Larry LeBlanc was just 14 years old when he wrote a story about the local music scene for a Toronto newspaper. He was soon asked to write for a monthly magazine for teens called the Canad...
Larry Dvoskin can trace his passion for music back to an early age when he was classically trained on the piano. He purchased a guitar while in high school to gain the attention of girls ...
Rudy Perez was born in Cuba and arrived in Florida when he was eight years old. Soon after, he purchased his first guitar from Ace Music in Miami and formed a touring band. Along the way,...
Michael Cotten was the original keyboardist for the band the Tubes, which took full advantage of the innovations in synthesizers of the 1970s and 80s. Michael experimented with electronic...
Jake Connolly has fond memories of working with his father, who became his mentor in life and the music business. Together, father and son grew their string distribution company from a sh...
Mary Jo Mennella is the president and founder of Music Asset Management, Inc. She studied trumpet in college and landed her first job in the industry working at ASCAP in New York, then Lo...
Bud DiFluri enjoyed a long and successful career in the music industry in both retail and manufacturing. He managed the Yamaha band and orchestra department in New York City with a focus ...
Vinnie Bell was a studio musician in New York who often was asked to create new and unique sounds. As a luthier, Vinnie built several innovative guitars including one tuned like a sitar. ...
After 40 years in business, dealing with almost every brand and every manufacturer, Camille says she still enjoys the thrill of finding the perfect piano to suit her customers’ needs. And...
Brian Marsh joined his brother, Robert, on the ground floor of his DJ retailing business. The two brothers sought to grow the store and provide the best customer service possible. Their a...
Robert Marsh came into the music retail business following a frustration of purchasing equipment as a DJ. He was inspired by the role the DJ brings to a party, a nightclub, or family gath...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Trummy Young was a noted jazz trombonist who performed and ...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Eddie Miller was asked to take a break from his road travel...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Frankie Carle fondly told the story that his parents could ...
Cindalee Hall first attended a NAMM Show in the late 1960s and recalls being the only women she saw that day on the trade show floor. Since that time not only has her own career in the in...
Bob Harrison tells many stories of his father and aunt working in music retail when he was a child. His aunt, Mary L. Spence, owned a store with her name on it in Plainview, Texas. She wa...
Jim Salzer opened his first store in 1966 with a focus on selling records. At the time Jim was a concert promoter in Southern California and really understood what teenagers and young adu...
Danny McKinney is a fourth generation musician who grew up with a passion for music and a fascination with audio. As a kid, he recalls seeing Standel amplifiers and dreaming of owning one...
Tommy Roe wrote most of the hit songs for which he is best known, such as "Dizzy," "Sheila," "Everybody" and "Sweet Pea." Each were hit songs in the 1960s and were part of the early days ...
Ronny Cox is the actor who played the guitar in the famous Dueling Banjo scene during the 1972 movie Deliverance. That movie moment led to a big boom in banjo and acoustic guitar (and can...
Marty Stuart grew up in the small town of Philadelphia, Mississippi surrounded by country music, which he taught himself to play on a family guitar when he was 12 years old. Marty soon le...
Brendan Murphy is the fourth generation of Murphys to hold an executive position with the M. Steinert & Sons Company, which follows three generations of Steinerts. For most of that ti...
Stephen Webber is a professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and helped create the Music Production/Engineering program. After working at Mid South Recording Studio in Nashvill...
Chris Noyes began studying guitar at the age of 8, taking lessons at a Washington DC area music store. The bands he played in as a kid often included politicians, in fact one band played ...
David Mash studied guitar in much the same way his mother studied the piano. He was focused on the classical traditions and even took lessons from Andre Segovia. His mother was a student ...
Neil Leonard began playing saxophone at a young age and it's no wonder, his father was a noted Jazz historian and author. After being greatly influenced by the Pink Floyd album "Dark Side...
Billy Arnold played drums behind several Motown recordings including those with saxophonist, Junior Walker. While he often played a Gretsch kit, Billy never fussed about having to set up ...
Don (DJ) Johnson joined the Ovation Guitar Company in 1968, just about the time Glen Campbell was introducing the unique round-back instrument on national television. DJ worked for the fo...
Peggy Falcetti and her husband, Sam, opened Falcetti Music in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1957. Since that time, Peggy and Sam have been very active in many community music programs. Pe...
David Frederick was working for ARP Synthesizers in the early 1970s when he had an idea to create a special musical experience for the trade show in Chicago. He called it the NAMM JAM and...
