Larry Ramirez had a fascinating career in music! As a trumpet player he landed his dream job designing instruments for many of his childhood heroes! While working for Leblanc, Larry was a...
Laurie Prosser and her husband Duane worked together at a small piano store in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, before moving to Washington state in 1955. There the couple opened the first Pros...
Stan Morgan became the president of St. Louis Music after Mark Ragin purchased the company from LOUD Technologies in 2008. The new St. Louis Music retained its strong combo products for i...
Lee Berk’s father had a unique approach to teaching music, bringing the passion and fun of music making into the classroom. The Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, was founded with th...
Chris Brooks was proud of the publications he and his partner, Chris Crockarell, created as part of their percussion-focused music publishing company. Since forming Row-Loff in the early ...
Letty Jo Randell formed her own music publishing company, Letting Go Music, after having worked for Screen Gems and a company she formed with her then husband, Denny Randell. She began us...
Carol Buschmann grew up in Sheboygan, Wisconsin where she joined the all female singing group the Chordettes just a year after it was formed in 1947. She stayed with the group until they ...
Dom Famularo was a regular attendee at NAMM Shows and was often found demonstrating products he endorsed or talking about his latest method book or educational DVD. Dom’s passion for musi...
Sammy Ash was named after his grandfather, the founder of the Sam Ash Music Company in New York City. Like his grandfather, Sammy had a deep passion and understanding of the music busine...
Dan Strait moved his family to Austin, TX,from Houston to open a Baldwin piano franchise back in 1963. The company was called Strait Piano and Organ and Dan’s motto was “Where customers b...
William Bartolini and his wife, Patricia, are among the world’s foremost experts on the science of acoustics. Their early publications on the subject in the 1960s and 1970s have since bec...
Joe Calato was the inventor of the nylon-tipped drumstick, who turned the small idea of preserving his favorite sticks into an industry success story. He formed Regal Tip to produce his u...
Gordon B. Peters spent decades performing, teaching, and composing for the percussive arts. He worked to provide meaningful tools to students and teachers alike while keeping his techniqu...
Bobby Feldman wrote three hit songs in the 1960s that are still being played and recorded today. His songwriting began at a desk in the Brill Building in New York City. He formed several ...
Betty Meyer and her husband, Ted, decided that their teaching salaries were not enough to raise their family in the early 1960s so they decided to open a music store. It turned out to be ...
Robert Neu grew up in the Cincinnati area and went to work for Baldwin Piano Company on August 2, 1946, right after World War II. In fact, Bob started out as a time keeper to keep track o...
John Allegrezza began working in the piano business in 1957 and soon discovered he had a real passion for the business and the people. In 1981 he opened his store, Allegrezza Pianos, in R...
Robbie Robertson was a member of the rock group The Band, which backed Bob Dylan and went on to record a string of hit songs, many of which Robbie wrote. During his NAMM Oral History inte...
Robert J. Jones traveled on a tour bus with his father and sang gospel music together for many years as the Song Fellows. They recorded for Homeland Records in Nashville and performed aro...
Rusty Richards would like to point out the distinction between Singing Cowboys and Cowboys that sing. He was very much a cowboy, having roped, rode in the rodeo and worked as a ranch hand...
Ross Cole was inducted into the Australian Music Association's Honor Roll in 2017 for his life long career in music education. In 1978, Ross and his wife Marilyn opened Cove Music and lat...
This audio only interview was conducted by David Schwartz and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Tony Bennett, the legendary jazz and pop music singer, provided his thoughts about ...
Ronnie Drumm had a full and fulfilling life in music! As a child he picked up the trumpet, which he played during his time as a big band leader, musical director and educator. Ronnie work...
Richard Boynton had many fond memories of the music industry. His grandfather was once the owner of CG Conn Musical Instruments in Elkhart, Indiana. In fact, Mr. Greenleaf purchased the c...
Lori Supinie was an active music maker since she was a child. Throughout her life she provided music and music lessons to others as well as being a strong leader within the music products...
Jerry Ash recalls his father, Sam Ash, giving him a pocketful of change and sending him off on the subway to New York City to pick up the sheet music orders from the publishers. With nick...
Keith Alexander played the important role of Director of Operations for the Los Angeles-based swing band, the Big Band Alumni. The band, whose leader is Bill A. Jones, was established in ...
Jerry Masters grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he heard his mother playing piano in church as far back as he could remember. After serving in the US Army, Jerry formed his own rock...
Ray Benedetto and Gene Garb were interviewed together in connection with the 50th anniversary of NEMC (National Educational Music Company) at the NAMM show in 2007. Ray, the president and...
Bobby Osborne is the mandolin/guitarist who teamed with his brother to form one of the most beloved duets in bluegrass music history. The Osborne Brothers recorded several key songs for ...
Jim Whitehill provided a very important overview of the products and politics of the Norlin Music Company, which was originally named Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI), when Mr. M.H. Berl...