Rock and Roll Music

Ian Anderson grew up in England during the 1960s and had a long list of guitar heroes who inspired him to play music. However, he found the power of people like Eric Clapton to be disconcerting, as young Ian felt inferior next to such guitar gods. He felt his best chances to success in rock was to play an instrument that Clapton did not play and so he found his way to the flute. Ian’s ear and passion for music allowed the otherwise non-rock instrument to not only fit in, but to become an influence.

Dave Bartholomew is a noted bandleader, trumpeter, and songwriter who captured a pioneering sound known as the “big beat” of rock and roll. His uncanny ability to provide the perfect musical expression to the words of his band mate Fats Domino resulted in a long list of classic recordings. Together the team wrote “I’m Walkin’,” ”Ain’t that a Shame,” “I’m in Love Again,” “Blue Monday,” and “Valley of Tears.” Equally impressive are his talents as arranger and bandleader.

Jeff “Skunk” Baxter gained enormous international fame as a founding member of Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers. Skunk’s solo licks are among the most noted and influential in rock and roll history. As product advisor, he has also played an important role in the early Roland guitar synthesizers and several effects pedals over the years.

Hal Blaine is perhaps the most recorded drummer from the California recording studios of the 1950s-'70s.  His influential style can be heard on more than 170 number one hit songs and 450 tunes that made the top 40 on the charts during those decades.  His beat can be heard on hundreds of albums by artists ranging from the Beach Boys and Elvis Presley to the Carpenters and Barbra Streisand.  As a creative performer, Hal became one of the early studio players to gain such notoriety that he was asked to endorse drum kits, heads and sticks.

Sonny Burgess is known as the wild man of rock and roll who brought a driving guitar style to early Sun recordings (the label that launched Elvis Presley). Among those recordings were “We Wanna Boogie” and “Feelin’ Good.” Sonny’s early days with Sam Phillips, the founder of Sun Records, were at the dawn of rock, when country was being mixed with the blues. These “rockabilly” songs became the foundation of the Sun sound.

Del Casher has an impressive scrapbook full of photographs from his career as a professional guitarist and inventor of music products, such as the early guitar effects called the Echo-Phonic. Among those photos is one of Del testing the Roland mini guitar and even one of Del performing alongside Elvis Presley from the movie Roustabout. Del has played an important role in the early years of the guitar effects innovations including the wah wah and Echo-Phonic products.
 

Billy Cobham is the acclaimed drummer who was inducted into the Percussive Arts Society’s Hall of Fame in 2006. Billy was born in Panama but moved with his family to New York where he performed with his father as early as the age of 8. His long list of performed back by Billy’s beat include Horace Silver, Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson and the Saturday Night Live house band in the 1980s and Peter Gabriel for a tour in the 1990s. His smooth style can be heard on the Roberta Flack recording of “You’ve Got a Friend."

Bobby Cochran got his start in music playing the licks of his uncle Eddie, who passed away when Bobby was just ten years old. As he developed his own style he performed with Steppenwolf, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Leon Russel, as well as his own bands as singer and guitarist. He formed several important relationships within the music products industry with companies such as Fender, Charvel, Cakewalk, Sonic Foundry, Yamaha, Peavey and with the Ibanez Guitar Company.

Charles Connor was a pioneer in the early beat of rock and roll. As a drummer in New Orleans in the early 1950s, he played with Professor Longhair and became the original drummer for Little Richard. In fact, it was Little Richard who asked Connor if he could produce a rhythm that sounded like a train – and he did.

Bobby Crafford still has his first snare drum, the one he played when he recorded early Rockabilly songs for Sun Records in Memphis, TN. In 1957 he joined the Pacers, the band behind Sonny Burgess. Being part of the roots of rock and roll has always been a source of pride for him. Sonny split up the group to open a music retail store and raise his family, after 20 years he called Bobby and the rest of the Pacers asking if they wanted to go on the road.