Allee Willis wrote a number of successful songs that have become part of the fabric of pop music. Allee either wrote or co-wrote songs such as “September” by Earth Wind & Fire, the theme for the sitcom Friends entitled “I’ll Be there for You,” the Broadway musical The Color Purple, and "Neutron Dance" among many others. She has also been heavily involved with...
Library
Recently Completed
Daniel Keller is the founder of Get It In Writing and a strong advocate for promotion and marketing within and for the...
Betty Bennett was inspired to pursue a career in music when she was brought along to gigs by her mother and was allowed...
Rick DePiro fell in love with music when he first decided to play the organ at the young age of 10, getting his first...
Full Interviews
This is the full length NAMM Oral History interview with Speedy West, which was captured on May 17, 2002. For his ...
This is the full length NAMM Oral History interview with Jim Marshall, which was captured on July 21, 2002. For his...
This is the full length NAMM Oral History interview with Hyman Peller, which was captured on May 9, 2017. For his...
Vignettes
Long time music store owner and rights advocate, Fat Dog, was looking for a way to pay tribute to his all-time favorite...
jj Babbitt Co. Inc. was established in 1919 by Jesse James Babbitt and as of 2019, as the family owned and operated...
Studio Engineers make the music come alive for the listener. As Brooks Arthur notes, engineers are like the extra band...
About the Library & Resource Center
The NAMM Oral History program is unique, unlike any other collection in the world. The heart of the collection is the depth of its narrative that covers innovative creations, the evolution of musical instruments, the ever changing world of music retail, as well as our collective quest to improve music education around the globe. Oral History participants have come from 46 different countries, 49 U.S. states and were born between 1903 and 1988. This collection is our journal, our own way of chronicling ourselves and our community—the community we so eagerly embrace at the NAMM shows and so proudly celebrate throughout the year. This library of video interviews, now 3,000 strong and always growing, contains the story of our industry told by those who helped to shape it and have watched it expand and develop through the years.
We hope you find what you're looking for right here, but if you have any questions, please contact us at 760.438.8001 or via e-mail at dand@namm.org.