Evan Skopp is the president of Inside Track International, which is a boutique sales & marketing firm that works with luthiers and guitar manufacturers. He started out in music at an ...
Jim Phiffer accepted a position at Pearl Drums which would lead him to a 20 plus year career in the music business. While at Pearl, Jim was the Vice President of Sales and Marketing, even...
The piano sticker represents a NAMM program of the early 1900’s until World War I and again briefly in the 1950s. The sticker program was an effort to authenticate dealers and pianos in a...
Robert Christie grew up listening to classical music at home and naturally gravitated towards percussion instruments. When he was five years old he began to play drums in church, and late...
Terry Bissette began playing drums as a kid in South Florida, where he lived through the heyday of live music in the 1970’s and 80’s, performing six nights a week at various clubs. He too...
Mark Gooday is the founder/owner of Ashdown Engineering. As a young bass player in England, Mark idolized the tone and style of John Entwistle of The Who and wanted more sound from the ba...
Dale Wentworth put himself through college by teaching music lessons in the back of his father’s lighting store Kelowna, British Columbia. After finishing college, Dale realized that his ...
James Hall saw his sister’s flute and wondered if he could make one out of glass. He bought a glass tube from his university’s science supply and used his brother’s blow torch to make fin...
This audio only interview was conducted by Bruce Duffie and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Vladimir Ussachevsky was a classically trained composer who worked in the field of el...
Brad Townsend always had a love for music and remembers growing up with music all around him. He opened a retail music store/lesson studio and also had an extensive career at Fender Music...
Howie Mendelson played the recorder and trombone in school but, like so many of his generation, picked up the guitar when he heard the Beatles. Unlike most, Howie didn't just see the Fab ...
Barry Horowitz first joined the team at Sam Ash in 1971! The small retail store was just expanding under the direction of the founder's two sons, Jerry and Paul. Jerry became like a secon...
DeDe Heid met her husband Todd while selling his music store, Heid Music, their newspaper advertising. After attending numerous NAMM Shows with Todd, as well as other business meetings, D...
Todd Heid of Heid Music grew up watching the shop operate and found his passion for the business during his high school years. In the early years of Heid Music, the store had a large prod...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Bea Wain was a singer with the big bands during the great s...
DJ Spindarella, from the Bronx New York, grew up in love with the Disney character Cinderella. She was wearing a Cinderella watch while spinning records in her local park, the day she got...
DJ Hollywood always had the showbiz bug, even at six years old he would perform at his mother's parties. As he saw crowds gather to hear music in the Harlem parks, Hollywood brought out h...
Kool DJ Red Alert, from Harlem New York, grew up listening to the Caribbean music of his grandparents as well as his brother's record collection. He was greatly inspired the day he first ...
DJ Scratch is a legendary Hip Hop DJ and producer from Brooklyn New York. He has worked with many great Hip Hop artists such as Jam Master Jay, EPMD, Jay-Z and A Tribe Called Quest! Durin...
DJ Mean Gene (L Brothers) from the Bronx, was not only a legendary DJ but an early Hip Hop promoter and organizer of jams and shows. Gene was Grandmaster Flash's first DJ partner. His you...
Jay Wanamaker found his passion for music as a member of a drum and bugle corps and eventually honed his skills while attending the Crane school of music at SUNY Potsdam University in Pot...
DJ Imperial JayCee first played records in the parks back in 1974. The world of Disco had created a career for DJ Kool Herc, a hero in JayCee's Bronx neighborhood, which inspired him to t...
Christie Z is an arts advocate who, lucky for each of us, focused on encouraging young artists and musicians in the Bronx, New York. She organized park concerts and later DJ battles that ...
Garth Hudson sat down at the piano and played several classical works as the NAMM Oral History crew set up the camera and lights. He began by playing, stopping every once in a while, to r...
Peter Yarrow was the Peter in the wildly successful popular folk music trio Peter, Paul, and Mary. During his often musical NAMM Oral History interview, Peter spoke of the role music play...
Charlie Feldman was inspired to play the guitar thanks to this father. While a teenager, Charlie formed several bands and over the years played with such great named bands as The Bassmen ...
Linda Lorence Critelli is an active and inspiring leader within the music publishing industry who continues to seek opportunities to strengthen relationships and encourage networking for ...
Laurie Spiegel joined Bell Labs in 1973 wanting to explore what digital computers could offer for musical composition beyond what she'd been able to do with traditional acoustic, written ...
Desmond Child is the songwriter behind such hit collaborations as "Livin' On a Prayer" with Bon Jovi, "Dude Looks Like a Lady" with Aerosmith, and "Livin’ La Vida Loca" for Ricky Martin. ...
Ian Goldrich grew up with a father who knew the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, making him one of the coolest kids in school. As the owner of Manny's Music, his dad, Henry, knew everyone in mus...
