Porter Howell recalls with a smile that his piano-playing mom forced young Porter to play the guitar. In school, he participated in choir and band, which is when he met his future bandmat...
Perry Smith was already playing the guitar when he walked into a small music store in San Rafael, California, and heard someone playing jazz. That one moment changed his musical path and ...
Will Braham’s father gave him a guitar when he was in eighth grade. It is then, as Will puts it, that his career began. He played all throughout school developing his skills and his drive...
Bob Bennett has written songs sung by congregations around the world for decades. His life in music all began when his older brother taught him a few chords on the guitar when he was ten ...
Bob Kilpatrick wrote his first song in the fourth grade and went on to pen one of the most popular worship songs in the last fifty years. In his early twenties, Bob and his wife performed...
Joe Wood was taught the Blues and how to play the guitar by his uncle. Throughout his career in Punk Rock, the feel for the Blues remained an important element in his playing and his song...
Corky Siegel often mentions he had three LP records as a kid that changed his life. The three Blues artists were Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Jimmy Reed. Growing up in the southside of...
Tracy Newman Tracy Newman jumped into the Folk music scene in the early 1960s just as the genre was making its sweep across the country. She was among the early members of the New Christy...
Will Meyer grew up with a great appreciation for music, thanks to being exposed to styles such as Bluegrass by his parents. He played trumpet beginning in grade school and focused on sing...
Pat Galyean was introduced to the art of songwriter by her mother, Edna Mae Burnam. Edna Mae, as Hal Leonard wrote on their website, was “one of the most respected names in piano pedagogy...
Bongo Bob Smith has had an amazing musical journey, which all began with his love of the music of Puerto Rico. Before the term World Music was used, Bob was exploring music from many coun...
Victoria Theodore has had some marvelous musical experiences both as a musician and teacher. Her first big gig was a seven-year stint touring with Stevie Wonder in his band. Being classic...
Carle Vickers’ grandmother was a noted soprano and pianist who gave him a great appreciation for classical music as well as piano lessons. He began playing trumpet and saxophone in grade ...
Judy Collins is perhaps best known for her string of hit recordings in the late 1960s and 70s such as “Both Sides, Now,” “Amazing Grace,” and “Send in the Clowns.” However, did you know J...
Fabrice Vignati and his wife Tracy teamed up to create a new take on Rockabilly music, which they call Gypsybilly. Being a fan of Rockabilly since he was a kid, Fabrice brings the classic...
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...
Tracy Vignati and her husband Fabrice formed a band together using a style they call Gypsybilly! They debuted their band, The Vignatis, in 2009. Tracy describes their style as a blend of ...
Shaunna Hall is the producer of the Dogghouse Studio located in the Hyde Street Studios complex in San Francisco. She loves the space and feels both she and her clients pick up the vibe, ...
Garry Beers, also known as Garry Gary Beers, lost a bet with his schoolmates and had to be the person in the group to switch from guitar to bass. A funny beginning for a musician who has ...
Jeff Jacobs grew up in Chicago and remembers going to Gand Music to buy his first very own instrument, although his parents had an upright piano in their home. Jeff’s purchase was the eve...
Marty Panzer was just 16 years old, working in the mail room at CBS Television in New York when he met and became lifelong friends with Barry Manilow. Barry was also working in the mailro...
Cindy Lee Berryhill is the creative singer/songwriter whose twist on Folk Music (with a bit of a Punk Rock edge) has led to several albums and performances around the world. In 1987 Rhino...
Massimo Dolce was born in Italy and became his family’s first musician when he studied piano at the age of nine. He focused on business management in school with his driving passion for m...
Roger Cook was born in Bristol, England, and was involved with making music at an early age. He sang in a local Doo Wop group while a teenager, which is when he met his longtime friend an...
Jim Collins was given a Silvertone Guitar by his dad following the Beatle’s appearance on the Ed Sullivan television program, an event he still recounts with enthusiasm. Jim took a day jo...
Phil Keaggy was born in Youngstown, Ohio in the early 1950s, making his timing perfect to play a roll in the rock bands of the 1960s. As guitarist and songwriter, he was a member of the S...
Felix Cavaliere is the Hammond B3 keyboardist and songwriter behind a string of popular songs recorded by the Young Rascals during the mid to late 1960s.
Walt Aldridge attended the University of Alabama, majoring in business when he switched over to the University of North Alabama, enrolling in their music business program because they had...
Chris Leuzinger was just nine years old when he saw Elvis Presley on the Ed Sullivan Show and begged his father for a guitar. By the time he was 12, young Chris was already in a band with...
Donna Ulisse has fond memories of her grandmother teaching her to sing at a young age. And that is all Donna wanted to do! As her career developed, she was encouraged by many in the music...
Gary Talley was the guitarist for the 1960s rock band, The Box Tops, whose hits included "The Letter", and "Cry Like a Baby." Growing up in Memphis and in a musical family, his father ta...
Norman Greenbaum wrote the 1960s classic rock hit “Spirit in the Sky” with a hard drive introduction featuring his Fuzz-Tone and electric guitar. The song is considered a standard rock an...
