Folk Music

Muriel Anderson sure puts her heart and soul into her music as both a performer and songwriter. Over the years the music products industry has been lucky to be closely associated with Murial thanks to her endorsement of instruments and accessories as well as her widely successful All Star Guitar Nights, a feature at NAMM Shows since 2000. Her many projects include raising funds for school music programs and music education.
 

Lou Curtiss has been a long time supporter of American folk music and in fact, he helped coin the phrase “roots music.” For over 30 years he created, arranged and promoted the annual folk music festival in San Diego beginning in 1967. Lou has also hosted a jazz radio program as well as running his rare record shop in San Diego for over 40 years. His vast knowledge of the growth and development of American music is nothing short of amazing as are the many stories he tells of promoting music and the music makers he has worked with for over 50 years.
 

Greg Deering worked for a short time with Bob Taylor in San Diego as both men sought their dreams to create their own unique fretted instruments. While Taylor Guitars was being established, Greg and his wife Janet worked long and hard to build up the Deering Banjo Company. As the company reached success within the industry Greg became a well-respected expert on the history of the banjo and the development of the instrument over the years. 

Janet Deering has become the darling of the banjo industry as co-founder of the Deering Banjo Company. Along with her husband Greg, she has brought the banjo back to its popular roots with the pride of an American-made instrument. Although the instrument was not originated in the United States it certainly gained its greatest fame as a required instrument in country and bluegrass music. Along with the success of the company, Janet has been involved with many programs which encourage music makers. 

Earl Dumont played his flattop Martin guitar during the folk music boom of the 1960s as part of the Shenandoah Trio. The group toured with Jimmy Rodgers among others and recorded for Billy Vaughan at DOT Records. Earl was greatly influenced by jazz great Barney Kessel who provided lessons for Earl and some sound advice. Earl was encouraged to listen closely to other players and add his own personal style to form a unique approach to his playing. Barney also suggested that Earl form his own group, which resulted in the Shenandoah Trio and several long playing albums for DOT.
 

Sam Hinton was a national treasure. It seems appropriate to use that term when talking about him because he become an important and invaluable preservationist of some of our nation's greatest treasures, folk songs. Sam spent many years traveling the backwoods of this country in search of traditional songs that surely would have been lost without his efforts. As early as 1947, Sam recorded his favorite folk songs for the Library of Congress.

Michael Kropp loved folk music for as far back as he can remember. As he grew up and played in various bands in the 1960s and 70s he also became involved with the music industry. After owning his own music store for several years in New England, Mike became friends with Stewart Spector, Hap Kuffner and Ned Steinberger early on in their careers in the industry, teaming up to become a force of introducing, marketing and selling innovative musical products around the world.
 

Trini Lopez became an early Latin-American pop singer with a string of recordings in the late 1950s and 60s including "If I Had a Hammer" and "Lemon Tree." Frank Sinatra took him under his wing and signed Trini to an eight year record contract that included the talents of Sinatra's arranger Don Costa to oversee Trini's projects. Trini's name recognition prompted Gibson Guitar Company to approach Trini to develop his own signature guitar model. The Trini Lopez model was manufactured from 1964 until 1971 and is still being played by a number of high profile recording artists.

John McEuen is a founding member of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, considered to be one of the most successful folk-rock groups in history. He played with the band from 1966 to 1986 and took part in their reunion in 2001. John pioneered a unique style on the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5-string_banjo" \o "5-string banjo" 5-string banjo that can be heard on many of the Dirt Band’s recordings as well as those of countless other artists including Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Steve Vai, Jimmy Buffett and The Doors.

Milt Okun is the founder of Cherry Lane Music Publishing. His career in music, outside of his own playing, began as a record producer. He had success during the folk movement of the 1950s and 60s with performers such as Peter, Paul and Mary. While he continued to produce, he established Cherry Lane and soon worked with singer/songwriter, John Denver, whose successes put Cherry Lane on the map. Mr. Okun’s grasp of the music industry allowed him to be creative and innovative, while growing his business as well as the industry in general. His knowledge of the industry also made for a most memorable interview.