Paul Riser Sr. was given important musical training when he was in school, which helped set the direction of his career as a trombonist and later as an arranger. He was hired as a trombon...
Pat Rizzo heard Sly Stone was looking for a sax player to join the band. He went backstage at a concert with his horn and Sly told him to go into the bathroom. Sly asked if he was good a...
John Roderick studied percussion at the Hart School of Music, which proved to be a great benefit for his long and successful career in the music products industry. John has worked for sev...
Chan Romaro played an important part in pop music in the late 1950s and early 60s when he blended his Mexican and Native American roots with rock and roll. He wrote and recorded several ...
Pepe Romero Jr literally grew up surrounded by guitars. As part of the Romero family, Pepe was exposed to classic guitars and music from the time he was born. While he learned to play at ...
Cesar Rosas was born in Hermosillo, Mexico, in the state of Sonora, and was greatly influenced by the music he heard as a child growing up. He was exposed to traditional Mexican music and...
Charles Rose began playing trombone in the 7th grade and by 1970, when he was still a teenager, formed a band with three trombones. It was the beginning of a long and successful career in...
Bud Ross made his first amplifier for his own band in 1958 to save a little money. Within 5 years he had established Kustom Amps, a leader in product design and innovations. The powerful ...
Freddie Roulette pioneered the use of the slide guitar in the blues style. When he began playing slide guitar he was emulating country and western music and felt the instrument would fit...
Bonnie G. Rowe did not seem to mind much when people thought he was a woman because his given name was Bonnie. For 87 years he corrected people and never gave much thought to using his mi...
Elliott Rubinson fell in love with the bass at the age of 12 and played it every waking moment as he grew up in Queens, New York, in the rock era of the 1960s. He toured with a number of ...
Todd Rundgren was interviewed for the NAMM Oral History program the same day he was presented with inducted into the TEC Awards Hall of Fame. His visit to the NAMM show was his first in ...
This is the full length NAMM Oral History interview with Todd Rundgren, which was captured on January 24, 2014. For his biography and web clip, please follow the link: https://ww1.namm.o...
Patrice Rushen has forged many in roads in the music industry. While Patrice got her start recording as an accomplished jazz pianist, she soon branched out into many other genres includin...
Scott Russ grew up in the music business, crawling around the floor. His parents opened a music retail store in 1947, before Scott was born. Growing up, Scott fell in love with the Hamm...
Leon Russell was the noted musician and songwriter who contributed greatly to popular and rock music during his long career. As a studio musician, Leon was active in the development of t...
Bob Ryder grew up surrounded by music and began playing saxophone at an early age. When he and his wife, Janine, had the opportunity to purchase La Jolla Music in the 1990s, Bob was thri...
Janine Ryder and her husband, Bob, owned La Jolla Music on Girard Avenue for several years beginning in the 1990s. At the time, the store needed new product brands, which Janine expanded...
Marcus Ryle began his career in the industry as an engineer for Oberheim while he was still a teenager. In those pre MIDI days, Marcus designed a series of sound controllers as well as pr...
Kim Ryrie was just a few years out of high school when he called his friend Peter Vogel to discuss a new idea. Peter and Kim worked on several electronic related projects together in scho...
Michael Sagun, while attending the University of Portland, began working for a couple of local music stores. He worked as a part time shipping clerk at Barker Lynns Sheet Music Service ...
Robert Saied took great inspiration from his father, James. Robert’s father formed the Saied Music Company in Tulsa, OK in 1946 after serving as a band director in various schools in the ...
James Saied, the founder of the Saied Music Store chain in Oklahoma loved the marches of John Phillip Sousa! In fact, he liked them so much that he teamed with then NAMM President Ziggy C...
Poncho Sanchez has the heart and soul of his Latin music roots and the love and feel for funk. The result of these passions is the unique style that has helped establish him as a talented...
David Sancious always had records playing in his home growing up and his dad would take him to jazz clubs when he was just a child to sit by the stage so he could see the piano player. As...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Harry Sargent was a jazz drummer based out of Memphis, Tenn...
David Saul is a leading expert on player piano rolls and the AMPICO Company. David was interviewed in his El Cajon, CA home in June 2011 and spoke of his career as an engineer. He worked ...
Bob Saunders began working in the accounting department for Kaman Corporation. He was asked by the company’s founder, Charlie, to work with his son Bill for the Kaman Music Corporation. ...
Ray Scherr was hired by Wayne Mitchell, the founder of Guitar Center, to help strengthen and develop the small store. Ray added the culture and helped drive the growth of the company fro...
Leonhard Scheuch was born 1938 in Winterthur, Switzerland. After theater studies in Munich and Vienna he worked as artistic director at the Zürich Opera until 1975. His career took a turn...
Barbara Scheuch-Vötterle is one of five children of Karl Vötterle who founded the Bärenreiter-Verlag in 1923. After the death of her father 1975, Barbara took over the company and with he...
Benjamin Scheuer is a musician and songwriter who specializes in combining his passions for all style of music and musical theater to express himself. He began songwriting at a young age ...