In Memoriam

Jimmy Martin came to the door the day of his interview in nothing but his boxers. He exclaimed, “Was that today!? Well, come on in, let me go get my teeth” and so started one of the most entertaining interviews of our collection. Known as the King of Bluegrass, Jimmy pioneered the guitar sound of the early Bill Monroe band as well as a style that would forever change American roots music. In addition to his recording and concert tours, Jimmy would often sit in with bands to provide lessons on his unique guitar strumming style.  

Dr. Robert Freeland was among this country’s first to earn a PhD in music librarianship. He worked for the Henry Ford Library and was noted for his national column on classic recording reviews. Dr. Freeland was a charter member of the Music Library Association (MLA) in Southern California in 1947 and received the organization’s special service award in 2002. He also served as mentor to the NAMM Resource Center staff and provided invaluable assistance before his passing in 2005.  

Martin Denny cornered the market on the musical style of the early 1950s known as exotica. The smooth melody of the songs were enhanced by hundreds of different tropical sounding instruments, jungle noises and the call of birds. Martin began his musical career as a composer and piano playing bandleader in the era of the swing bands. He was booked for a 3-week engagement in Hawaii where he developed the idea of creating "mood music" for the island.

Murray Davison was a trumpet player who had a few gigs during the Big Band Era, but had to get a day job after the war. While he became a successful businessman, music was never far away. In the 1960s, he established the "Jazz at Noon" concert series in New York City and, a decade later, began writing jazz articles for publications. Murray was among the first to support the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, Calif., performing at the museum's opening day events in 2000 and providing countless lectures and special tours over the next five years before his passing

This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Warren Vaché Sr. was a jazz bassist and author whose son, Warren Vache Jr., is a noted jazz cornetist. Warren started out on drums but was asked to switch to bass as there was a demand for upright bassists in New York at the time. During his career, he performed with Doc Cheatham and Murray Davison among others. Warren took to documenting the jazz around him in a series of magazine articles and later books on unsung jazzman such as "This Horn for Hire: Th

This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Artie Shaw was among the most popular band leaders during the great Big Band Era of the 1930s and 40s! His fine musicianship earned him the nickname the "King of the Clarinet" and his orchestra recorded a long string of hit recording's including "Begin the Beguine," "Moonglow," and "Frenesi." As the big bands began losing popularity in the 1950s, Artie turned his attention to straight-ahead jazz, proving his vast abilities as a clarinetist.  

T. Warren Brown was president of the music store his father established in the Tacoma, Washington area in the years of World War II. Ted Brown Music became an important leader in the music retail business with Warren playing key roles in the expansion of the store. Warren was also active within the industry, where he helped the establishment of the Omega Group as well as NASMD National Association of School Music Dealers. A matter of pride for Warren was that his daughters grew up in the business and went on to run the business.

James Saied, the founder of the Saied Music Store chain in Oklahoma loved the marches of John Phillip Sousa! In fact, he liked them so much that he teamed with then NAMM President Ziggy Coyle to create the bill Ronald Reagan signed into law in 1983 making the “Stars and Strips Forever” the national march. As successful as his business began and as poignant his contributions to the industry were, Jimmy seemed most proud of educating children in music. He said, “Music can give so much to a person’s life. We ought to give music to every child!”

 Robert Perine was raised in Los Angeles in a very artsy family.  At the age of six, his father drew his portrait and asked young Bob to do the same.

This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Joe Bushkin was involved with jazz at a very critical time in music history. Born in 1916, Joe was playing in dance bands while many of the originators of jazz and swing were still performing. As a pianist, Joe helped bridge the eras while adding his own unique style and feel for the music. Benny Goodman hired Joe in 1935 to perform with his orchestra and a series of name brand gigs followed including recordings and live performances with Eddie Condon, Bu

Robert Campbell began his career in the music industry working for Conn Organ in 1947, the year the company gave a unit to President Harry S. Truman. Bob later worked with Don Leslie, the inventor of the famed Leslie organ speaker. Bob played an important role in the Leslie Speaker Company being purchased by the musical instrument division of CBS. Don and Bob made a dynamic duo in the promotion and marketing of the speaker products; they had several obstacles to overcome and yet still wound up on top. He stayed on with the Leslie product under CBS for five years before he was

Don Leslie, the inventor of the very successful Leslie Speaker, was pleased with the concept of the product that was a simple idea but a tricky design. As a child, Don was fascinated by the large pipe organs and how the sound traveled all around the listener. He had the goal of bringing that experience into the home. His speaker, which has a rotating sound-cone, uses the Doppler effect to create its unique sound. The speaker became popular when used with the Hammond B-3 organ and both seemed to be created for each other, even though they were not originally.  

This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Illinois Jacquet gained fame as a jazz saxophonist beginning his career with the Milton Larkin Band when Illinois was just 15. Four years later he recorded his signature solo on the song "Flying Home" while with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. The song's popularity opened the doors for him to perform as a soloist and travel throughout Europe. During the 1950s and 60s he was a sought-after sideman and recorded with Dexter Gordon, Kenny Burrell, Ben Webster,

Charlie Gorby was a true visionary for the music products industry and the founder of Gorby Music in West Virginia. As a lone store retailer, Charlie was a regular attendee at the NAMM shows beginning in the 1940s when the industry was trying to get back in swing after World War II. He spoke at a series of industry meetings along side his dear friend William Gard. Gard was the CEO for NAMM who often referred to Charlie’s forward thinking ideas in speeches and industry addresses during much of the 1950s and 60s. Mr.

Henry Heller recalled with detail his father’s idea of moving the Aeolian Piano Company’s manufacturing plant from New York to Memphis. During the months of the move in the early 1950s, his father suffered a heart attack and died. It was up to Henry not only to take over the project of moving the plant, but also to serve as President of the entire company. Under Henry’s leadership, the company purchased a number of well-established piano brand names such as Winter, Ivor, and Pond. Henry’s NAMM Oral History was recorded over the phone and is an audio recording only.  

William Zeswitz was taught the violin by this father, who formed the Zeswitz Music Store outside of Redding, PA. Bill became president and a true leader in the industry. Over the years, he served on the NAMM Board, the AMC Board, was among the first Charter Benefactors of the NAMM Foundation’s  Museum of Making Music, and co-formed the Omega Group with James Saied, James Johnson, T. Warren Brown, and Nick Peck. Bill sold the store to Brook Mays upon his retirement in 2001.  

This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Barney Kessel was a well-respected and sought-after studio musician who became part of the famed “Wrecking Crew.” He was also an innovative jazz technician who inspired generations of musicians. Barney can be heard on such classic recordings as “Cry Me a River” by Julie London (1955), “How High the Moon” by Sonny Rollins (1958), and “Wouldn't It Be Nice” by The Beach Boys (1966). In 1961, Gibson introduced the Barney Kessel Guitar model, which was in prod

Jimmie D. Webb operated a small music shop in Antioch, California, which was also the headquarters for his amplifier business. The Webb Amps were widely used by electric blues and rock bands, mostly in San Francisco beginning in the early 1970s. Although he never developed a production line or formal manufacturing process, Jimmie made thousands of amps –by hand! He built, soldered, mounted, tuned, and tested each and every unit. If a customer ever needed an adjustment or replacement part, even 30 years later, Jimmie would take care of it at no cost. And one more thing, his am

Alvino Rey tinkered with putting a phonograph pickup in his banjo to increase the volume in 1927. His inventive mind also led to early guitar pickups and the design of a pedal-steel guitar. A life-long performer, he is also known to generations for his work during the swing era including his own big band, which he formed in 1939 as well as the fact that he married one of the famed King Sisters. He mastered the classical guitar and recorded and performed until just months before his passing at the age of 93 in 2004.  

This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Walter Perkins was an energetic jazz drummer who provided solid beats for performers such as Sonny Rollins, Charles Mingus, and Lucky Thompson. His career was launched by Ahmad Jamal in 1956 and he soon began performing as a studio musician for the Argo and Vee-Jay labels. He recorded heavily during the 1960s on albums for Billy Taylor, Clark Terry, Sonny Stitt, and the vibraphonist Dave Pike. Walter was also a kind and friendly person who always took the

Claude Watson was a precise and revered luthier who perfected the fine art of handcrafted instrument building. He was known for his clever design and complex inlay work in country-style flat tops and a series of violins, cellos, and string basses. He most enjoyed building the guitar and was always willing to show off his current projects, or provide a tour of the large pile of wood he acquired and stored in his back yard. His guitar series was Emmanuel, which Claude took from the Bible as one of the names for Christ.  

Billy May was a fun loving trumpeter who arranged some of the best-loved music of the Big Band Era! His humor and musical talents provided hit recordings for Glenn Miller, Charlie Barnet and Frank Sinatra, to name but three. His enormous output included radio, TV and movie work as well as thousands of studio recordings over his 6 decades as a musical artist. When NAMM first requested that Mr. May record some of his stories for the Oral History program he shied away from the request. It wasn’t until Sammy Nestico made the request on behalf of NAMM that Mr. May and Mr. Nestico were

Del Roper performed the xylophone for several society big bands, playing on radio with Xavier Cugat in the early 1930s. Del was later a powerful force in studio orchestras and developed a double decker xylophone, which he played on several variety TV programs in the 1950s. The instrument, named the Carillon, was made in small numbers and sold to universities and large broadcasting organizations such as the BBC and CBS.  

Charles Hale had an idea to hire a monkey to show how an easy-play organ could be operated by anyone. The hysterically funny ads were one of a million clever ideas Hale used in selling keyboard instruments. As the founder of Hale’s Piano and Organ Company in Florida, he established himself as a creative industry leader, leading to the position of President of the NAMM Board of Directors from 1981-1983.

Speedy West was inducted into the Pedal Steel Guitar Hall of Fame as one of the instrument’s most innovative performers. He was able to apply his unique style to country, jazz, and popular music. As a driving force on classic recordings with Jimmy Bryant, Speedy was also a long time product endorser for Fender Guitars. As a well respected gentleman, Speedy never lost his farm boy feeling and would sit and chat about music as much as his love of ranching. His NAMM Oral History interview was completed on May 17, 2002.  

Harold Winkler was raised in the music publishing industry.  His father, Max Winkler, worked his way up from stock boy at Carl Fischer to be president of famed Belwin Music Publishing Company in New York.  As a strong supporter of the emerging school music market following World War II, Harold became a founder of NASMD National Association of School Music Dealers.  In 1951 Winkler and his wife, Luverne, formed Harlu Music, a specialized school music retailer that would later venture out into school music publishing.

Chubby Jackson was the 1947 Down Beat magazine’s reader poll winner for the best bassist of the year. When the Kay Music Company of Chicago told Chubby that they would be presenting him with a new bass to mark the occasion, Chubby had one request – add a fifth string. Jackson played that bass around the world with such superstars as Louis Armstrong, Woody Herman, and Lionel Hampton. The 5-string bass soon became a standard product for bass manufacturers. Chubby was also an early promoter of the Ampeg Baby Bass model of the early 1960s. We completed several NAMM Oral History interv

This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Johnny Best started off learning the piano but switched to trumpet when he was 13. During his impressive career as a sideman in the big bands, Johnny played with several top orchestras such as Glenn Miller, Charlie Barnes, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, and Les Brown. He worked often with Bob Crosby and with such jazz greats as Ella Fitzgerald. In fact, that's Johnny's trumpet you hear on Ella's hit album "Get Happy."

This audio-only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Hal Pruden was a noted pianist (sometimes billed as the world’s fastest piano player) for a series of bandleaders during the Big Band Era. Hal performed with Chuck Foster and Bob Crosby before he formed his own dance band in 1946. His orchestra was the headliner for some of the nation’s top hotels, several of which would broadcast his concerts live on radio, such as the Peabody in Memphis, Tennessee.

This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Lionel Hampton helped bring the vibraphone to jazz with a series of important recordings and a long career as a musician and bandleader. He famously worked with Benny Goodman from 1936 until 1940 when Lionel found his own orchestra which had huge success in the United States and abroad. His theme song, "Flying Home" has become a standard within jazz along with several of his hits over the years including "Airmail Special."  

Jimmy Rivers was known in the world of Western Swing as an innovative guitarist who played a double neck and brought to life a hard driving style known as the Brisbane Bop.  Jimmy was a cowboy-type, playing hard and working even harder at his craft as a performer.  He was easy-going and low-key, until he strapped his guitar on and got in front of a band.  His style was an influence on many up and coming players who cited Jimmy for his unique ideas in chord changes and speed.  Shortly before his passing in 2003, his classic album The Brisbane Bop was released on CD, bringing his mu

Vito Pascucci was assigned to band instrument repair during World War II for Glenn Miller’s Army Air Force Band. Although Miller was much older, the world-famous bandleader and Vito became fast friends and, in fact, outlined a plan to establish a chain of music retail stores after the war. Miller’s disappearance in 1944 ended that dream, and Vito took some time after the war to study musical instruments while still in France. He met Leon Leblanc and within a few years opened the American branch of G. Leblanc. The tremendous success of the company and its strong and innovative prod