Steve Propes has been a longtime supporter of the NAMM Oral History program and sat down with us to discuss his views on the development of R&B, doo wop and rock and roll. As a long t...
Bill Hesterman has always been fascinated by the pipe organ. He studied piano and organ as a child, and with the good fortune that one of his teachers was an organist for the Mormon Taber...
Rick Vito not only grew up in a home filled with music, but with his parents owning a night club he also had a built in venue as a young musician! He started playing guitar for local doo-...
Lou Bradley served as a recording engineer in the famous Quonset Hut Studios in Nashville, TN which was operated by Owen Bradley (no relation). Among the thousands of recordings Lou playe...
Pablo Ortega was interviewed during the Summer NAMM Show in 2021, just as Magma Strings was launching their American distribution branch. The show was both Pablo’s first as well as the fi...
Randy Blevins studied engineering in college and soon after landed a three-year position at Audio Consulting Inc, which was an MCI dealer. Randy began installing the MCI consoles includin...
Jack Bruno was just 16 when his rock band, Apple Pie Motherhood Band, landed a record deal with Atlantic. The band was based in Boston and drove down to New York to record there, and even...
Jimmy Edwards grew up in a musical family. His father was a singer in a rock band and Jimmy began playing drums by the time he was five and later picked up the guitar. After serving in th...
Glenn Rieuf worked for a radio station repairing and building their equipment, which was the perfect foundation for his role as a recording engineer. He was hired by Chip Young, who had j...
Barry Rudolph was always interested in electronics and music. During high school he played drums in a surf band and worked full time in the aerospace industry while putting himself throug...
Terry West started playing in bands at an early age and continued throughout his twenties and thirties. He was always one to maintain a day job, and his many roles at an outdoor advertisi...
Myno Jackson grew up surrounded by music. Her father was the jazz bassist Chubby Jackson who played with Woody Herman, had a hit children’s television program, and toured with Louie Armst...
Eugene Moles grew up surrounded by music. His father was a studio musician who also had a guitar repair shop in Bakersfield, California (he was an expert on refinishing, he added the famo...
Mike Lawson always wanted to become a musician as a child. The process was not easy as his family could not afford an instrument for him, but his desire was always strong. He worked hard ...
Jay McDowell, known as Smilin' Jay, is the Multimedia Archivist for the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee. His father worked with Guild Guitars and was friends with Duane Edd...
Joe Spann joined the Gruhn Guitars crew in Nashville, TN to assist in writing appraisals. Appraising musical instruments is an important part of the retail store's business, and has been ...
Robert Yates is known as Uncle Uke for a very good reason - he plays, builds, and sells ukuleles. Robert opened his own store, HUG Ukulele, on the big island of Hawaii with his wife Patri...
Titus is the cat you will meet when visiting Gruhn Guitars in Nashville, TN. Titus was a rescue, and has grown into a big, friendly, and beautiful boy. George spoke of the many customers ...
Jonathon Breen’s grandparents opened The Music Shoppe in 1961 in Bloomington, Illinois. Back then the name was spelled without the second P and the E, which were added later by his Uncle ...
Cowboy Joe Babcock is a singer and songwriter whose career in country music spans over sixty years. As a vocalist he and Hurshel Wiginton formed a backup studio singing group called The N...
Larry Noto’s father, Joe, opened Music Land in 1971. Back then Joe wanted to create a store that would provide instruments and repairs to both the gigging musician and students. Larry gre...
Kevin Ray Clark grew up with music in his home and played in a family band at church. He was inspired by the musicians playing at Disney World and pursued the trumpet in his school band p...
Jason Mraz has won the hearts of millions by the way he expresses himself musically. During his NAMM Oral History interview, Jason displayed that same passion as he recalled the important...
Chuck Jacobs played bass in Kenny Rogers’ band for more than 40 years and enjoyed every minute of it. His roots in music go back to the Dixieland group his family formed while he was too ...
Bill Koepnick is the co-founder of Advantage Audio in Burbank, CA where he specializes in creating and recording sound effects for movies and television. Bill got interested in music at a...
Jeff Berlin has always been surrounded by music and considers it the most important element of his life besides his family. The first instrument he picked up was the violin at age five, w...
Mick Abrahams was given his first music lessons by his mother who was a piano teacher. When he transitioned to guitar he formed a band with some schoolmates and began writing songs. When ...
David Lindley grew up close to the Folk Music Center in Claremont, California, where he was exposed to stringed instruments from around the world. He also worked for Berry Grassmuek Music...
Greg Mathieson spoke passionately about his career in music during his NAMM Oral History interview. He brought up some very interesting points, such as his views on working on the road vs...
Frederick Swann was one of the most famous organists of the last 50 years due to his many publications, recitals, church performances and his long run on the television program The Hour o...
