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 which started Trevor off on a side musical experience as a session player in his hometown of Johannesburg, South Africa. Trevor also studied classical music and composition, which he later...
Library
Recently Completed
Les Brazil’s first retail job was in Manchester, United Kingdom in 1966 when he was just 15, at a shop called Reno’s....
Mary Ortigara has always had a deep passion for education and was even an English major at Xavier College. After...
Don Wilson is a founding member of the instrumental rock band, The Ventures! He formed the band with his friend Bob...
Full Interviews
This is the full length NAMM Oral History interview with Dr. Ruth Lion, which was captured on October 20, 2003. For...
This is the full length NAMM Oral History interview with Bruce Stevens, which was captured on June 7, 2007. For his...
This is the full length NAMM Oral History interview with Ed Cornett, which was captured on January 24, 2013. 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.