Günter Körner began designing musical instruments at an early age growing up in Germany and, after gaining an engineering degree in college, he spent his entire career making instruments....
Mike Korpak enjoyed his work in the factory at Gibson Guitars beginning back in the 1960s in Kalamazoo, Michigan. During his career at Gibson, Mike was able to grow into management and ra...
Kay Koster was a pioneering woman retail owner, who not only successfully ran a business on her own beginning in 1940, she also personally repaired guitars and amps of all makes and model...
William Kraft has dedicated his life as a composer to the world of percussion. With noted works and workshops, William has become an important part of the educational element of the Percu...
Joan Kramer was just out of high school when she was hired to do some office work at the NAMM headquarters building in Chicago. The year was 1947, a very important time in the industry’s ...
Bob Kranendonk sang for the choral group, the Pennsylvanians led by Fred Waring. Bob’s father also sang for the group and in fact together both men had a hit and appeared on the cover of ...
Irv Kratka had the idea of creating recordings of music while leaving out an instrument, such as the piano. Piano students and enthusiasts could then play along with the band on the recor...
Gladys Krenek was married to the world-renowned composer Ernst Krenek from 1950 until his passing in 1991. Like many women married to noted artists of that era, Gladys’ own remarkable lif...
Michael Kropp loved folk music for as far back as he could remember. As he grew up and played in various bands in the 1960s and 70s he also became involved with the music industry. After ...
Ted Krumwiede was a veteran of the piano industry working for Kimball and Story & Clark in the important re-birth of the piano business following World War II. Ted had training and a ...
Art Kubera began taking accordion lessons when he was eight years old growing up in Buffalo, New York. His love of music continued to develop and within a few years he was playing in sch...
Tsunesaburo Kurosawa had a deep passion for instrument building and became one of Japan’s leading classical guitar luthiers. The success of his guitars led him to establish a showcase for...
David Kutner was new to the music products industry when he was offered the job as President of Hammond Organs in the late 1960s. It was a time for change in the organ business as sales s...
John Kuziel was a long time factory worker for the Gibson Guitar Company when it was located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He worked as a final inspector for the guitar line and later was in t...
Milton Kyser was raised in a small, poor farming family in East, Texas. He grew up during the Great Depression and in fact as a boy told himself if he ever had a business of his own he w...
A. A. (Sid) La Grandeur was trained in band instrument repair in Elkhart, Indiana before returning to Santa Barbara, California where he opened his own shop. The repair shop soon became a...
Art Laboe admired radio broadcasters from the first moment he heard voices coming out of a box his aunt had sent to Art's family when he was eight. He went on to have a successful and i...
Mike Ladd was one of the first music retailers in the United States to provide custom-made guitars. He had three locations in Memphis, the last of which was right across the street from G...
Stanley Lager formed Dale Electronics Corporation in New York City in 1956. The company, well known as Dale Pro Audio, was among the very first to fill the growing electronic needs of ven...
Frankie Laine earned over 20 gold records as one of America's leading crooners of the 1950s. Over his long career he sold over 100 million records. Months after his first big hit, “That’s...
Doug LaLonde was a professional musician before being drafted to serve in the US Army during the Korean War. He played percussion in the army and while stationed in San Francisco began h...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Burton Lane studied classical music in New York and had the...
Ernst Lang married Paula Prüller 1958 in Luby, Czech Republic, formerly named Schönbach, and both came from families involved in the production of musical instruments. Ernst Lang’s father...
Morris “Arnie” Lang played percussion for the New York Philharmonic for over 40 years and wrote the book on percussive technique -- literally. Arnie became involved with the music product...
Mike Lang was a well-respected keyboardist who can be heard on over 2,000 movie scores and countless studio recordings over his long and successful career. He worked with composers such ...
Roy Larrick was a distinguished sales representative for Hammond Organs and Panasonic's Technics products before launching his own retail business. After gaining invaluable experience at ...
Larry Larson loved the accordion! He played it most of his life, so when he had the idea to sell and teach the instrument, opening a store seemed like the right thing to do. He opened ...
Bill Larson served as a band director for over 35 years in Montana. When he needed the support from a music store to service his bands, he called on Eckroth Music in Bismarck, ND. Bill ...
Bertil Larson was like so many of the former employees at the mighty Wurlitzer Company that found his experiences there to have been happy ones and the friends he has made like family. Th...
Katinka Lathrop was married for over 60 years to a guitar player with a passion. After he retired from the ceramics industry, the couple moved to Modesto, California, where they opened a ...
Robert Laube spent over 30 years as the top salesman for Kimball Piano and Organ Company. In fact, he may very well have sold over one million organs during the big boom of the early 1970...
Paul Laubin followed in his father's footsteps both as a symphonic oboist and as an instrument maker. Alfred Laubin made his first oboe in 1931. He steadily improved his design, and wen...
