vintage guitars

The NAMM Oral History program has enjoyed the support, dedication and time of many people within our industry who have supplied us with ideas, background and contact information to expand our collection. These people are dedicated to our goal of capturing and preserving our industry’s history. To recognize and celebrate this dedication and support, we created a new award: the NAMM Oral History Service Award.
We presented the first service award to retailer George Gruhn at 2011 Summer NAMM. Since 2001, George has supported the collection and assisted in the capturing of such industry leaders as Les Paul, Billy Grammer and Bill Collings. We are so thankful for efforts like these, which have helped us collect 1,636 interviews...and counting!
 

R. C. Allen is a guitar luthier that uses the style of his many friends of the era in the early 1950s in Southern California when guitar innovators were reshaping the instrument and grooming it for a new birth. RC was building his own unique instruments when Leo Fender and Lowell Kiesel of Carvin were also just starting out. RC was influenced greatly by his dear friend Paul Bigsby who worked for Merle Travis on one of the most historic electric guitars of the era.

Robert Bromberg has had a long career in the music products industry, as did his father. In fact, his father designed the mirror piano, which helped keep the industry alive during World War II by addeing mirrors to used pianos to make them more sellable as all-new pianos were not being made during the war. Robert’s long career includes working with his father in retail as well as creating the manufacturing process for the Guild Guitars in the 1950s into the 1970s. In more recent years Robert has been working with Hap Kuffner and Rob Turner at EMG Pick Ups, adding his insight to the company. 

John Carruthers has established himself as a leading expert on guitars and amplifiers as a designer, builder and repairman. Working along side Leo Fender at Music Man, John helped improve the quality of the product line and years later helped establish a series of instruments for Yamaha including their electric bass and acoustic guitar line. John’s reputation grew in part due to a decade long column he wrote for Guitar Player Magazine and his dedication to teaching.

Walter Carter wrote the book on the Gibson Guitar Company’s history. Along the way, he developed friendships with many of the old timers who worked the assembly line before “assembly line” was even a popular term. He spent months researching what was thought to be true to confirm it. Along the way, he fought to showcase those efforts of innovators and engineers whose work would otherwise be lost and unnoted. Walter became the first historian for Gibson and worked hard to do what is so important in our industry--preserve it.
 

Paul Chandler discovered a specialized market within the music industry as a result of being a rock and roll performer and loving vintage guitars. Over the years, Paul found that he had to replace vintage-style pickguards due to the composition of the materials used back in the 1930s and 40s. As a result he made his own and then, some for friends. Before he knew it, Paul was in business re-creating pickguards and other parts for nearly every brand of guitar. As the business grew, Paul offered other products relating to vintage guitars and parts and over time, became one of our industry’s leading experts on the subject. 

George Gruhn is, without question, one of the top experts of vintage guitars on the planet! George collected guitars before opening the world renowned Gruhn Guitar Shop in Nashville, Tenn. He has also authored several historical reference guides and thousands of articles on his vast collection and knowledge.

George Gruhn is without question one of the top experts of vintage guitars on the planet! George collected guitars before opening the world renowned Gruhn Guitar Shop in Nashville, TN in the early 1970s. Since that time he has authored several historical reference guides and thousands of articles on his vast collection and knowledge including “Acoustic Guitars & Other Fretted Instruments: A Photographic History” published in 1993.  

Norman Harris loves guitars! His vast knowledge and collection has made him one of the industry’s leading experts on vintage guitars and basses. As the founder of Norm’s Rare Guitars in Tarzana, CA, he played an important role in the great boom in vintage guitars that began in the 1980s. His passion for the instruments has made him a sought-after resource for articles, books and museum exhibits around the world. His NAMM Oral History interview was completed on January 20, 2002.
 

Ray Hennig opened Heart of Texas Music in the early 1960s after years of repairing guitars for friends. He built homes in Texas and was happy with that line of work, but his passion was in music – so he did both. Over the years, he has been awarded many honors from the city of Austin and from the state for his ethics and good business practices. For a generation of blues and rock fans, Ray is also known for his friendship with the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, who bought his “number one” guitar from Ray in the 1980s. Over 40 years after he started in the business, Ray sells instruments around the world and is often asked to address large tour groups who come to visit Austin in the hopes of knowing more about Stevie Ray and Texas music.