Chuck Findley can be heard on the beautiful Flugel Horn solo on the Carpenter’s 1970 hit “(They Long to Be) Close To You.” However, that one recording should not define the range and enor...
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...
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, ...
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...
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...
Charles Rose began playing trombone in the 7th grade and by 1970, when he was still a teenager, formed a band with three trombones. It was the beginning of a long and successful career in...
Travis Wammack is a recording artist, studio musician, and songwriter who worked closely with Rick Hall, the founder of FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Travis charted his first hi...
Peanutt Montgomery grew up in Texas and took to playing the guitar at an early age. He formed a band that played for troops at military bases in the area and formed a trio with future act...
Mac McAnally, inspired by his mother took piano lessons and then later switched to guitar. His mother played piano and organ in their church, and the hymns he heard also inspired him to p...
Will McFarlane has proudly traveled the world touring with some of the biggest names in music as a journeyman musician. He toured with Bonnie Raitt in the 1970s, which was a wonderful exp...
Ray Russell is the noted English studio musician and composer who has also performed with a number of bands over his long career including the prog rock group Mouse. His guitar can be hea...
Clark Hagan is a Grammy-winning recording engineer whose passion for music and sound can be heard in each of his projects. Working with an impressive list of artists, Clark has stretched ...
Gordon Kennedy is the songwriter behind such hits as Eric Clapton’s “Change the World” and Bonnie Raitt’s “Gypsy in Me.” As many may also know, Gordon is a sought after musician who has r...
Andy Marshall has had a deep and rich musical education both in the classroom and on stage. In 1986 he established THD Electronics to focus on manufacturing guitar amplifiers.
Jimmy Haslip is a true musician’s musician with a career filled with hundreds of recording dates and live sound events that date back to his teen years. Perhaps best known as an original ...
Rick Vito not only grew up in a home filled with music, but with his parents owning a night club he also had a built in venue as a young musician! He started playing guitar for local doo-...
Cowboy Joe Babcock is a singer and songwriter whose career in country music spans over sixty years. As a vocalist he and Hurshel Wiginton formed a backup studio singing group called The N...
Eugene Moles grew up surrounded by music. His father was a studio musician who also had a guitar repair shop in Bakersfield, California (he was an expert on refinishing, he added the famo...
Chuck Jacobs played bass in Kenny Rogers’ band for more than 40 years and enjoyed every minute of it. His roots in music go back to the Dixieland group his family formed while he was too ...
David Lindley grew up close to the Folk Music Center in Claremont, California, where he was exposed to stringed instruments from around the world. He also worked for Berry Grassmuek Music...
Greg Mathieson spoke passionately about his career in music during his NAMM Oral History interview. He brought up some very interesting points, such as his views on working on the road vs...
Charles Owens has always believed in the importance of music education; after all, his own career began while attending the University of San Diego. As a result, Charles kept returning to...
Danny Kortchmar formed his first band in the 1960s called The King Bees. The year was 1964 and Danny was already hooked on a career in music. He went on to become one of the most sought a...
Waddy Wachtel is the noted studio musician and songwriter who can be heard on hit records with the likes of Linda Ronstadt, Keith Richards, Jackson Browne and James Taylor, among others. ...
Warren Roché met Michael Thomas in the sixth grade where they were studying the trumpet. Both went on to studio careers and together they formed a valve oil company (Roché-Thomas) to make...
T. Bruce Wittet is the widely read drum journalist who began his musical passion playing harmonica. His love for all things music led him to an exciting career playing in the school’s jaz...
Dennis Coffey was a member of the studio musicians at Motown known as the Funk Brothers. Dennis recorded a string of hits with the group in the 1960s and 70s. He later joined the songwrit...
Tony Newton was nicknamed “Baby Funk Brother” by the original studio musicians at Motown Records where he began working in 1964. His first session with the Funk Brothers was the song “Bab...
Sylvester Rivers has applied his musical talents to thousands of hit recordings over the years as well as music for television and motion pictures. His list of credits includes several ca...
David Sancious always had records playing in his home growing up and his dad would take him to jazz clubs when he was just a child to sit by the stage so he could see the piano player. As...
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...
Dr. Lou Fischer has applied his love of music, his talents as a musician and his vast experiences on the road and in the studio to encourage students of all ages. Lou taught at Capital Un...
