Arthur Lee Williams was only five years old when his uncle brought over a harmonica for him as a gift. Arthur took to the harmonica right away and made his career playing it and singing t...
Roger Williams was known throughout the world for his countless albums and top ten hits as a solo pianist. He had a remarkable career in bridging rock and roll and in incorporating jazz a...
Bob Williamson was involved in the piano and organ business since he was a boy. His father sold Baldwin Pianos out of his barn in Southwest Nebraska. The Williamson Baldwin store never ha...
Allee Willis wrote a number of successful songs that have become part of the fabric of pop music. Allee either wrote or co-wrote songs such as “September” by Earth Wind & Fire, the th...
Tom Wilson might have been among the most-suggested people to be included in the NAMM Oral History Program! Suggestions came from those who worked with him over the years who gained resp...
Vanetta Wilson was the fourth generation owner of her family’s music business. Chesbro Music began in 1911 as a music retailer and expanded over the years to become one of the largest mus...
Keith Wilson helped design and manufacture the famed SM57 and SM58 microphones for Shure back in the early 1960s. As an engineer, Keith later came up with the idea of creating a system fo...
Spider Wilson began recording with Little Jimmy Dickens in 1947 and over the years backed nearly every performer at the Grand Ole Opry as a house band guitarist from the late 1950s until ...
Don Wilson was a founding member of the instrumental rock band, The Ventures! He formed the band with his friend Bob Bogle. Shortly after their first hit, “Walk Don’t Run,” Nokie Edwards,...
Gerald Wilson was among the great arrangers of jazz, beginning back in the swing era when he worked for the famed Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra. He established a distinctive style rich in me...
Don Wilson always enjoyed being around music, as a player, teacher, retailer, and as an award-winning baton twirler. He opened his music store in 1956 with the dream of running his busine...
This audio only interview was conducted by David Schwartz and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Carl Wilson co-formed The Beach Boys with his brother, Brian, and school friend, Al...
Harold Winkler was raised in the music publishing industry. His father, Max Winkler, worked his way up from stock boy at Carl Fischer to be president of famed Belwin Music Publishing Com...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Jac Winroth was born with a handicap that his mother insist...
Johnny Winter has become an important link between classic blues artists and modern audiences. Johnny’s blues style stays fresh and current while playing the important standards by artist...
Paul Winther took over his parent’s music store in Boise, Idaho, which was opened in 1943. Paul enjoyed the selling side of the business, especially selling pianos and organs. Paul took...
Dave Wintz has always enjoyed designing musical gear, whether it be guitars or pickups. His passion lies with creating a product that will provide any musician with the opportunity to ad...
Chip Wise served in the piano business for over fifty years and enjoyed the customers he met and the people of the music industry. During the early days of the NAMM Oral History program m...
Mac Wiseman joined the Foggy Mountain Boys in 1946, the same year the legendary bluegrass band was formed. The groups two founders, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, formed their own group...
Mel Wisniewski gave music lessons in a small music store in upstate Wisconsin and soon discovered he was interested in the idea of owning his own store. Not wanting to compete with his fr...
Abe Wollam was a close associate of Bud Reglein. Beginning in the 1940s, Abe worked with Bud at the jj Babbitt Mouthpiece Company out of Elkhart, IN. Abe developed strong engineering skil...
Bernie Worrell began playing classical music as a small child and it soon led to his life-long passion for music! He met George Clinton, who at the time was leading a Doo-Wop group called...
Eugene Wright can be heard playing bass on the classic jazz song “Take Five” as a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, but what most people may not know is that Eugene fronted his own band...
Betty Wright was three years old when she was placed on a pile of phone books in a studio in order to reach the microphone when her family recorded gospel music. She began writing songs v...
Johnny Wright was among the most popular of the traveling country bandleaders during the big band era. Blending his country music roots with a slight bluegrass feel, Johnny’s band was the...
Lucien Wulsin’s grandfather was taught the piano business by D. W. Baldwin, the founder of the world-famous piano company. What he learned was passed down to his son, who, like his father...
Kazuo Yairi was one of the most renowned guitar luthiers in Japan. His long career began as a child when he watched his father building unique handcrafted instruments for local students a...
Hajime Yamaguchi was born on September 26, 1944 in Tokyo, Japan. At the age of 18 he traveled the country as a professional drummer and a year later landed a stellar job as drummer for a ...
Masamitsu Yamano’s grandfather opened up a small music stop in the heart of Ginza –the shopping area of Tokyo, Japan. The year was 1892. The retailer, which started out as a small keyboar...
Dolores Yeager was the CEO of the Professional Drum Shop in Hollywood, California, which her late husband, Bob, opened in 1959. Bob teamed with Chuck Molinari to establish a store that w...
Reggie Young is known throughout the world as one of the great studio session players referred to as the Memphis Boys. He played guitar on thousands of recordings as a session player in ...
Chip Young was one of the best known recording session guitarists in Nashville. His thumb picking style can be heard on countless recordings and hundreds of hit records made in Nashville ...