Charles Connor was a pioneer in the early beat of rock and roll. As a drummer in New Orleans in the early 1950s, he played with Professor Longhair and became the original drummer for Litt...
Hillel Resner wrote for Mix Magazine for several years before the idea of creating a special award for audio engineering came into existence. Hillel worked alongside David Schwartz, the f...
Luis Miranda often visited the Palladium Theater as a teenager to dance. During one visit, Luis was asked by a member of the band if he played the congas since their conga player was out ...
Byron Berline established the Double Stop Fiddle Shop in Oklahoma back in 1995. The store became a major hub for musicians which bought and sold a great number of both vintage and new in...
Morris “Arnie” Lang played percussion for the New York Philharmonic for over 40 years and wrote the book on percussive technique -- literally. Arnie became involved with the music product...
Dave Bresnan had a true passion for music that began when he was fifteen when he learned to play the piano. Throughout the 1960’s, Dave played guitar and banjo in several groups after dis...
James Harman was a Blues harmonica player who shared the staged with some of the biggest names in music history. James was just a young man performing at clubs and bars in the 1960s and 7...
Mudge Miller was a veteran of the Chicago Musical Instrument Company and had expressed great satisfaction in working under Mr. M.H. Berlin, the president of CMI for many years. Mr. Berlin...
Joan White began her career with Muncie Music Center in 1944, just three years after the store opened. She remained with the store until her retirement in 2016. Although she started by o...
Bob Koester was the founder of the Delmark label who began recording blues and jazz in 1953 in St. Louis. He later moved to Chicago where he helped define the music scene by recording art...
Lloyd Price had no idea that his 1952 recording of "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" would become a cornerstone in the foundation of rock 'n' roll! Masterful piano playing by Fats Domino, perfectly tim...
John Dee Holeman was an influential blues performer known as the last surviving original musician who popularized the Piedmont Blues style. The finger-picking guitar style was also known...
Arthur Gurwitz joined Southern Music Company in the late 1940s, soon after his military service during World War II. He expanded the business into publishing, and soon the Southern Music ...
Al Schmitt’s career as a recording engineer covered more than 60 years of innovations in pro audio development in nearly every musical style. Al was the recording engineer for many musica...
Max Cooke was an Australian classically trained pianist and professor who wrote a series of method books to assist his students. He began teaching piano students at the University of Melb...
Larry Peyser spent most of his career in the music wholesale business. Larry’s sister married Abbott Buegelesien after World War II and over the years Larry did not just work for the comp...
Lee Donais may be the only industry member who played piano (as part of the Navy Band) for three United States Presidents: Johnson, Nixon and Ford. After his career with the Navy Band, L...
Vinny Testa was the founder of Testa Communications, which he established in 1984 to provide the music products industry with such trade magazines as The Music & Sound Retailer and DJ...
Phil Jost had a very interesting career in music as a musician before joining the sales team at St. Louis Music in 1974 and thus entering the music products industry. In his early days, b...
Pat Rizzo heard Sly Stone was looking for a sax player to join the band. He went backstage at a concert with his horn and Sly told him to go into the bathroom. Sly asked if he was good a...
Jim Anastasi served as the trumpet tester for the King Band Instrument factory in Cleveland, Ohio for nearly 40 years. While testing some 200 instruments a day, Jim worked with some noted...
Quinton Claunch was a musical innovator who formed Hi Records in Memphis as well as the Goldwax label. He played guitar and bass professionally beginning in 1943 and can be heard on a num...
Mike Ladd was one of the first music retailers in the United States to provide custom-made guitars. He had three locations in Memphis, the last of which was right across the street from G...
Millie Detgen was one of the very few female manufacturers reps in the music products industry in the 1970’s and 80’s. She began working with her husband Gene Detgen after they were marri...
Malcolm Cecil was the engineer and product designer behind the famous synthesizer known as TONTO! TONTO is the acronym for "The Original New Timbral Orchestra," the first, and still the l...
Otto Werner grew up surrounded by music. His dad, a violin maker in Schönbach, produced violins at home and sold them in Markneukirchen while his aunt worked at Junger Company, the main p...
George Luther was a legendary music retailer! His reputation preceded him far beyond the South, where he forged a successful and colorful career. His business savvy was in large part fro...
Fred Davis began playing saxophone as a boy and started his own band, the Freddy Davis Orchestra, which played around Ohio during World War II. He was well equipped with reeds for his gig...
Paul Laubin followed in his father's footsteps both as a symphonic oboist and as an instrument maker. Alfred Laubin made his first oboe in 1931. He steadily improved his design, and wen...
Merv Cargill was the owner of Cargill Custom Guitars. After completing an apprenticeship in violin making he learned the finer details of building wooden instruments and became a qualifie...
Henry Goldrich had some of the most remarkable stories in the industry! As the owner of Manny’s Music retail store in New York City he saw it all. Playing a vital role in Manny’s world re...
Colleen Summerhays recalled the day in 1940 when she walked into a local music store to inquire about a clerical position. She met the owner, her future husband, Hy Summerhays, who had op...
