Victor Himbaugh was still a teenager when he purchased used instruments and sound systems from newspaper ads just to clean them up and resell them out of his mother’s basement. He took vi...

Randy Dorman joined Kenny Rogers' road band in 1977 and worked with the legendary country singer until his last tour in 2017. Along the way Randy performed with each one of Kenny’s guest ...

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...

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...

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...

Herb Holt has thoroughly enjoyed his life in music, both as a musician and as a sales rep!  In 1968 he formed the Music Marketing Company to represent the Ovation Guitar line in Minnesota...

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...

Don Johnston has become a well-respected sales manager for the Fender Musical Instruments Corp.  He was hired just after CBS Musical purchased the famed electric guitar company in May 196...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

Robert Brilhart is the eldest of the sons of mouthpiece pioneer Arnold Brilhart. Arnold was a well-known saxophonist in the early days of recorded jazz and throughout the Big Band Era. Al...

Allen Prather, known throughout the industry as Lowell, became a well-respected sales rep for the Kaman Corporation. He stayed with the company for over thirty years and helped move the c...