Country Music

Susan Aberbach is the president of the music publishing company, Hill & Range, which was formed by her husband and his brother. The two brothers wanted to publish country music and went to Nashville in the early 1950s representing a new company named to conjure up thoughts of country music.  In the early days of the publishing firm, they signed many well known stars and a few up and coming artists, one by the name of Elvis Presley.  After Susan's husband's passing, she took over the role as president and continues to run the company today.

Walt Aldridge attended the University of Alabama as a business major before transferring to the University of North Alabama to enroll in its music business program, drawn in part by the school’s internship with FAME Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals. That internship proved pivotal, showing Walt that he belonged in the studio and leading to a 17-year stint working with Rick Hall, the founder of FAME. Walt received his first guitar, a Silvertone, as a Christmas gift when he was eight years old, and he wrote a handful of songs as a teenager. Still, it was Rick Hall who encouraged hi

Pat Alger formed his own music publishing company in Nashville after writing several hit songs.  His tune "Thunder Rolls" was a big hit for Garth Brooks,  and other songs have been recorded by a range of artists including "Small Town Saturday Night."  Pat, in fact, grew up in a small town in Georgia and began playing folk music as a teenager.  Happy and Artie Traum asked Pat to join them on their musical adventures for some years, which earned Pat the title of the Third Traum.  Pat has been very active with the Nashville Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, for which he has not only served

Muriel Anderson sure puts her heart and soul into her music as both a performer and songwriter. Over the years the music products industry has been lucky to be closely associated with Murial thanks to her endorsement of instruments and accessories as well as her widely successful All Star Guitar Nights, a feature at NAMM Shows since 2000. Her many projects include raising funds for school music programs and music education.  

Whispering Bill Anderson began his music career as a songwriter penning the 1958 hit “City Lights” for Ray Price. Within a few years Bill was encouraged to sing some of his songs in his low and mellow way. The results were a string of hit songs including the cross-over smash record “Still” in 1963 and a nickname, Whispering Bill. Over the years he has been an actor, game show star and television host but found himself back to songwriting from the 1990s onwards. Music is a great part of Whispering Bill and, luckily for us, he is still sharing it with the world. 

Cowboy Joe Babcock is a singer and songwriter whose career in country music spans over sixty years. As a vocalist he and Hurshel Wiginton formed a backup studio singing group called The Nashville Edition. With The Nashville Edition and on his own, Joe sang on thousands of recordings such as Marty Robbins' “Devil Woman,” Charlie Rich’s “Behind Closed Doors,” and Elvis Presley’s Grammy winning version of “Amazing Grace.” In 1968 Joe was asked to sing on a new television program called Hee Haw and stayed with the program for its entire run, which went off the air in 1993.

Gary Baker watched the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show along with his brother. The two became so engrossed by music that his brother bought Gary a Silver Tone Guitar from Sears. They formed a band together and Gary soon discovered he enjoyed writing songs. As a songwriter, Gary has written a dozen tunes for the Backstreet Boys as well as the classic hit "I Swear" and Lone Stars' big hit "I'm Already There". He opened the recording studio, Noise Block, just across the river from Muscle Shoals, Alabama where he first cut his teeth in the studios thanks to Rick Hall at Fame.

AV (Bam) Bamford was a colorful country music producer originally from Cuba. During the mid-1930s, he owned and operated a string of radio stations, mostly in the southern United States. As a promoter of these stations, he often befriended performers who would perform live on the radio or at remote locations such as state fairs. Over the years he was asked to manage a number of musicians, including Hank Williams. In fact, during our interview with Bam, he recounted the final days of the country legend and the last time they saw each other, which was just hours before Williams died

Bobby Bare Sr. began writing songs as a teenager and landed a hit record with the talking blues song "All American Boy" in 1958 when Bobby was just 18 years old. He followed that recording with several other hits including "Detroit City" and "500 Miles Away from Home." During his NAMM interview, Bobby recalled visiting music stores dreaming of a Martin Guitar until he finally had the money to purchase one. He still has that same guitar!

Ray Benson and two friends formed a country rock band in 1970 called Asleep At The Wheel. Ever since that time Ray has continued to play with the band, which has seen nearly 100 musicians come and go, but Ray remained! His colorful career has had its highs and lows, most of which he has expressed in song over the years including in the 1975 hit “The Letter That Johnny Walker Read.” In more recent years Ray has worked with Willie Nelson and others on Asleep At The Wheel material, which has continued to find a growing audience for over 40 years.  

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 instruments. The store followed Byron’s amazing career as a professional musician, which included recordings with the Rolling Stones (Let It Bleed), Bill Monroe (they co-wrote the classic bluegrass song, “Gold Rush”) and the hit movie Smokey and the Bandit.

Woody Bomar began his career as a songwriter and went on to work in music publishing.  In fact, Woody created Little Big Town and had a very successful run in the 1980s and 90s.  Woody made the decision to put his songwriting on hold and focused on publishing.  However, he applied is knowledge as a writer to foster the careers of several of the most successful songwriters in Nashville over the years.   In the early part of his career Woody worked for Fred Foster’s famed Combine Music, which Woody found to be a wonderful learning group for his future career in music publishing.  

Harold Bradley was one of the most recorded guitarists in the history of Nashville. Harold and his brother, the legendary producer, Owen Bradley, created a new feel in country music, a style known today as the “Nashville Sound.” Harold can be heard on classic recordings such as “Crazy” by Patsy Cline and “Little Sister” by Elvis Presley. Advocating music education and playing a strong role in preserving the history of music and its Nashville connection, Harold was a popular and effective leader as President of the Musicians Union and an author of several important articles on musi

Thom Bresh was a Grammy Award nominated country music singer and guitarist. In the early part of his life, Thom worked as an actor and stuntman. He gained stage presence early on, acting as soon as three years old, and starring in Las Vegas at 15. He later found himself into music after portraying musical impressions and singing/playing guitar in a lounge band led by Hank Penny. His father was Merle Travis and as a result, Thom grew up knowing Leo Fender, Paul Bigsby and Les Paul all as uncles.

Michael Brettler is the current president of Shapiro, Bernstein & Company, which has been in his family for four generations.  Michael’s interview was completed on the 100th anniversary of the famed music publisher’s beginnings in New York City.  Over the years, Shapiro, Bernstein & Company has represented some of the golden treasures in American music, as well as standards that are a part of our culture and history.  Michael is very proud to carry on the family tradition, while at the same time preparing the company to be successful in the ever-changing world of technolog

Junior Brown is a performer/inventor who dreamed of a sound to offset his rockabilly and blues styles. He designed a slide guitar and an electric guitar into one unit that did not require putting one down to play the other. The Git-Steel Guitar is now in production. It is his lead instrument in his live and recorded performances, including his best known song “Highway Patrol.” It is clear the instrument he designed and created has become a large part of the unique style he has developed. However, his songwriting and playing methods also echo his heroes such as blues and early rock

Bob Brumley was the owner of Albert E. Brumley & Sons, a music publishing company established by his father in 1944. Albert E. Brumley was a gifted songwriter who often penned religious themed songs such as the classic “I’ll Fly Away.” Bob joined the company with one goal in mind, to preserve his father’s music. In addition to curating his father’s music, Bob also published songbooks on a wide range of topics including cowboy songs, radio favorites, and church hymns. Bob was very proud that his daughter Betsy is continuing the family tradition by running the company and the I’

Wayne Burdick’s pedal steel guitar made by Paul Bigsby graced the cover of the luthier’s first catalog. Wayne befriended Mr. Bigsby in the 1950s while Wayne was a member of the Tex Williams Western Swing Orchestra. Wayne’s pedal steel can be heard on hundreds of recordings and in fact the very instrument made by Paul Bigsby was later purchased by Ron Middlebrook who loaned it to the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music for display beginning in 2008. Wayne also had a long friendship with Rob Crook, the creator of the Standel Amplifier.

Gary Burr played trumpet in the school band and went on to become one of the top songwriters in Nashville in the 1980s and 90s. Among the many hit songs he penned were “In a Week of Two,” “Watch Me,” “I Try to Think About Elvis,” and his first million selling song, “Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me.” He formed a music publishing company with Desmond Child and later one on his own. His philosophy in writing comes down to looking at a story from every angle and picking the one that speaks to him or that has never been told before. A song is a story and Gary is a clever story tell

Jimmy Capps backed nearly every performer at the Grand Ole Opry as a house band guitarist since 1960! The list of artists he played with is nothing more than amazing and represents the grand old pioneers such as Roy Acuff as well as current Opry members Vince Gill and Garth Brooks. Along the way he was a sought after studio musician who recorded with a vast list of country, bluegrass and rock artists. Jimmy’s guitar skills can be heard on a number of smash hit recordings including Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler,” George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” and George Strait’s “Amaril

Billy Carson was listed in the Guinness book of world records for growing the largest watermelon ever weighed. And if you think that is something, consider the fact that Billy also worked with Leo Fender in streamlining the Stratocaster electric guitar in the early 1950s. As a country player in Southern California in the late 1940s, Billy became close friends with Leo. At the time, Leo was a radio repair man who helped musicians on the side fixing their amplifiers. Over the years, Billy related his frustration over the way the sharp edge of his guitar would cut into his ribs.

Jody Carver was a legendary steel guitarist who, as a session player, recorded with many top performers beginning in the 1950s.  Jody developed a life-long friendship with Don Randall at the then-newly formed Fender Musical Instruments.  Don hired Jody, first as a product endorser and soon after as a salesman.  Jody's storied career was peppered with fascinating gigs and great friendships! Jody was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall Of Fame in 2004. After his NAMM interview, Jody developed a strong friendship with Music Historian Dan Del Fiorentino. The two often spoke on the pho

Steve Castro has toured backline for over 25 years and loves it.  Steve is a roadie’s roadie who has witnessed firsthand many of the major changes in technology that have affected live performances.  Steve has served as guitar, drum and keyboard tech for such acts as Sugarland, Lady Antebellum, Sheryl Crow and Jon Bon Jovi.  His classic roadie mentality is summed up when he said, “whenever I am home I keep worrying that I need to be someplace else, like Boston or Cleveland or Houston or Santa Ana.”

Joe Chambers worked for music publishers in Nashville and became a successful songwriter.

Gene Chrisman was among the celebrated studio musicians from Tennessee who played on countless recordings and helped shape the Memphis Sound during the 1960s and 70s. Gene’s creative drumming style has been cited by percussionists around the world as an influence on their own careers. Gene was the drummer in the American Sound Studio in Memphis, which produced a string of hits for artists such as Willie Nelson and Elvis Presley.

Travis Christopherson’s roots in music can be traced back to when his grandfather played country music records for him as a child. As he learned to play the guitar, Travis saw his passion for music grow and was inspired by the enjoyment he gave others. While in school he participated in the band programs and learned to play the trombone, which became a second passion for him. With the trombone he studied in college, performed with legendary musicians and taught many young students such as in the early 1990s when he was a part of the Clark Terry Jazz Camp! Behind his playing was hi

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, Roy helped design his signature model for Heritage Guitars. Roy also was close to many in the music publishing industry ever since he wrote the first of many successful method books for both guitar and banjo. The popularity of these books' were boosted with the creation of the TV program, Hee-Haw, which Roy co-hosted for over 20 years.

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 job in a local recording studio in Texas where he was born while gigging at night. As a studio musician, he also provided backup vocals when needed and began writing his own songs. He was on the trajectory of becoming a solo artist when his songs became in demand by other performers.

John Conlee was not even a teenager when he joined a barbershop quartet in Versailles, Kentucky where his father ran a tobacco farm. He was often heard singing and playing his guitar and decided to try his hand as a musician in Nashville. He moved to the music city in 1971 to work in radio and within the decade, recorded a number of hit songs that launched his career. He wrote and recorded “Rose Colored Glasses” and “Backside of Thirty” in 1978 and became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1981. He soon began recording songs by some of his favorite songwriters such as Harlan Howard

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 and songwriting collaborator, Roger Greenaway. The two Rogers wrote such hits as “You’ve Got Your Trouble” recorded by the Fortunes, “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress” a big hit for the Hollies, and a song originally written for a Coca-Cola jingle yet later was recorded by several artists entitled “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony).” Mr. Cook moved to Nashville in 1975 where h

Steve Cooley was just a kid when he heard Earl Scrugg playing banjo on the TV show “The Beverly Hillbillies.” The performance lit a spark in Steve who began playing guitar and banjo with older string players around Louisville, Kentucky. He learned all he could from them and went on to play in bars and nightclubs while still in high school. On one such gig he was paid $35.00 plus pizza for a performance, which he later jokes was the moment he knew he wanted to be a professional musician! Steve toured with The Dillards for over 24 years and occasionally performed with Bill Monroe wh

Ronny Cox is the actor who played the guitar in the famous Dueling Banjo scene during the 1972 movie Deliverance. That movie moment led to a big boom in banjo and acoustic guitar (and canoe) sales around the world. It was also Ronny's first film role. Throughout his acting career he almost always found time to still perform 100 gigs a year. Even during the years he acted in Beverly Hills Cop and RoboCop, Ronny recorded many of the songs he wrote, several of which were inspired by his wife, Mary, who passed in 2006. Ronny just released his seventh album at the time of his NAMM Oral