Jim Collins was given a Silvertone Guitar by his dad following the Beatle’s appearance on the Ed Sullivan television program, an event he still recounts with enthusiasm. Jim took a day jo...

Roger Cook was born in Bristol, England, and was involved with making music at an early age. He sang in a local Doo Wop group while a teenager, which is when he met his longtime friend an...

Jerry Kennedy was just a young teenager when he and a friend heard Elvis Presley’s first Sun Record. They were blown away by the electric guitar they heard but realized in photographs Elv...

Felix Cavaliere is the Hammond B3 keyboardist and songwriter behind a string of popular songs recorded by the Young Rascals during the mid to late 1960s.

Mark Casstevens has always had a deep passion for music. He sang in church choirs and began piano lessons at age six, eventually teaching himself guitar. In high school in Ft. Worth, TX, ...

Joe Spivey is a much-in-demand fiddle player in Nashville who has recorded and toured with Shania Twain, The Blackhawks, Dolly Parton and John Anderson, among others. He grew up in Shreve...

Chris Leuzinger was just nine years old when he saw Elvis Presley on the Ed Sullivan Show and begged his father for a guitar. By the time he was 12, young Chris was already in a band with...

Billy Sanford purchased his first guitar, a Stella, at a pawn shop in his hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana, when he was 13 years old. Still a teenager, Billy became a member of the staff...

Mark Wills grew up in Blueridge, Georgia, with a passion for music. His local music store was Ken Stanton Music, where he often went for accessories for the Gibson archtop he was given as...

Kerry Marx is the Music Director for the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. He began working for the Opry in 2000 as a member of the staff band. The band regularly backs up the many ...

Kevin McGinty is the audio engineer and Front of House for one of the most historic venues in music, the Grand Ole Opry, in Nashville, Tennessee. Kevin began mixing Live Sound while in hi...

Eamon McLoughlin grew up in England where his father had a band, which later developed into a family Country style band that included Eamon and his two sisters. He attended college in Aus...

Jimmy Bowen is the successful record producer whose musical career began as a Rockabilly recording artist and songwriter. He formed a trio right out of high school and created a songwriti...

Gio Giovanni has a rich background in music, a passion of his since he was a kid. Gio grew up in Detroit, where he studied guitar and became a Hip Hop DJ. He took classes that incorporate...

Lou Bradley served as a recording engineer in the famous Quonset Hut Studios in Nashville, TN which was operated by Owen Bradley (no relation). Among the thousands of recordings Lou playe...

Glenn Rieuf worked for a radio station repairing and building their equipment, which was the perfect foundation for his role as a recording engineer. He was hired by Chip Young, who had j...

Jay McDowell, known as Smilin' Jay, is the Multimedia Archivist for the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee. His father worked with Guild Guitars and was friends with Duane Edd...

Andy Leftwich began playing the fiddle at the age of six when his dad bought one from a local pawn shop. Andy grew up knowing he could always express himself though music and by the age o...

Tim Smith grew up in a very musical family as his father and uncle both wrote and record music. In fact, his uncle, Arthur Smith, wrote two of the most famous instrumentals in modern coun...

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...

Tom Pick was the prominent studio engineer who was behind the glass inside RCA Studio B, working alongside producer Chet Atkins when hundreds of hit songs were recorded. During his NAMM i...

Paul Franklin asked his father to help modify his pedal steel guitar, as he had ideas to create sounds and chord changes that were not possible on the instrument at the time. His father, ...

Gail Davies was the first female Record Producer in Nashville. In 1973, she was encouraged to run her own sessions by Henry Lewy (1926-2008). It was not easy to establish herself as a pro...

Kyle Lehning is a recording engineer and record producer who has worked with a string of artists in Nashville beginning in the late 1960s. As a result, he has worked with the likes of Ken...

Gary Burr played trumpet in the school band and went on to become one of the top songwriters in Nashville in the 1980s and 90s. Among the many hit songs he penned were “In a Week of Two,”...

Eddie Bayers is the studio musician who was asked to assemble a group of players in the era following the Nashville A Team to act as the go-to group for studio recordings. Eddie called th...

Steve Gibson repeated, “I’ve been blessed,” which acted as a recurring theme throughout his NAMM Oral History interview. The sentiment comes from a review of his extraordinary career as a...

Chuck Ainlay was a member of a band in school which is where his love and passion for music began. Although he knew he may not make it as a professional musician, he knew he wanted to be ...

Randy Goodrum became well known in Nashville as a studio piano player. He has played on many albums for a wide range of performers while developing his skills as a songwriter. In 1977, Ra...

Brent Mason can often be found at the NAMM show as he has developed some long-lasting relationships with musical instrument companies during his long career as a studio musician. He grew ...

Leigh Maples played her ukulele as her sister sang when the two were small and remains an important memory for Leigh.  She later played guitar in high school and went on to study music bu...

Pamela Cole played trombone in school and learned firsthand the importance of supportive people in the formative years of a young musician. After graduating from Belmont College in Nashvi...