Babe Simoni began working for the Fender Guitar Company in 1953. He was a teenager when George Fullerton hired him to work on the factory floor. Babe’s father had worked in the plant just...
This is the full length NAMM Oral History interview with Babe Simoni, which was captured on May 26, 2010. For his biography and web clip, please follow the link: https://ww1.namm.org/lib...
András Simonyi grew up listening to traditional Yiddish and Hungarian folk music, but his true love was rock and roll music. This became a lifeline for him growing up behind the iron curt...
Al Simpkins spent his career selling musical products. One of his former dealers was convinced Al could sell a block of ice to residents of the North Pole. His knowledge of the products a...
Jack Simpson worked for RCA for nearly 40 years beginning at the time when the electronics and recording company was a regular exhibitor at the NAMM Trade Shows. Jack also became a jazz ...
Al Siniscal received the Audio Innovator Parnelli Award in 2010 for his major contributions to professional audio innovations over his career, which began in the early 1960s. As founder o...
Anna Sipavich was a real life Rosie the Riveter with ties to the music products industry. She was a factory worker at the Wurlitzer Company in DeKalb, IL, when the Second World War broke ...
Myrna Sislen is a professional musician who took advantage of the opportunity to purchase a struggling music store and bring it back to being an active and beloved part of the neighborhoo...
Sivamani has become the lead drummer and percussionist for India’s renowned film composer, AR Rahman, and as a result has gained a following among young musicians. Sivamani provides his ...
Dan Slick grew up in Johnstown, PA playing the family’s upright piano but soon switched his focus to the organ. He began his career in the music industry working at Fulton Piano and Organ...
Jim Slutz served as the Professor of Music Business at Indiana State University before his retirement in 2004. Former NAMM President Mr. F.D. "Bud" Streep from Orlando was the first perso...
Bill Smith’s journey into recording engineering began at 16 when his home tapes sparked a relentless curiosity for the craft. After cutting his teeth at various New York studios, a key op...
Roger Smith began playing the piano and singing in church at an early age, quickly falling in love with the way people reacted to the music he performed. He was introduced to the Hammond ...
Leland Smith was the renowned founder of computerized musical notation. He came to symbolize the technological changes in print music beginning in the 1960s. His work as a professor and e...
Dallas Smith began playing the clarinet at the age of eleven. By the time he was in high school he was in an all-star group and later focused on classical music throughout college. His l...
Johnny Smith! What can you say about meeting not only your personal hero but also a hero to thousands in our own industry! Johnny Smith was in person what he has been on recordings, warm,...
Viola Smith Viola played drums in a number of big bands and small combos during her career in music. She joined Phil Spitalny's all-female orchestra as the drummer and later appeared in s...
Brad Smith is the Senior Sales and Marketing Manager for Hal Leonard. During his career as a writer and industry historian, he worked for MIX Magazine before joining the Hal Leonard team...
Dave Smith was the founder of Sequential Circuits and inventor of the polyphonic synthesizer, the Prophet 5. Dave was also the designer and pioneer of MIDI (musical instrument digital int...
Al Smith discovered the harmonica when he was just three years old and hasn’t been without one since he got his first a few years later. He played with others in his neighborhood while gr...
Paul Reed Smith began playing guitar as a teenager. He soon designed his own style of guitar, which he built. At first he did not think about selling the instruments he was designing, but...
Glenn Snoddy was working in the recording studio in Nashville, when a short on the control board caused Grady Martin's guitar to take on a new sound. The engineers and producer looked at...
Marvin Snyder became president of Rico Reeds in 1976, after managing the cane plantations, which were used to make the reeds. His father worked with the Lockie family, who owned a chain o...
Ellis Sorkin’s early exposure to music came through his family’s connection to Herb Alpert, but his own curiosity and drive launched his career. At 14, watching a recording session fueled...
Cassandra Sotos is the owner of AmpRx, which creates products, such as the BrownBox, to provide a safe range of optimized voltage reduction levels to improve sound and help protect ears a...
Harry Sparks is the founder of the Famous Old Time Music Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Harry grew up in the folk and bluegrass era of the 1960s and joined a band at a young age. Over the y...
Kristen Spath treasures her many fond memories of making music with her father, a talented clarinetist in several big bands. Her passion for the piano was deeply influenced by the rich ta...
Denver Spence joined the music industry in 1968 after having been involved with his school marching bands and school band programs since he was in elementary school. He worked as a schoo...
Todd Spencer is passionate about the people of the Live Sound industry to the point of focusing on their safety and well-being. Todd is the president of the Entertainment Services and Tec...
Laurie Spiegel joined Bell Labs in 1973 wanting to explore what digital computers could offer for musical composition beyond what she'd been able to do with traditional acoustic, written ...
Philip Springer utilized his classical piano training to pen hit songs during a long and celebrated career making music. As a result his tunes often incorporated elements of sophisticatio...
Patrick Stansfield was the legendary stage manager who, along with Bill Graham of FM Productions, launched the modern music concert format by creating and popularizing the arena rock busi...
