Bob McGrath, next to Elmo and Big Bird, maybe the most familiar face on Sesame Street. Without question, he is one of the leaders in the promotion of music education and for many years pl...
Mike Matthews has incredible stories to tell! The founder of Electro Harmonics and the pioneer of guitar effects pedals seem to have a story for all occasions. His innovations have helped...
Julian Markson can tell the history of the piano industry in England because he and his family lived it. His grandfather was a piano tuner who expanded the business in south-east London w...
Iris Manus and her husband, Morty, are one of the most adorable couples you may ever meet. Their interview was full of colorful remembrances of the early days of Alfred Publishing, how th...
William Kraft has dedicated his life as a composer to the world of percussion. With noted works and workshops, William has become an important part of the educational element of the Percu...
Mark Kelly served on the Midwest Band Clinic board for over 30 years, beginning in the 1980s and played a vital role in the growth and popularity of the clinic and its programs. He attend...
Bill Kaman served as president of Kaman Music Corporation, a company started by his father. Under Bill’s direction, Kaman Music expanded its product line, developed overseas markets, and ...
Mac Johnson, as she is known throughout the music industry, was the devoted wife of Mississippi Music founder Jimmy Johnson. She was also the mother of their sons, Bix and Dex, both of wh...
James Johnson was first and foremost a band director -- a well respected one at that! He opened Mississippi Music while still teaching and soon became involved with a long list of industr...
George Hines began his music retail store, George’s Music, outside of Philadelphia, PA, in 1977. Since that time, he has been devoted to the industry that he entered out of passion for mu...
Dr. Robert Freeland was among this country’s first to earn a PhD in music librarianship. He worked for the Henry Ford Library and was noted for his national column on classic recording re...
Roger Cox began his career at Ampeg in Linden, NJ. At Ampeg he served as Vice President of Operations responsible for Quality, Manufacturing, Service, and Research and Development.
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Jeannie Cheatham played roots music before anyone was calling it that. She grew up on church music, and progressed to the blues in a time and place where black women were encouraged to ex...
Michael Balter discovered, as a percussionist for many stage and symphonic orchestras, that he could create his own sounds by adjusting or wrapping his mallets. He slowly began designing ...
Heribert Glassl had two musical loves, the tuba and the cello. While it may seem like a strange pairing, Mr. Glassl made it work. In fact, after a long career in musical instrument making...
Richard Janda specialized in repairing stringed instruments. It was also something he enjoyed very much. During World War II he was trained to repair the band instruments for the U.S. Mil...
Jack Javens loved the piano business and became one of the industry’s quintessential salesmen. He worked for the Aeolian Piano Company out of East Rochester New York beginning in the 19...
George Lewis was the founder of George L’s in Madison, Tennessee, one of the industry’s leading innovators of cable and electronic components. George played a large role in the developme...
Zhi Cheng Tong served as the Chairman for Pearl River Pianos in China and was one of its longest-term employees. The company was established in 1956, and he joined the company just two y...
John Hornby Skewes was the founder and president of John Hornby Skewes Company Ltd, a noted music wholesaler located in England, which was established in the early 1960s. John was also o...
Ruth Sibley Bensinger wrote a song called “So Long Sweetheart” when she was a teenager. The song was about lovers split by war. Members of her musically inclined family thought the song...
Mr. Menchey founded the Menchey Music Service in 1936 out of his mother’s sewing room in Hanover. By the time he retired in 1982, Menchey’s Music grew into the premier full-service schoo...
William McCormick may always be referred to as an industry outsider by some because he came to the music retail business with a Harvard MBA, from the sugar industry – over 30 years ago! ...
Dean Markley thought there must be a better way of making a guitar string, so he found it and in the process changed the way accessory products were sold. Founder of Dean Markley String...
Richard Collins had a colorful career as a jazz trumpeter in the evening while he studied for his masters degree by day. Two topics always fascinated Dick, music and research, so he sou...
Don Johnson received his degree in journalism and later landed the editor’s job at a recording industry trade magazine. Years later the magazine was sold to the owners of the Music Merc...
Barbara Fitzgerald is a member of the NAMM family! For years Barbara has been the trade show event coordinator who quietly in the background has made possible so many of the current ser...
Frank Fendorf served as a school band director for many years beginning with the high school band in Warrensburg, MO in 1947. He enjoyed the role of band director and in fact was doing ...
Norman Erickson was hired by the Lowrey Company in 1947. At that time, the company was still producing cement powder mixture. However, Lowrey’s owner had an interest in the electronic org...
Luella Derwin was one of the first women owners of a music store in America. In 1937, when her bandleader husband Hal Derwin went on the road, Luella was left behind, “So one day I was ...
