Roger Hart has developed many friends throughout his career in the music products industry. Those friends will likely tell you the two things Roger enjoys talking about the most are music...
James Tsaptsinos recalls the Muppet themed drum kit his uncle purchased for him when he was just five years old. He was surrounded by music during his childhood and in high school formed ...
Gabriel Lara was asked to create a series of music books with the Hal Leonard company for the Spain market beginning in 1972. Along with his business partner, Antoni Punti, Gabriel worked...
Manel Punti is the Managing Director of Music Distribution, a wholesale business in Spain that his father established in the 1960s. Manel grew up in the music industry as well as a musica...
Donez McNeely sang in choir during her school days, following in the footsteps of her older sister who was a lead singer in a band. In 1980, Donez (whose name is derived by combining her ...
Alan Greensall was working for Sound Technology when he helped broaden the reach of several brands into the British market. Among the brands were Taylor Guitars, Line 6 and G&L Guitar...
Noel Moore was hired by the B&J wholesale company in Canada in 1951 and served the company for 53 years before his retirement. Noel came to represent the integrity and dedication to c...
Kaki King first heard the Ovation Guitar being played by her father. It was one of his prized instruments and young Kaki was not allowed to play with it without him. He later gave that in...
Don (DJ) Johnson joined the Ovation Guitar Company in 1968, just about the time Glen Campbell was introducing the unique round-back instrument on national television. DJ worked for the fo...
David Bergstrom spent 10 years studying classical guitar, and even traveled to Spain to study under André Segovia. Upon returning to the United States, David found a career in the music p...
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...
Dale Kroke has been a passionate music maker since he was a kid. He studied music in college and earned a teaching degree before pursuing an advance degree in composition. His first job...
Allan Small played music as a young student and earned his degree in music education, then became a band director for almost a decade. As a band director in Pennsylvania he was involved ...
Bob King worked at Hal’s Music in Mountain View, California after returning from Vietnam in the early 1970s. He was introduced to the wholesaling side of the industry and soon gained a j...
Jim Gurley had more stories than just about any one else in the NAMM Oral History collection! He taught guitar in Los Angles area music stores while picking up guitars at Rickenbacker Gu...
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. ...
Hai Muradian sang in his Kindergarten class and soon realized he really wanted to be on the stage to entertain people. After singing and playing flute in rock bands as a teenager, Hai beg...
Jim Hennessey was working for Kaman Aerospace when he was transferred to the Ovation Guitar division. Jim worked closely with Charlie Kaman on several projects and later worked in the adv...
Donald Johnson was known throughout the industry as DJ. He began working in music retail in 1958 in the San Jose, California, area before joining Coast Wholesale in 1961. It was an intere...
Lloyd Stark began his career in the music industry as a teacher in a small string shop in Berkeley, California, providing lessons on bluegrass instruments such as the guitar and banjo. Wi...
Gene Brown joined the Ovation Guitar Company within the first year of the company’s establishment in 1966. After serving in the United States Army during Vietnam, Gene was immediately off...
Jol Dantzig met Paul Hamer in college and played together in various bands before the two formed their own retail and teaching studio. They soon found themselves designing and building th...
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...
Tim Angell grew up interested in the craft of woodworking. As a teenager he became interested in stringed instruments. With little woodworking opportunities in New Jersey, Tom and his wif...
John Beltrandi served as a road rep for Kaman Music on the east coast for over 40 years. He traveled mostly in Massachusetts and Connecticut and helped pioneer the Ovation guitar, which w...
Willy Vassilopoulos joined the Ovation Guitar Company in New Hartford Connecticut to follow his love of woodworking. He soon took part in the production of the instrument, which was orig...
Dick Bell was surprised by the impact he had on the music industry, a fact that became clear to him at the NAMM Show 2009, when the Roland Corp gave him a retirement party and NAMM reques...
Dave Campbell grew up in a household full of music! Both of his grandmothers were piano teachers and his father was a professional piano player. With such a strong background in music it ...
Gabe Ireland joined the Coast Wholesale Company while in high school. After college he continued to work for the company as the rock and roll boom began and the entire industry began to c...
Paul Damiano has played a critical role in the growth and development of Kaman Music ever since first joining the company in the early 1980s. With a great understanding and passion for ma...
Norm Thompson began his career in the music products industry as a salesman for retailers in Memphis during the 1950s. He worked his way up to a position of buyer for the store O. K. Hauc...
Bill Kaman served as president of Kaman Music Corporation, a company started by his father. Under Bill’s direction, Kaman Music expanded its product line, developed overseas markets, and ...
