Dale Hyatt was hired by Leo Fender while the iconic guitar builder was still a radio repairman in Fullerton, CA. The year was 1948. Dale recalled all of the major landmarks that helped es...
Peter Janis played in school orchestra and rock bands growing up as his mother played piano in the home and encouraged him to pursue music. His first job in the industry was working at S...
Don Johnston has become a well-respected sales manager for the Fender Musical Instruments Corp. He was hired just after CBS Musical purchased the famed electric guitar company in May 196...
Rob Joly was playing in a surf band in 1966 when Leo Fender hired him to work at a teenage fair. The fair attracted young students and Leo felt the event would be great to introduce his n...
John Jorgenson is best known as a guitarist, although he also plays and records with a number of musical instruments. While performing in the bands The Hellecasters and the Desert Rose Ba...
Bob King worked at Hal’s Music in Mountain View, California after returning from Vietnam in the early 1970s. He was introduced to the wholesaling side of the industry and soon gained a j...
Ken King performed in several Country and Western bands in and around Los Angeles beginning in the 1940s. While playing his guitar as a guest on the Spade Cooley television show in late 1...
Bill Kirchen is a well known rockabilly guitarist known by his tag, The Titan of The Telecaster! During much of his career Bill could be seen and heard playing his 1959 Sunburst finished ...
Greg Koch is well known in guitar circles for his series of method books that have encouraged thousands to play or to improve their playing abilities! Among his most noted books are “Blu...
Bill Lawrence was known for his pick-up design and his long career as a German based guitarist. In fact, when visiting the Framus Museum in Markneukirchen Germany, you can learn of his in...
Scott Lombardo worked in the music products industry since he was fourteen years old! His passion quickly developed after hearing The Beatles three years earlier. He would drill holes and...
Yngwie Malmsteen is a ferociously talented guitar player, composer, and producer from Sweden. He first gained notoriety in the mid 1980’s when he exploded onto the music scene blending hi...
Jono Manson is the owner of The Kitchen Sink Recording Studio in Santa Fe, New Mexico. As a record producer and engineer, he has collaborated on projects ranging from national advertising...
Hank Marvin and his buddy, Bruce Welch, formed the instrumental rock band The Shadows in 1958 in England. The highly influential group pioneered the four-member rock band format consistin...
Richard McDonald has always been driven and inspired by music. Both his father and brother played upright bass and for as long as he can remember, Richard has always been drawn to making ...
Paul Meisenzahl bought his first guitar from his brother for $2.00 and promptly taught himself how to play. His first paying gig came when he was eleven and he played in rock bands throug...
Bill Mendello retired as president of Fender Musical Instrument Corp in the fall of 2010 after a long career in the industry. He was hired in the accounting department of CBS Musical Inst...
Buddy Merrill played the pedal steel guitar on the Lawrence Welk TV program from its start in 1954 until he left the show in 1974. Buddy played Fender products while on the Welk Show, whi...
Peanutt Montgomery grew up in Texas and took to playing the guitar at an early age. He formed a band that played for troops at military bases in the area and formed a trio with future act...
Steve Morse has been a regular attendee at the NAMM Shows for several decades thanks to the Ernie Ball Company. In fact, it was thanks to Sterling Ball that Steve was interviewed during ...
Larry Moudy sang and played the guitar for the musical group Up With People beginning in 1967. After being drafted and serving in the Vietnam War with the 101st Airborne, Larry returned t...
Margaret O'Loughlin was inducted into the Australian Music Association's Honor Roll in 2017 for her dedication to the music industry. After her husband, Peter, had taken ill and passed aw...
David O'Loughlin joined his mother in the wholesale company his father had formed to import Fender guitars into Australia. He grew up in the business and recalls with a smile his college ...
Ken Oda was hired by Yamaha in 1967 to run their retail store in San Francisco, California. He continued to work for the company until his retirement at which point he joined Fender Musi...
Joe Phelps started playing drums in the 7th grade. While in college, as a marketing major, he opened an off campus concert hall, played in bands, and ran a recording studio for the music ...
Mike Ponce enjoys managing the Suhr Guitar factory at JS Technologies Inc. in Southern California as the job allows him to apply his expertise in all aspects of guitar building. Mike was...
Trevor Rabin was raised in a musical household, with a father who was a musician and he encouraged Trevor to play the piano at an early age. Later, his father gave him a guitar as a gift ...
Don Randall met Leo Fender before World War II when both men worked in radio repairs. After the war they decided to form a business together that would allow Leo to focus on developing a ...
Owen Ray recalls his father buying him a ukulele when he was a kid and his passion for string instruments began! Owen played a vital role in the Australian guitar market when he started r...
Herb Remington was the steel guitarist for Bob Wills and the Texas Playboy who built his own line of guitars called Remington Steel. Among his fascinating history: being long time person...
Bob Rissi was the founder of Risson Amplifier Company, which produces Made-in-America products based on Bob’s own designs. He began designing amplifiers in 1960 when he was hired by Leo ...