Established in 1999, the NAMM Oral History Collection is unique, unlike any other collection in the world. The heart of the collection is the depth of its narratives that cover innovative...
Wes Sutton has a background as a musician and a welder and wasn’t too sure about an opening at King Music Company in Brownwood, Texas, but he was looking for a change so he took a chance....
Mike Kamphuis is perfectly suited for his position as Vice President, Division of Education at Conn-Selmer in Elkhart, Indiana. His role allows him to work closely with educators and indu...
John Jarvis is the president and owner of the music retail store in Florida, Music Man. His father was a band director back in 1944 who retired to Florida in 1973 and opened a small store...
George Reeder and his wife, Lynn, are the owners of Rovner Products, which produces ligatures, mouthpieces and other accessories for musical instruments. The company was established in th...
Lynn Reeder did not become actively involved in music until her mid-40’s after receiving a gift certificate for voice lessons from her husband George and son Alex, although an avid listen...
Syndenn Sweet was the first woman hired as a luthier at Bookmans Entertainment Exchange in Tucson, Arizona. This distinction is one she makes with pride, especially considering her father...
Mark Mason's passion for technology began early; he started programming computers at just ten years old. This early interest blossomed into a career when he became a technician for Micros...
Gregg Proniske began working at Southwest Strings in 1998. The distributor of stringed instruments is located in Tucson, Arizona, and specializes in contracts with school music programs a...
Tiffany Johnson gets a real kick from serving her school accounts for Southwest Strings and helping each obtain the instruments and services they need in order to provide for their music ...
Rebecca Ensley studied clarinet in college and yet somehow got caught up in the crazy world of stringed instruments as a luthier and repair technician. It all started in 1991 when a frien...
Nancy Kewin Smith is a pioneering senior executive who served the music products industry in an era in which she was among a small number of women in high-ranking positions. After earning...
Leslie Stirm is the owner of the Instrumental Music Center in Tucson, Arizona. Joining the store in 2001, Leslie has helped develop the store’s team, which has a strong focus on customer ...
Joyce Moore has been encouraged by many friends and family members for years to write a book. After her NAMM interview, we concluded the same thing. Joyce was there when Jackie Wilson rec...
Sam Moore and his singing partner Dave Prater helped put Stax Records on the map with their string of top hits in the 1960s. Their powerful performances inspired their nicknames of Double...
Denny Mack was surrounded by music his entire life! His father was a Vaudeville performer and it seems all Denny ever wanted to do was be involved with music. He played drums at sock-hops...
Michael Campion has attended the NAMM Show since the late 1970s, first as a wide-eyed musician, then as a retailer and finally as an exhibitor. Tracing his evolving roles at the show mirr...
Kelly Wheeler and her husband Dorsey run a music retail business in Idaho with several locations. Dorsey Music was established in 1969 and just three years later Kelly walked through the ...
Dorsey Wheeler attributes some of the success of his music store to the training and ongoing support he has received from companies such as Peavey Electronics and Cannonball Musical Instr...
Laurel Summerhays was 11 years old when she received her first paycheck working in her family’s music store. Her parents, Hyrum and Colleen, opened Summerhays Music in 1936 and their fami...
Katelyn Summerhays was 11 years old when she had her first official job in her family’s music store. Her grandparents opened Summeryhays Music in the Salt Lake City area in 1936, and her ...
Mark Altekruse, like so many passionate members of the music industry, specifically remembers the lessons he learned from one of his earliest and most influential music instructors. Tromb...
Chris Leonard grew up surrounded by gear! His father served as sound engineer for local events and at church. This exposure ignited a passion in Chris and set his career path in the direc...
Larry Blank was greatly influenced by attending Broadway musicals with his parents as a kid. As a result he studied drama yet realized he wanted to be a musician. Larry played piano growi...
Gio Giovanni has a rich background in music, a passion of his since he was a kid. Gio grew up in Detroit, where he studied guitar and became a Hip Hop DJ. He took classes that incorporate...
Gary Panton grew up in Niagara, New York, and played the drums and vibes in high school. It was there that he started his first band, a jazz trio. In 1970 he was hired by Dick Crino in Du...
Russell Scull is the proud son of Bert and Isabell Scull, two widely influential members of the music industry’s family. The Sculls provided accounting services to music stores beginning ...
Lynn Scull is the daughter-in-law of Bert and Isabell Scull, who formed the now historic Scull Groups to serve music retailers throughout the United States. Lynn married the Scull’s son R...
Matthew Green grew up in a very musical family. His father plays French Horn and was greatly influential on Matthew's own musical pursuits. At first he played the cello in school then lat...
Marietta Robison was living next door to Sheryl and Tevis Laukat in 1996 when the couple approached her for help with their idea to start an instrument company. With a strong background i...
