Rick Thompson worked in a metal stamping company before learning of the opening at Ken-tron Mfg., Inc. in Owensboro, Kentucky. The company has two divisions, the metal stamping side and t...
Zoe Thrall discovered her passion for audio engineering in college after years of musical exploration, having started with the flute at age seven before mastering saxophone and oboe. Dete...
Patti Thurston, VP of Efficacy at The Designory, embodies a spirit of gratitude that permeates every aspect of her life and work. With more than 20 years of dedicated service to The Desig...
Scott Thurston emerged onto the scene as a versatile session musician. His melodic prowess has graced the stages alongside an array of artists, from Jackson Browne to the dynamic force of...
Yves Tieche opened a small shop building guitars in 1976, later expanding into a store and becoming a Martin dealer. While attending the 1991 Frankfurt Music Fair, Yves met Armand Zildjia...
Crazy Tomes grew up in Israel, where his love for music blossomed, particularly his fascination with vintage American rock and roll. When his family moved to the United States at age 14, ...
Ed Tomlinson is the CEO of California Keyboards Music Center in Bakersfield and a well-regarded piano technician and trainer. After touring the world as part of a Contemporary Christian g...
Floyd Toole recalls that when he was a child his father purchased a large amount of World War II surplus supplies, which contained a generous assortment of electronic gadgets and componen...
Titus Tost studied computer programming in the mid-1980s in East Germany. He enrolled in a newly established study program called the Studio for Electronic Sound Generation (SEKD) in Dres...
Allen Toussaint represented one of the quintessential New Orleans sounds. Toussaint’s compositions and songs seamlessly blend blues, jazz, ragtime, R&B, and funk to create an amalgam ...
Stefano Trabucchi’s father loved music and encouraged his son to play the violin when he was eight. Stefano was fascinated by the instrument and by thirteen wanted to build his own. The f...
Marcellus Trach recalls with a smile the many rules a wood worker had to follow in the C.F. Martin & Company when he was first hired after World War II. He also expressed the pride so...
Charles Traeger had an impressive reputation in the world of bass making and bass restoration. His long career began when he was a musician in the big band era looking for someone who co...
John Trakas was hired by Ziggy Coyle to serve in the store's accounting department. John grew in the company over the years as did the store, which had multiple locations throughout the ...
Bill Tregoe drove over 1,300,000 miles over the 35 years that he was a sales rep for CG Conn and later King Musical Instruments. Along the way he made life long friends with many of the d...
Agness Tsao earned her college degree in banking and always had a love of music, singing in choirs from a young age. After college, she began working for KHS Musical Instruments, which ha...
Leng Tshua has played an important role in the piano industry both in the United States and his home country, Singapore. His passion for music began when he was inspired by his aunt playi...
Russ Turner opened his own organ repair company in the early 1960s in the early days of the home organ boom. He worked with all of the organ dealers in and around the San Francisco Bay Ar...
Rick Turner was well known for his innovative handcrafted guitars and for pioneering the resurgence of American luthiers in the 1960s and 70s. With an ear for quality sound and an eye for...
Archie “Hubby” Turner served in the US Army during the Vietnam War and always felt the experience taught him, among other things, to appreciate the opportunity you have to add beauty and ...
Rob Turner’s first instrument was the drums; in fact it was the drums that brought him to establish one of the world’s best-known guitar pickup companies! While on tour in the early 1970s...
Benny Turner grew up in a music family and after his brother, Freddie King, took him to a session with Howlin’ Wolf and Willie Dixon, he was hooked. While Benny played guitar with the Kin...
Ron Tutt is best known for playing drums behind Elvis Presley during most of the king’s tours during the 1970s. Ron grew up with a deep passion for music and the drums, which led him to a...
Matt Umanov opened his first guitar shop in 1963, following his dream to have a life in music. Over the years, Matt has become one of the world’s leading experts on guitars, which is ofte...
Cliff Unruh has a background in marketing and was pursuing such a career when he was given the opportunity to sell Hammond Organs –and he jumped at the chance. He fell in love with the i...
Frank Untermyer studied woodworking and instrument building in Germany before returning to the United States to help form Hamer Guitars with college friends, Paul Hamer and Jol Dantzig. T...
Charles Urban knows horns! As the former president of American Plating, he has worked with the top brass instrument makers to perfect the art of plating instruments. Chuck is also very pr...
Steve Vai is a man that could be described as a planet that revolves around a star named Music. His life is ever entwined in an orbit that includes composing, transcription, performance, ...
Mark Vail has preserved some of the music products industry’s greatest history as author and researcher of a series of publications. In 1993, BackBeat Books published Mark’s landmark book...
Fred Vail was making announcements on a local radio station in Sacramento, California when he was just 12 years old. While in high school, he led the committee that brought bands to the s...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Jerry Vale had a series of popular recordings in the era af...
Holly Vallandingham, along with her husband Richie, proudly owns and operates Ada Music Center in Oklahoma, a vibrant, community-centered music store with a rich history dating back to 19...
