Lenny LeBlanc and his friend Peter Carr formed a band together in 1975. LeBlanc & Carr, as they were known, had a big hit with the song “Falling” in 1977, which Lenny co-wrote with Ed...
John Lee is the eldest son of Tom and Betty Lee, the founders of a chain of music retail stores in Hong Kong and Canada. During John’s first NAMM interview, he spoke of the company’s expa...
Don Leslie, the inventor of the very successful Leslie Speaker, was pleased with the concept of the product that was a simple idea but a tricky design. As a child, Don was fascinated by t...
Gayle Levant is the award-winning harpist who became the first woman to serve as President of the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers (ASMAC) which was formed in 1938! In t...
Tony Levin is one of the most prolific bassists in history having recorded as a session player with numerous groups including Pink Floyd, David Bowie, and Yes, regular gigs with groups in...
Don Lewis was trained as an electronic engineer and, because of his love for music, he created one of the very early integrated-sound controllers, a precursor to MIDI. In the early 1970s ...
Larry "Link" Linkin began his career in the industry as a salesman for the G. Leblanc Corporation and wound up the C.E.O. of NAMM, retiring the year that the organization marked its 100th...
Evelyn Lipson and her husband Ray became early volunteers for the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music in the months before its grand opening to the public in 2000. Over the years she...
Kline Locher was one of the good old veteran piano salesmen who travelled the great one-lane highways of America before the advent of the blessed two lane interstates. Kline worked for a ...
William F Ludwig III, known within the industry as B3, sat next to his sister Brooke as the two reflected on the Ludwig Drum Company’s 100th anniversary for the NAMM Oral History program....
Joey Lyons has been a part of Music Sales Group almost as long as anyone else, perhaps second only to the president Mr. Robert Wise. Joey has been around music his entire life, in fact hi...
Scott Mandeville is a well regarded band instrument repairman who has developed into a noted teacher and expert, serving other repairman through his classes, sessions and writings for NAP...
Julian Markson can tell the history of the piano industry in England because he and his family lived it. His grandfather was a piano tuner who expanded the business in south-east London w...
Chris Martin is the proud descendent of the instrument craftsmen in Germany who founded the C.F. Martin & Company in 1833. As CEO of the company, Chris has overseen the expansion of t...
Billy May was a fun loving trumpeter who arranged some of the best-loved music of the Big Band Era! His humor and musical talents provided hit recordings for Glenn Miller, Charlie Barnet ...
Scott May knew since he was five years old that he wanted to play the organ! He fell in love with the endless possibilities of the instrument as he grew and discovered that the Hammond w...
Jay McShann was one of the last great original stride pianists, one of the last Big Band Era leaders and one of the few musicians to work with such an amazing list of jazz icons. During ...
Gerhard Meinl represents the 7th generation in a family of brass instrument makers. After integrating the East German, formerly state-owned, B&S GmbH in Markneukirchen in 1991 with Me...
Joel Menchey is the president of Menchey Music Service, a Hanover, Pennsylvania, based retail store established by his grandfather in 1936. Joel has been very active within the industry s...
Lloyd Meyer was the president of Renner US, the world-renowned provider of piano keyboard actions. His long and productive career began with retail experience in Minnesota at the large Da...
Butch Miles was born in Ironton, Ohio, on the 4th of July during a family reunion. When he was asked to join the school band he decided to play the drums. By the time he was in high schoo...
Sandra Miller realized as a professional musician working in Memphis that she learned enough about her Steinway piano that she could sell them. So, she got a job at Amro Music and has be...
Vic Mizzy wrote a number of hit songs for popular music, movies and television beginning in the 1940s. He wrote “The Jones Boy” for the Mills Brothers and is perhaps best known for writin...
Michelle Moog-Koussa is the keeper of her father’s flame! As director of the Bob Moog Foundation she has worked closely with those who seek as she does to promote the work of her father, ...
Robert Morrison was fully involved with marching band and percussion in school and into college, where he studied music education. His involvement with school bands and music education la...
Paul Murphy has served his industry well, just as did his father, his grandfather and his great-grandfather. Paul was elected to the NAMM Board of Directors where he served for over a dec...
John Musselman enjoyed a long and successful career in the music industry with Selmer, Leblanc and American Way. His zeal for the industry and understanding of international markets prove...
Graham Nash has been an outspoken advocate for music education, especially with regards to programs that provide instruments to young students. He has often mocked the thinking that allo...
Flip Oakes is the designer of the Wild Thing series of trumpets and cornets. Although Flip is a master of many musical instruments including the clarinet and saxophone (for which he was w...
Lee Oskar played the famed harmonica lick in the classic 1970s hit “Low Rider” as a member of the band WARS. The success of this song led to name recognition within the music industry tha...
Les Paul will forever be known for his role in the popularity of the electric guitar, the design of the Gibson Les Paul guitar, the multi track recording, the early guitar effects, and hi...
Tim Paul may have been destined for a career in the piano business. Growing up, his mother was a piano teacher and his father a piano technician. One of his earliest jobs was as a ballpar...