Joey Kibble is the second tenor for the singing group Take 6. He joined the group in 1991, following his brother Mark, who was a founding member. During their career the group has sold ...
Mark Kibble is the first tenor for the singing group Take 6, which he formed along with Claude McKnight, in 1980. Mark has played an important role in the development of the group’s soun...
Craig Knudsen cut his teeth on the industry as many people who have come to service in leadership positions. He started working for the Wurlitzer Company during college. After graduating ...
Yoshi Kobayashi began working for Yamaha Corporation of America in 1958. In the early days of his career he was tasked with supervising the import and export of the motorcycle division. ...
Dave Koz is best known as the smooth jazz saxophonist who recorded hit albums beginning in the 1990s. However, his life in music began as a piano student before playing in the high school...
Paul Leim established himself as one of the top studio drummers in both Los Angeles and Nashville. Paul has recorded with the likes of Randy Travis, Dolly Parton, Brian Setzer and Lionel ...
Gary Leunberger opened a music store in San Francisco during the 1980s that soon specialized in electronic keyboards and synthesizers. Being a top seller of Yamaha instruments led the com...
Terry Lewis has fulfilled many roles within the music products industry including Executive Vice President of Yamaha Corporation of America. Under his leadership, the company expanded its...
Ralph MacDonald grew up in Harlem, where he was exposed to many musical traditions. As a drummer, he focused on his African roots and as a songwriter he relied on his soulful understandin...
Alan Macpherson began his career working for the retailer, The Music Shoppe II in Toronto Canada. As a musician, Alan fell in love with the music industry, getting to talk gear with fell...
Bob Malone is one of the leading experts of band and orchestra instruments in the United States who is currently working as Director of the Ateliers in Los Angeles for Yamaha Corporation ...
Rick Marotta taught himself to play drums at the age of 19. Since then, he has made a name for himself in the music world. Rick has played with artists such as John Lennon, Paul Simon and...
Mike Martin grew up tinkering on his grandmother’s piano before and taking piano lessons throughout his school years. Hearing his first synthesizer helped provide the motivation to work t...
Tom Mathis spent over 50 years in the piano business! Just think of how many instruments he must have sold and all the music currently being made thanks to him! He developed his sales sty...
Claude McKnight formed an a cappella quartet on the campus of Oakwood College in 1980. The group signed with Warner Brothers Records seven years later and has since sold millions of reco...
John McLaren Sr. is the president of BBE Sound, which develops pro audio gear. The company purchased G&L Guitars and has been dedicated to keeping the spirit of the founders and their...
Paul Meisenzahl bought his first guitar from his brother for $2.00 and promptly taught himself how to play. His first paying gig came when he was eleven and he played in rock bands throug...
Russ Miller, drummer on more than 400 albums including Tina Turner, Hilary Duff, and Andrea Bocelli, has always had a passion for music. During his 2008 interview for the Oral History Pro...
Dan Miller grew up with music all around him and joined the school band the first chance he got. Dan was the first to admit how fortunate he was to have opportunities to go to many clinic...
Tom Miller began his career in the piano business at Jordan Kitts Music in Bethesda, Maryland in 1976. His father had purchased a Hammond organ from the same company in 1960, and at age 6...
Jonathan "Sugarfoot" Moffett grew up in New Orleans and used the style he developed in clubs, starting at the age of 10, to create a unique place in music history. His first significant r...
Phil Moon was serving as Vice President of Sales and Marketing of Lynx Studio Technology at the time of his NAMM Oral History interview. At the time he discussed his overwhelming success ...
Don Morris is the founder and product engineer behind Electroplex Amplifiers, which includes their famous Rocket series. In 1993, Don sat down with Trev Wilkinson to design a new amplifie...
Takuya Nakata is the Director and Executive Officer for Yamaha in Japan. During his NAMM Oral History interview he provided details about the development of Yamaha’s electronic musical pr...
Frank Nelson played trumpet and cornet during the swing era, touring with Alvino Rey’s Orchestra among others. He arranged music for the bands, both small groups and the larger outfits an...
Richard O’Donnell was vice president of Yamaha Corporation of America at a very historic time in the company’s growth and development, the 1970s. Richard worked on several projects includ...
Linda Oberg grew up in a very musical family and was always surrounded by music at a young age. She took piano lessons and studied music in school, which ultimately prepared her to be a p...
Ken Oda was hired by Yamaha in 1967 to run their retail store in San Francisco, California. He continued to work for the company until his retirement at which point he joined Fender Musi...
Mike Overlin always wanted to work for Yamaha ever since being introduced to the company’s philosophy and commitment to providing excellent products and services. As an employee for over...
George Pajon Jr. is a founding member of the Black Eyed Peas and the musical producer and director for Fergie, Carlos Santana and Los Lonely, among others. His music career began as a gu...
Gary Panton grew up in Niagara, New York, and played the drums and vibes in high school. It was there that he started his first band, a jazz trio. In 1970 he was hired by Dick Crino in Du...
Willie Bam Bam Parker’s mother has said that at birth, her son came out swinging and she knew even then that he was going to be a drummer. At age 3 his love of drums was rewarded his with...