In Memoriam

Solomon Burke’s amazing career in music included a number of important landmarks! His early recordings, which combined gospel and the blues, have become important and influential material for generations of soul singers. Known as the King of Rock and Soul as well as the Bishop of Soul, his shows often included new artists, including the soon-to-be legendary Otis Redding and Joe Tex. Solomon also helped to establish the category of “soul” at Atlantic Records. He won countless honors including two WC Handy Blues Awards, a Grammy, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

George Bishop had the idea of bringing the Canadian music industry together in 1971. With the help of some friends, the Musical Instrument Association of Canada (MIAC) was established not only to provide an annual trade show but to provide music advocacy throughout the country. George served as the first president of MIAC and ensured that music education was a strong element of MIAC’s focus. George also was a founder of the Canadian Conical for Music Education, which developed meaningful programs and advocacy materials for teacher throughout the country. His working gig was as Pre

Karl Bruhn was the Bob Hope of the music industry, having received so many awards and accolades – an award should have been given for the most awards received. Karl gained his reputation as an advocate for arts education and accompished much on many levels to teach an understanding of music and promote the concept that music does make a difference in people’s lives.

Robert C. Cosgrove was hired by the Baldwin Piano Company following World War II and later worked his way up to vice president. He witnessed the re-building of the production line, which during the war was used to assemble wooden gliders. Bob also took part in what he described as a historic meeting of the piano giants when in the 1950s he served on the AMC Board along with Henry Steinway of Steinway & Sons. Bob was told at the time that it was the first time the two competing companies worked together. In the early 1960s Bob was sales manager for the piano company before beco

Buddy Collette changed music in more than one way. As a noted reed man, he played jazz along some of the greatest players in history including his boyhood friend, Charlie Mingus. Buddy was instrumental in the birth of the Los Angeles jazz scene. Beginning in the late 1940s, Buddy set out to break the color line within the American musicians’ union, which at the time separated the black performers from the whites within their directories. Thanks to Buddy’s efforts the Los Angeles chapter of the union was among the first to classify all members as equal.

Charles J. Dumont’s grandfather and uncle opened a sheet music distribution company in 1945. The company, Charles Dumont and Son in Philadelphia, became one of the key jobbers within the industry. At the age of 13, Charles J. Dumont ran errands for the company. After his uncle’s untimely death in the early 1950s and his grandfather’s death a few years later, the young Charles took control of the company and kept the same ideals and principals in place that had strong held the business for so long.  Charles was a proud member of the music products industry who cared very much about

Edith De Forest was associated with the Pratt-Read Company for over 70 years! She began working for the piano keys and action manufacturer in the early 1930s. Even after her retirement in the 1980s, she continued to work for the company’s museum. She later served as the company historian doing all her best to keep the stories of Pratt-Read alive and well. The company, which was established in 1798, has produced many products over the years from ivory combs for babies in the 1800s to tools for Sears today.

This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: George David Weiss wrote a number of successful songs for Elvis Presley, Louis Armstrong, and Ella Fitzgerald to name a few. He began writing jazz tunes such as the classic "Lullaby of Birdland" made famous by Ella Fitzgerald and later the Manhattan Transfer. George also co-wrote "Can't Help Falling in Love" which Elvis Presley recorded for his 1961 hit film Blue Hawaii.

Josephine Nadolny only had one job, working for Selmer Band Instruments. When she retired in 2000 she had worked there for 58 years! Over that time she developed the first instrument parts catalog, which included drawings and specs for each and every part a repair shop might need. She later became a dealer service representative and happily reported that “I aim to try to please the dealers. You do that and they remember you.

Webb Phillips formed the Allied Piano Company outside of Philadelphia with the goal of filling a need. As a piano technician it was hard to find reliable products that you can trust, so Webb sought to gather the best the industry had to offer and supply the products to his fellow tuners. Over the years he and his wife built up the business to include a full line of service as well as products from pinblocks to repair kits.  

Jacob Malta was an innovator in designing handbells and hand chimes. His approach to product development and engineering led to several important advancements in the tonal quality and manufacturing of handbells. His company, MalMark, has been a leader in the industry for over 50 years. Throughout his career, Jacob was a devoted pioneer in percussion and wrote several articles on his research in acoustic science.  

Robert Beals was just a young man when he first met Chick Evans. The two worked to perfect and promote Mr. Evan’s idea of a synthetic drumhead in the 1950s. Up until that time, drumheads were made from cow skin, which presented several problems. With the skin drumheads, any change in temperature could greatly affect the sound and they would often fade out of tune. Robert became president of the Evan’s Company and oversaw its purchase by D'Addario & Co., which continues to produce the products Bob helped create. Mr. Beals passed away on August 7, 2010. 

Harry Begian was one of the most respected band directors in the United States. Serving at the high school and college levels for over 45 years, Dr. Begian conducted his first band while he was in his teens. As the band director at Detroit’s Cass Technical High School and for 14 years at the University of Illinois, he taught his students respect for the classics and the power of team work. Acknowledging the importance of the Midwest Band Clinic on his career, he served on the board for the annual band conference and worked to improve the quality of its programs.  It was during the

Geoff Brash was an iconic music retailer in Australia who became known around the world for his passion and his brilliant business knowledge. As the managing director of Brash Music, Geoff was a pioneer in multi-country trade and marketing. Over the decades he established long lasting relationships with many suppliers whose first Australian customer was Mr. Brash.  Mr. Brash was also the first "joint venture" partner of Ikutaro Kakehashi leading to the creation of "Roland Australia" over 30 years ago.  Roland Australia still exists and is operating successfully and profitably toda

Koob Veneman’s father started the first Veneman’s Music Store in Holland, an idea copied by Koob in Maryland in 1960. Koob, like his father, was a luthier who designed his own instruments. Koob introduced his line of electric guitars called KAPA in 1964. The product line resulted in a healthy run for six years. At the height of sales, Koob’s business was making 500 guitars a week. His NAMM Oral History interview was completed on September 9, 2005.  

Kees van Willigen opened a music shop in Holland in 1968. As an accordion player he specialized in the instrument and soon gained a world-wide reputation for his product line and customer service. Kees (pronounced Case) witnessed the boom of the accordion in the 1950s and 60s, its decline in the 70s and 80s and it’s resurgence in the 1990s and early 2000s. Even after his son took over as the store’s president, Kees still worked in the store everyday until his passing in 2010. “The accordion is for everyone who enjoys making music” he said proudly during is 2008 interview.

John Keal was one of the very few who attended the Conn band instrument repair school in Elkhart, enrolling in the school just after World War II. The program only lasted a few years, but it provided the passion he was missing as a salesman outside the music industry. He returned to his father’s small music shop, which was located just three blocks from the Capitol in Albany, New York. This shop is where he built up the band instrument department with service, repairs and rentals.  For years he worked to provide services directly to the school band director.  John passed away in J

Professor Fritz Sennheiser was the head of an engineering team of German scientists assembled right after World War II to improve the function of the electronic microphone. Using his innovative designs, Fritz developed the first product line and formed a company called Sennheiser. Since its beginning in 1945, the company grew to develop a wide range of products in addition to the microphone, including speakers and headphones. When he was interviewed in his office in 2005 he could not have been happier with the 60-year old company that bears his name, yet his family was clearly of

This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Lena Horne was a popular singer and actress who was dedicated to the Civil Rights movement beginning in the 1950s. She began her career singing in the chorus line at the famed Cotton Club in Harlem, New York back in 1933. This experience introduced her to jazz and many of its top performers including Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington. She began singing with Charlie Barnet's band, which lead to a string of recordings. By the early 1940s she was appearing in

Dr. Richard Brittain was invited to a small gathering of music educators in the months following World War II. The original goal of the meeting was to provide a venue for the music educators to distribute new music scores, which were difficult to obtain. The year was 1946. The first Midwest Band Clinic was born! Dr. Brittain was educated at VanderCook College, where he returned after the war and became one of the music college’s most esteemed professors. In addition to a rather distinguished teaching career, his work over the years included several noted arrangements for the Neil

Irwin Rabinowitz was personally hired by Irving Berlin to create the lead plates for the famed songwriter's sheet music. Irwin's craft was hand chiseling each note, each slur, and coda into metal plates that would then allow copies to be published. Although Mr. Rabinowitz's career would extend into the music typewriter and even the computer, he always preferred the old way of hand craftsmanship engraving.  Irwin worked for a time for the Elvis Presley Music Group and several other publishers before his retirement.  For many years he and his wife traveled to Israel to volunteer at

Gil Ellman grew up in the big band era, loving the sounds of large orchestras. He was motivated to create as many opportunities for students to make music as possible. He studied band instrument repair before opening Ellman’s Music Center in 1958. Soon after the store opened Gil began creating his own brand of instruments including bongos. In 1963 the store moved to Naperville, Illinois, where space was created for lesson programs. Gil and his wife Joan, who provided music lessons at the store for many years, were both present at the NAMM Show in 2008 when they were awarded the Mi

Keith Wilson helped design and manufacture the famed SM57 and SM58 microphones for Shure back in the early 1960s. As an engineer, Keith later came up with the idea of creating a system for vocalists, with mixer, amplifier and a microphone that could cover the range of the human voice. The system soon became one of the company’s most successful. While working at Shure, Keith also began designing sound systems for auditoriums and large performance halls. After leaving Shure in the early 1970s he formed his own sound design company, which is currently being run by his daughter.  

Jackie Mills as a drummer put down the beat for jazz and big band stars such as Tommy Dorsey, Charlie Barnet, Dizzy Gillespie and Billie Holiday. As a record producer, he played a critical role in the careers of Janis Joplin, Irene Kral and Bobby Sherman. As the co-founder of Choreo Records (later known as Ava Records) he worked with Tommy Wolf to create a music publishing company (Choreo Music) that provided a wide range of songs by several key songwriters for over 40 years. As a songwriter, he gave songs to cartoon and other children’s programs including three classic songs for

Jeanne Bundy-Morrow was only married to Frank Bundy a few months when her father-in-law, the pioneering instrument designer George Bundy, passed away. Because Jeanne had known George for many years it was a blow to her and her entire family when he died in 1951. At the time, George Bundy was president of Selmer, a position his son Frank would later hold. Jeanne spoke of her husband’s long and productive career in the industry following in his father’s footsteps when she was interviewed in 2005 

Dean Burtch was a past president of the world famous music publisher and retailer JW Pepper. The company was formed in 1876 and was purchased in 1941 by a group of businessmen headed by Harold Burtch. Under Harold’s leadership, the company expanded its publishing catalog and opened a chain of retail outlets across the United States. In 1962, Harold’s son, Dean, became president of the company, moving it to Philadelphia, PA. He later opened two branches and continued to expand offerings by acquiring smaller companies.

John Beltrandi served as a road rep for Kaman Music on the east coast for over 40 years. He traveled mostly in Massachusetts and Connecticut and helped pioneer the Ovation guitar, which was not well accepted when it was first introduced, but built up a strong audience in the early years. The Ovation guitar was introduced in 1966 and by the time John came to the company a few years later, singer Glen Campbell had used the instrument on his TV program. As a result, the guitar became a popular item making it difficult for John to keep up with the requests from his many retail custome

Marge Levin was the secret behind the great success of Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center in Maryland, a fact Mr. Levin was proud to admit. Marge was born in Washington DC and met Chuck, then a young pawnshop owner, while she was on a date with another man. Within a short time they realized they were meant to be together –and together they transformed the shop to a music retail store in 1958. The music store is among the most noted retailers in the industry and one that has won awards and praise from supplier and customer alike. For Marge, she reflected on her career in her typ

Art Van Damme became one of the biggest stars of the 1950s with a 15-minute radio and TV program, a noted role in the NBC orchestra, and many miscellaneous recordings, all-centering on his talents as an accordionist. The accordion seemed an unlikely instrument for producing a star, however during the 1950s, there were more accordion students than piano students. Art was the first to play jazz on the accordion in many clubs and recordings, and created a style that was sought after by many musicians who requested his renowned arrangements for the accordion. Art’s NAMM Oral History i

Jake Hanna was the epitome of what a big band drummer is all about. Jake started playing drums at five in a drum corps in the Boston area. He continued to play drums in the bands of Harry James, Maynard Ferguson, and Woody Herman, among others. He was widely known and respected in the recording studios and on television shows from Los Angeles and Hollywood. Jake was also much in demand at jazz festivals worldwide and on jazz cruises. With his wry wit and extensive memory, he was a gifted raconteur. His interview took place at the Hilton Hotel, site of the San Diego Jazz party in 2

Herbert Newton opened his piano store in 1939, a few years after becoming a piano tuner in the Norfolk area. Back in the beginning of the store, traveling out to nearby farms was key to his success. A decade later he found the key to be servicing pianos for the US Navy. Herb spent decades bringing music to his customers and teaching their children to play. He also served the industry, sitting on the NAMM Board from 1967 and '68 and being a strong supporter of the American Music Conference (AMC). The day of our interview he recalled showing the NAMM board some early TV ads he creat

Martha Markowitz married her knight-in-shining-armor right after World War II. She soon helped him run the small organ company he started before the war. The Allen Organ Company has been a pioneering business in church organs and in digital technology for many decades. Although Jerome has passed away in 1991, the legacy of his innovations remain. His son, Steve Markowitz, runs the business today, which is currently the top producer and seller of church organs in the United States.