Lynn Wheelwright has always been fascinated with the guitar, especially the craft of building the instrument. After performing as a teenager, he developed many of his luthier skills from...
Frank Whetstine was working late in his musical instrument repair shop when he got to thinking about the unique way George Benson holds his guitar pick. Frank tried a few ways and finall...
Roland White played the mandolin as far back as he could remember. Influenced by the Bluegrass and Country Music he heard as a boy, Roland created his own unique style, which has been a m...
Curtis White was 11 years old when his father, Forrest White, resigned from Fender Guitar Company. Curtis remembers being devastated and wondering what the family would do since Fender wa...
Eleanor Whitmore is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and one-half of the duo, The Mastersons, alongside Chris Masterson. Beyond her work with The Mastersons, Eleanor is also a ...
Chris Whittington is the product engineer at Remo Inc in Valencia, California, a place he has referred to as his home. After all, Chris is a musician who is passionate about playing, who...
Art Wiggs has always admired the Gretsch brand of guitars. He grew up in a musical family, as his parents played in church and on the radio together. As a kid he played the guitar with ...
Barbara Wight smiled when she recalled being crowned the accordion princess of the Western States as a child. While she later had a long career as an executive in the agricultural industr...
Gordy Wilcher believes that with the right mixture of passion and knowledge, the independent music retailer has the strength to bring music to young students, build new brands within thei...
Bob Wiley’s father opened a small music store in Kansas in the mid 1930s and specialized in steel guitars. When the sales rep, Charlie Hayes, came into the store with electric guitars fro...
Florence Wilfer was born in France and was working for a musical distribution company when she met HP Wilfer, her future husband. The two have been working together at HP's Warwick Compa...
H. P. Wilfer inherited the passion and drive of his father who formed the Framus Guitar Company. After hard times and his father’s retirement, H. P. bought back the company to bring the m...
Trev Wilkinson began painting cars as a teenager and soon there after painted his own guitar, which started him on the road to guitar restoration and building. His long and fascinating in...
Bob Willcutt still loves repairing guitars. The nice view of downtown Lexington from his repair bench doesn't hurt. Initially working as a social worker, Bob repaired and rebuilt vinta...
Bernie Williams is the former professional baseball player whose passion for music making led him to a role as a music advocate. Being a musician since he was a kid, Bernie perused a succ...
Dale Williams with the RapcoHorizon cable company is extremely proud of the success and continued growth of Rapco in the marketplace. With an emphasis on only hiring musicians within the ...
Mac Wilson grew up in a musical home as both of his parents were singers. In middle school he learned the guitar and even earned a little money playing around town. Mac continued to pla...
Robert Wilson formed his first rock and roll band when he was 14. He played the blues for a living while creating a large list of friends, many of whom encouraged him to sell them instrum...
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 ...
Gary Wineroth is the president of the Guitar Showcase in San Jose, California, one of the best loved music retailers in the music products industry. With a historic past, the store has cr...
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...
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...
David Wish is the visionary behind Music Will, the largest nonprofit music program in the U.S. public school system. With a passion for music and education, David has dedicated more than ...
Tom Wittrock remembers the very moment he decided to dedicate his career to the guitar: when he purchased his first Les Paul sunburst in the mid-1970s. Many of his friends thought he was...
Jerry Woods really enjoyed working in music stores. As a musician, it gave him a day job. As a passionate music maker, it gave him the incredible feeling of placing a guitar in the hand...
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...
Peter Yarrow was the Peter in the wildly successful popular folk music trio Peter, Paul, and Mary. During his often musical NAMM Oral History interview, Peter spoke of the role music play...
Mac Yasuda played country music at an early age and fell in love with the style. He organized a band in Japan dedicated to country music. As his audiences grew, Mac was being asked more...
Abigail Ybarra was hired to work in the Fender factory back in 1956; just years after the famous electric guitar company released the Stratocaster. She conveyed in her interviews that the...
Yuichiro Yokouchi was once referred to as "the world's largest guitar maker" by a music magazine, a tag line he has liked to use over the years. His OEM guitar factory in Japan was respo...
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 ...
