Paul Shaffer served as the band leader and musical director for David Letterman's late-night television program from 1982 until David retired in 2015.  Along the way, hundreds of noted mu...

Harry Shearer is an actor and musician who brought both talents together several times comedically in such films as “This Is Spinal Tap” and “A Mighty Wind”. In both movies, he played a b...

Crystal Gayle had a string of hit country songs in the 1970s including her big number one crossover pop hit, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blues." The recording provided Crystal the opport...

Peter Yarrow is the Peter in the wildly successful popular folk music trio Peter, Paul, and Mary. During his often musical NAMM Oral History interview, Peter spoke of the role music playe...

Vince Gill attended his first NAMM Show when he was nineteen years old and living in Los Angeles, California, back in 1977.  Over the years, Vince has supported many music retailers and s...

Emmylou Harris is a 13-time Grammy award winning American singer-songwriter. Over the course of her career she has released numerous popular albums and singles in the folk/country genre, ...

Branford Marsalis has a deep passion for music that reflects not only in his playing but his music education as well. Branford attributes his skills as a musician through dedicated practi...

Ellis Marsalis had a firm idea how to bring out the best music in people, even before his famous sons were born.  His understanding of music theory and notation became the cornerstone of ...

Joey Kibble is the second tenor for the singing group Take 6.  He joined the group in 1991, following his brother Mark, who was a founding member.  During their career the group has sold ...

David Thomas is the second tenor for the singing group Take 6.  He joined the group only five years after they were formed and soon became an important element in their unique sound.  Dur...

Alvin Chea is the bass for the singing group Take 6.  Alvin joined the group five years after they were formed and soon became an important element in their unique sound.  During their ca...

Mark Kibble is the first tenor for the singing group Take 6, which he formed along with Claude McKnight, in 1980.  Mark has played an important role in the development of the group’s soun...

Khristian Dentley is the baritone for the singing group Take 6.  The group was formed in 1980 and Khristian joined the group in 2011.  During their career the group has sold millions of r...

Claude McKnight formed an a cappella quartet on the campus of Oakwood College in 1980.  The group signed with Warner Brothers Records seven years later and has since sold millions of reco...

Roy Clark, the Country Music Hall of Fame guitar player, was always proud of his connection with the music products industry. In addition to the products he endorsed over his long career,...

Billy Taylor was first and foremost a jazz pianist. This fact might surprise some people who knew Billy best for one of a number of other careers he enjoyed in music, including teaching, ...

Hal David followed in the footsteps of his older brother Mack, who penned several popular songs in the 1930s and 40s. Hal worked hard to learn the craft and spent many years in and around...

Bob McGrath, next to Elmo and Big Bird, maybe the most familiar face on Sesame Street. Without question, he is one of the leaders in the promotion of music education and for many years pl...

Dave Brubeck played Baldwin Pianos for most of his long career. As a classically trained performer, he added poly-rhythmic concepts to jazz. Among his most celebrated recordings is the wo...

George Clinton is the funk mastermind behind some of the now landmark recordings of Parliament and Funkadelic beginning in the 1970s, including the largely successful hit “Flashlight.” Ge...

Herbie Hancock's career as a musician and performer spans six decades. He was a member of the legendary Miles Davis Quintet and gave the world "Head Hunters" (jazz's first platinum album)...

Jim Chapin had the idea of writing a method book for the beginning drummer that would provide clear examples and illustrations. The year was 1947 and no such book was in print. He gathere...

Henry Juszkiewicz, Gibson Guitar Corporation’s former CEO, attended the Rainforest Alliance’s annual gala concert in 1994, where he first heard about the SmartWood program. He realized by...

This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Marian McPartland was a jazz pianist who helped elevate the...

This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Margaret Whiting was a popular singer who had a number of h...

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 dedicat...

Clark Terry enjoyed a long and celebrated career as a trumpeter playing with nearly ever iconic jazz musician of the twentieth century. His tone and style of playing was an influence on s...

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 s...

Quincy Jones! How can you write a few sentences to describe Quincy Jones? His long and amazing career in music has produced the soundtrack to many of our own life experiences and his driv...