley Rose, the fath...
Gene Kornblum’s father formed the famed St. Louis Music Company, which played a legendary role in the music products industry during most of the 1900s. As President beginning in the 1960s...
George Koregelos made a series of well-respected flutes under his name in the 1970s that was but one of his career highlights in the music products industry. After studying instrument rep...
Katinka Lathrop was married for over 60 years to a guitar player with a passion. After he retired from the ceramics industry, the couple moved to Modesto, California, where they opened a ...
Phillip Stanger began playing drums at an early age and took lessons from the famed percussionist, Roy Knapp. Phil remembers with great joy the first time he walked into Frank’s Drum Shop...
Sam Keeney loved playing music! He had a road organ he hauled to performances nights and on weekends. Starting in the late 1950s, his day job was music retailing. In 1970 he bought a stor...
Lance LeRoy was a top music manager in Nashville, TN, and was the founder of the Lancer Agency. Among his clients was the famed guitarist Lester Flatt. Lance helped outline Mr. Flatt’s ca...
Patrick Hiatt was among the leaders of band instrument repairmen in the industry. His work spanned several decades and was vital in the formation of NAPBIRT, the National Association of P...
Kern Kennedy tickled the ivories on a number of early rock and roll and rockabilly recordings back in the 1950s. It was the heyday for Sun Studios in Memphis right after the success of El...
Murrey Harman is the first of Buddy Harman’s six children. He remembers well the days he would sit on the floor of the recording studio to listen to his legendary father play drums on man...
George Gruhn is without question one of the top experts of vintage guitars on the planet! George collected guitars before opening the world renowned Gruhn Guitar Shop in Nashville, TN in ...
Jerry Gorby followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming a passionate advocate for music and music making. Jerry worked in the family music store, Gorby Music, in West Virginia, later b...
Kurt Glaesel was born into a violin-making family, which dates back to 1720, but it was Kurt who made his family name nationally known. After a noted 20 year career with Heinrich Roth, Ku...
Rocky Giglio was a pivotal leader in the development and marketing of the jj Babbitt mouthpieces product line. For years, he diligently listened to feedback from customers and professiona...
Wilhelm Gertz was often seen working on the action of a vintage grand piano whenever you stopped to visit him in his store. After all, he has been doing this same thing most of his life. ...
Walter Fuller played trumpet for Earl “Fatha” Hines when Earl, a pianist, formed his first big band in 1936. Walter gained fame as trumpet player and singer on several of the band’s hit r...
Sam Falcetti can tell you everything you’d ever want to know about the accordion and, as the salesman that he is, he would sell you one! Sam’s retail store, Falcetti’s Music, is located i...
