Benjamin Wright is the renowned musical arranger and composer whose talents can be heard on landmark recordings by the likes of Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, and OutKast...
Yvonne Fimbres recalls with a smile the lullabies her mother sang to her as a baby. Music has always played an important role in her life. As she developed her own vocal skills, Yvonne wa...
Javier Batiz is very proud of the role he played in bringing American Blues music to Mexico! His own playing in bands and as a solo artist brought a great awareness to the Blues south of ...
Jamey Aebersold’s name is synonymous with the play-a-long style music books, which have aided and inspired thousands upon thousands of musicians! Jamey does not refer to his publications ...
Del Rey lives and breathes musical passion! Since she was a child she had the skills and desire to communicate through music and soon realized her playing brought happiness to others. The...
Pastor Dave Brown developed a rich and meaningful appreciation for music when he began playing cornet in his high school band. He attended many concerts as a teen (namely at Cafe Au Go Go...
Greg Martin was able to combine the many musical styles he admired growing up when he helped form the Kentucky Headhunters. The band made up of friends began playing together in 1968 and ...
Sonny Landreth was born in Canton, Mississippi and grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, grounding his musical foundation in the blues, jazz, zydeco and rock and roll. He played trumpet in sch...
Rick Vito not only grew up in a home filled with music, but with his parents owning a night club he also had a built in venue as a young musician! He started playing guitar for local doo-...
Tony Newton was nicknamed “Baby Funk Brother” by the original studio musicians at Motown Records where he began working in 1964. His first session with the Funk Brothers was the song “Bab...
Mickey Raphael grew up with a passion for music and was recruited to play sousaphone and tuba in his high-school marching band. While this was his excuse to get out of gym class, Mickey r...
Gail Muldrow is a vocalist and guitarist who grew up completely surrounded by music. Living in the Oakland area, she would often take trips into San Francisco to experience the vibrant mu...
Jimmie Vaughan took time from his 2020 tour schedule for his NAMM Oral History interview during which he spoke about his early days as a musician. Jimmie recounted his Uncles playing musi...
Jodi Siegel grew up in a musical family and developed a passion for music at a young age. Jodi started playing the ukulele because of its size but quickly moved onto the guitar. A big inf...
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...
Alan Peters is a trumpeter and guitarist who was brought up on blues and R&B and formed the group Almost Blues in the 1960s. Alan backed many artists in the famous club, the Cavern, i...
Vasti Jackson is a fifth-generation music maker in his family! He started on drums and then switched to guitar which he began playing professionally by the time he was 12 years old. In 19...
Jerry Puckett is a studio musician for Malaco Records in Jackson, Mississippi who played guitar on the hits “Groove Me” by King Floyd and “Mr. Big Stuff” by Jewel Bass, among many others....
Jesse Robinson grew up in Benton, Mississippi, the son of a Holiness Preacher. His father was always very encouraging of Jesse and his music, which was a major source of empowerment for t...
Raphael Semmes (pronounced Raf-yul) has fond memories of his mother singing as he was growing up. The feeling of her music became an inspiration for him and when he was given a Silvertone...
James Evans met one of his musical heroes, Louie Lee, in 1977. Mr. Lee took the time to show James techniques in playing his saxophone that greatly inspired him. Over the years he develop...
Tommy Couch was born in Tuscumbia, not too far from Muscle Shoals, Alabama and grew up with many of the studio musicians and engineers at the Fame Recording Studio. He later moved to Jack...
Bobby Rush won his first GRAMMY at the age of 83 in 2017, some sixty years after his first professional gig as a bluesman. Beginning in the 1950s, Bobby performed live and recorded in Chi...
Ron Blair was the original bassist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, bringing to the group his understanding of the blues and his skills on the electric bass. The band was formed in 19...
Chris Mulkey is a well-respected actor who has appeared on hundreds of movies and television programs dating back to the mid-1970s. Chris is also a passionate music maker who has carried ...
Howard Reitzes was brought up on classical piano but found a true passion for playing when he discovered the Blues. After trying his hand at the guitar, Howard fell in love with keyboards...
Roy Gaines, like his brother, Grady, who played saxophone for Little Richard, made his mark in the early days of rock and roll. As a blues guitarist, Roy recorded a number of songs for RC...
Bob Stroger found himself on stage at a blues club as a teenager not sure exactly what to do. He had an electric bass in his hand and laid down the bass parts he heard on his Jimmy Reed r...
Jimmy Johnson helped define the Chicago Blues of the 1960s and 70s with a series of live performances and recordings. Some of his best known songs were captured at Bob Koester's Delmark R...
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...
CJ Vanston was thrilled to have the opportunity to produce for Toto, one of his all-time favorite bands. The project was a symbolic full circle experience having been a studio musician, ...
Lou Castro has often said that NAMM is about the people! As a musician and songwriter, Lou has been involved with many musical products and publishers over the years and when it comes ti...
