Vivian Artley’s brother formed the Artley Flute Company in Elkhart, IN, during the 1930s. With an innovation that allowed the instrument to be made cheaper, Artley became a successful pr...
Mary Ellin Barrett was the oldest of Irving Berlin’s three daughters and the author of the 1994 book, Irving Berlin: A Daughters Memoir. During her NAMM interview she and her sister Linda...
William Baumzweiger’s father was the product engineer for the Shure company, who famously invented the Unidyne microphone. Benjamin Baumzweiger is credited with being the driving force b...
Thom Bresh was a Grammy Award nominated country music singer and guitarist. In the early part of his life, Thom worked as an actor and stuntman. He gained stage presence early on, acting ...
William Brilhart grew up in a house of music. His father, Arnold Brilhart, was the jazz saxophonist who established a mouthpiece and accessories company and introduced innovative products...
Jeanne Bundy-Morrow was only married to Frank Bundy a few months when her father-in-law, the pioneering instrument designer George Bundy, passed away. Because Jeanne had known George for ...
Ed Caustin was the nephew of guitar pioneer George Beauchamp. Ed recounted several stories about his very creative uncle, who Ed looked up to as an inspiration. In fact, Ed later worked...
C.J. Chenier is the son of Clifton Chenier, known as The King of Zydeco. C.J. was always encouraged to play music and fondly remembers his father purchasing a guitar for him at a very you...
Susan M. Davis has fond memories of Les Paul and Mary Ford coming over to her house for dinner when she was a little girl. Her father was Gibson Guitar president Ted McCarty who signed Le...
Judith Delgado is the daughter of former NAMM President James Kleeman. Known around the NAMM building as the Professor, Jim was a strong leader who helped establish the Professional Devel...
Luella Derwin was one of the first women owners of a music store in America. In 1937, when her bandleader husband Hal Derwin went on the road, Luella was left behind, “So one day I was ...
Les Deutsch is a Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) scientist in the aerospace industry who holds several patents for electronic musical instruments. His father, Ralph Deutsch, invited the s...
Linda Emmet enjoyed talking about the often over-looked business side of her father’s remarkable career in music publishing. Her father was Irving Berlin! Mrs. Emmett and her older sister...
Phyllis Fender was married to Leo Fender, the great pioneer of the solid body electric guitar. After reading several publications on his life’s work, it was a refreshing treat to hear abo...
Pat Galyean was introduced to the art of songwriter by her mother, Edna Mae Burnam. Edna Mae, as Hal Leonard wrote on their website, was “one of the most respected names in piano pedagogy...
Barbara Gard and Catherine Poruba are the only children of former NAMM CEO William Gard (1915-1987). Mr. Gard’s legacy is strongly remembered and archived by the people who worked with hi...
Joyce Glantz is the proud torch carrier of her brother’s musical legacy! Ronnie Singer (1928-1953) was a pioneer of the electric guitar in jazz combos and big band orchestras during the 1...
Jon Goldman is the great-grandson of the founder of Goldman's Pawn Shop in Evansville, Indiana. He grew up listening to stories of how the store began and how it grew over the years. Ther...
Louise Harrison was the older sister of George and played an important role in the Beatle's success in America. In 1963, the year before the Beatles arrived, Louise was living in the Uni...
Donnita Hathaway is the founder of the Donny Hathaway Legacy Project, which is dedicated to the memory of her father, soul singer and songwriter Donny Hathaway. The organization provides ...
Robert Hobbs is very proud of his father’s role in music. His father, Revis Hobbs, was a radio engineer for station WSM and later created the r/f switch for radio frequency stability. In ...
Roxie Hyatt was married to one of Leo Fender’s early sales representatives, Harold Hyatt. Harold first worked for his brother, Dale, who Leo hired in the late 1940s. After working for Dal...
Myno Jackson grew up surrounded by music. Her father was the jazz bassist Chubby Jackson who played with Woody Herman, had a hit children’s television program, and toured with Louie Armst...
Ashley Johnson is the daughter of Rosi and Dex Johnson and the granddaughter of the founders of Mississippi Music, Mac and Jimmy. Ashley shared many of her favorite memories of growing up...
Helene La Faro has been asked countless times to recount the short but extremely influential musical career of her brother, jazz bassist Scott La Faro. In fact, she began collecting the n...
Barbara La Mair is the niece of the late industry icon Louis La Mair. During her interview, she provided warm and insightful background into the personal life of this one-time NAMM Presid...
Elisabeth Link, wife of Horst Link, played an important role in the success of Sonor - a company synonymous with quality percussion instruments. For many years, a critical part of the pro...
Brooke Ludwig Crowden remembers her grandfather, William F. Ludwig, working around the factory inspecting drums and insisting on a quality product. She remembers the day her father, Wil...
Linda McDowell proudly watched as her father was installed as president of the NAMM Board of Directors in 1970. It was a time of change and, under Robert McDowell’s leadership, programs w...
Dina Pearlman-Ifil has many fond memories of growing up in her home. Her mother had a background in visual arts and her father was an engineer and inventor of the ARP synthesizers. Her pa...
Rosemary Pitman is the daughter of Bill Pitman, the sought after studio musician known as a member of the Wrecking Crew. Rosemary has many fond memories of spending time with her father a...
Jan Pitman is the wife of the late studio musician and member of the Wrecking Crew, Bill Pitman. Jan shed light on the man behind the thousands of records her husband performed on such as...
