Ruth Charles and her husband Dick opened a music store in Glendale, California, called Charles Music. They enjoyed a long life together as music makers and teachers and retailers of music...
Frantisek Nemecek was born and raised in Czechoslovakia where he studied advertising and helped the more than 70 instrument makers in the area to sell their products. Frantisek began by e...
Bruno Pedrini and his brother Tom both started music stores in Southern California after World War II –yet the stores remained separate although they were both called Pedrini Music. Bruno...
Steno Giulini served as the editor of the International Association magazine "Euro Piano" for well over 60 years. He was by far the oldest employee of the specialist publishing PPV Medie...
Patrick Hiatt was among the leaders of band instrument repairmen in the industry. His work spanned several decades and was vital in the formation of NAPBIRT, the National Association of P...
Henry Stone wanted to record musical artists that were not able to sign deals with the large record labels of the late 1940s. As a result, Henry found a string of artists and provided th...
Johnny Winter has become an important link between classic blues artists and modern audiences. Johnny’s blues style stays fresh and current while playing the important standards by artist...
Danny Rocks was associated with music publishers for many years. He served at Alfred Publishing as vice president and was a large part of the RPMDA. By all who knew him, he was the RPMDA ...
Calvin Grafton was very interested in the radio business as a youngster. His early jobs included radio repair but he knew he needed more for a solid business, so he opened his own music s...
Alfredo Flores was born in Mexico in 1908 and moved to San Antonio, Texas with his mother and grandmother when he was a small boy. He took several jobs as a young man including a position...
Max Herman played his first professional music job at the age of 13. He enjoyed a stellar music career as the first trumpeter for many of the top name bands of the Swing Era. Most notably...
Don Ravitch pioneered many elements of keyboard retailing as president of Sherman Clay. With an engineering and financial background Don and his partners purchased the music store chain i...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Herb Jeffries was a singer with the Duke Ellington Orchestr...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Jerry Vale had a series of popular recordings in the era af...
Jeanne Dukoff married the swing saxophonist and mouthpiece maker Bobby Dukoff. Bobby suffered a stroke just before his scheduled NAMM Oral History interview and in true “Bobby Dukoff Spi...
J. Scott McFadyen served as president of the family operated store after his father, the founder, retired. Scott was heavily involved with the music industry by helping to establish NASM...
Dolores Crooks remembered her husband working in the garage at all hours of the night on a new sound he was after. He tooled his own guitar amplifier and took it down to country dances t...
Toni Perrine grew up in England where she was a touring actress in several musical productions. When she came to the United States she worked for Pedrini's Music in Southern California fo...
Joe Wilder endorsed many musical products during his long career as a trumpeter. In the later part of his life he was very satisfied with the Buescher horns, but had a collection of other...
Harry Carter was already a school band director when he opened a music store in Ottumwa, Iowa. The year was 1948 when Harry and two partners set out to develop a store that would speciali...
Kay Koster was a pioneering woman retail owner, who not only successfully ran a business on her own beginning in 1940, she also personally repaired guitars and amps of all makes and model...
David Seville loved the music industry because he loved music! He was born in Birmingham UK and became a well-known opera singer both in recordings and such live performances as Wells Ca...
Vince Grantano was a fixture among traveling piano representatives. He traveled the entire United States for several companies over the years to bring new products to retailers. His most ...
Steve Weiss loved playing the drums as a small child, but never imagined in a million years that he would have a career in music, let alone a pioneering and successful career in the music...
Mo Morrison could often be found behind the stage at every concert and performance by Lady Gaga. As a concert production and tour manager, he worked with many of the biggest and brightes...
George Shuffler was the country and bluegrass guitar player who is credited for a three figure cross-picking playing style (down two strings, up one) that he created out of necessity.
...
Manuel Velazquez was one of the greatest guitar luthiers of the last one hundred years. He was born in Puerto Rico in 1917 and handcrafted his first classical guitar when he was still a t...
Wilton Syckes was thought to have sold more pianos than any other salesman. A veteran of the industry, Wilton was also a former president of the National Piano Traveler’s Association. The...
BR Wexler was the president of Wexler Music Company, the leading manufacturer of symphonic batons. The company also produces a wide range of accessory products. Established by his father,...
Kazuo Yairi was one of the most renowned guitar luthiers in Japan. His long career began as a child when he watched his father building unique handcrafted instruments for local students a...
R.C. Allen was a guitar luthier that used the style of his many friends of the era in the early 1950s in Southern California when guitar innovators were reshaping the instrument and groom...
Don Wilson always enjoyed being around music, as a player, teacher, retailer, and as an award-winning baton twirler. He opened his music store in 1956 with the dream of running his busine...