Chuck Campbell revolutionized the "Sacred Steel" style of gospel music by adding electric guitar effect pedals to his amplified pedal steel guitar. Campbell—a member of the Keith Dominio...
Stan Buswell had owned and operated several businesses when his teenage son, John, took an interest in the drums. Stan decided to open a small shop, which his son helped establish in Pit...
John Buswell was a 16-year-old drummer in the school band when his father, Stan, decided to open a drum shop. The year was 1976. The city was Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The store was cal...
Jim Botti always had a passion for music education and in fact taught most of his life. In 1958, after he met Jim Kaplan, the two opened a teaching studio that would grow into a music st...
Joe Beard doesn't remember a time when he didn't have a guitar. He grew up near Ashland, Mississippi becoming friends with locals Syl and Jimmy Johnson and Floyd and Matt Murphy. In Memp...
Tony Yarbrough’s love of music led to buying a music store in Memphis that was closing and renaming it Yarbrough Music, which soon became a hub for musicians in and around town. He took ...
Craig Yarbrough worked alongside his brother Tony and sister Phyllis (his younger sister joined them later) in running the music store they established in Memphis to serve the working mus...
Karl Schulze’s grandfather worked in the piano business during his career, so it certainly was not out of place when young Karl began learning the craft of piano building. Karl worked fo...
Bob Riskin started working for McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica just a few years after it opened in 1958. Before long the shop was abuzz with the folk music boom and later played an ...
Yoshi Kobayashi began working for Yamaha Corporation of America in 1958. In the early days of his career he was tasked with supervising the import and export of the motorcycle division. ...
Clifton “Fou Fou” Eddie began his career as a big band and jazz drummer but soon discovered he has the skills for the blues and pop music. He has played with the likes of The Dells, Patt...
Larry Dunn played a key role in the success of the legendary group Earth, Wind & Fire! As the keyboardist for the group he added new sounds in the innovative era of electronic musica...
DJ Tony G pioneered many scratches and tricks as a DJ in the early days of Hip Hop on the West Coast. The art of turntablelism began in New York, but before long the sound and the style ...
Eddie DeGarmo grew up across the street from Graceland (he has a great Trick or Treat story from 1960) and somehow always knew he wanted to have a career in music. As a member of a Chris...
Ray Brooks grew up playing the blues in juke joints and small clubs all across the United States even before he was of age to drink. He toured with Freddie King and Gene Alison (among ot...
Michael Boddicker grew up in a music store, one his parents formed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and where his love for music began! His amazing musical career has covered many areas, although i...
Marilyn Bergman grew up very close to her future husband in Brooklyn, New York. This may provide some insight into their magical partnership both as a couple and as one of the most celeb...
Alan Bergman and his wife Marilyn are among the most celebrated songwriting team of their time (and anyone else’s). They began writing together in the early 1950s and wrote the lyrics fo...
Cliff Lange has been a dedicated volunteer for the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music since his retirement from the Carlsbad Library. His long and interesting background in library...
Wolf Marshall has an awful lot of insight into the styles and gear of rock and blues guitarists. It helps that Wolf is an amazing player –and teacher. It also helps that he is a fan of ...
Edgar Winter grew up in a musical family, his older brother being the blues legend Johnny Winter. Edgar played in several of his brother’s bands before forming his own bands, always with...
David Shearer is the youngest son of Andy and Rowena, the founders of the family business, Shearers Music. The first store opened in 1963 in downtown Hamilton, New Zealand. Since that ti...
Andy Shearer along with this dear wife Rowena, opened Shearers Music store in Hamilton, New Zealand in 1963. The couple began with a modest inventory but grew to include top brands of mu...
Tim Pratt is the president and one of the three owners of Dietz Music located in Omaha, Nebraska. In 1927, Mr. Dietz established a small music store to help provide musical instruments a...
