Oral History Interviews

Cornelia Kinzelmann is CEO of ESM which produces mouthpieces for clarinets and saxophones. Cornelia remembers her grandfather, Wenzel Schreiber, from the time when she was a child. Wenzel Schreiber and his sons, Ernst and Hugo, made the company W. Schreiber a great success. After the company was sold, Cornelia’s father, Ernst Schreiber, decided to move to Tyrol, Austria in 1977 and started his own company producing clarinets and piccolo flutes and later specialized in mouthpieces for clarinets. Following an apprenticeship at Buffet Crampon in France, Cornelia entered the family bu

Willie Hatcher gives a great deal of credit to the public-school system in Mississippi when he was growing up in the 1950s for providing a variety of shop classes. Those instructional courses included woodworking, automotive, and machine shop, and they all provided Willie with the background he needed to contribute to Peavey Electronics as a product engineer. Willie joined the company in 1970 and is proud of the fact that he was employee number 36. He is also proud of the fact that the company grew in size and scope over the years to provide many jobs in his hometown of Meridian a

Courtland Gray joined the Peavey Electronics team in Meridian, Mississippi in 2001 working in the finance department. As his career developed at Peavey and his position changed to CFO, Courtland learned the core values of the company firsthand from the founder, Hartley. Those values are now deeply rooted in Courtland’s day to day operations, which includes focusing on the Made in America brand, commitment to quality, and pushing for innovations in their product line.

John Fields grew up in Meridian and took a great interest in his mother’s job at Peavey Electronics. As a kid, John worked on electrical components and built his first guitar at the age of 12. He later studied electronics and got a degree in Electrical Engineering before working with the engineer James Brown (Mr. Brown is most noted for engineering the 5150 amplifier for Peavey). John also had the opportunity and foresight to talk with many of the older engineers from whom he learned so much. John released the Firebass 700 and has since engineered several artist model products suc

Tammie Harper was born and raised in Meridian, Mississippi and like so many people in the town she was interested in music, so she joined the Peavey Electronics team. Her first job for the company was working the old telex machines. She was thrilled when word processing and computer upgrades replaced the old machines. Tammie later worked in the mail room and sent out the Peavey Papers newsletter and t-shirts for four years, which really gave her an insight into the role Peavey played within the industry and its importance with their dealers.

Bill Richardson played drums and his brother played guitar growing up in Canton, Mississippi. His drum kit came together very slowly, first a Ludwig part, then something from Slingerland and then finally his own real kit in the early 1980s. Piecing the kit together gave Bill a great appreciation for the value of the drums as well as time to thoroughly understand the uniqueness in each company’s style of making gear. While a traveling salesman, Bill found many opportunities to purchase old drums and hardware, such as at closing music stores or pawn shops. Before he knew it, Bill ha

Lloyd Turner happily landed his first teaching job right out of college as band director for Madison Central High School in Jackson, Mississippi in 1966. The job cemented in Lloyd’s mind the thought that this was the career for him. He taught for over 20 years with stints working in local music stores during summer vacation. In 1968, he worked at Mississippi Music in Meridian for a year before being asked by G. Leblanc to serve as their sales rep. He traveled for Leblanc for several years covering southern Mississippi, most of Louisiana and everything south of Waco, Texas.

Jerry Puckett was a studio musician for Malaco Records in Jackson, Mississippi who played guitar on the hits “Groove Me” by King Floyd and “Mr. Big Stuff” by Jewel Bass, among many others. Jerry also performed on several historic albums over his long career including Remember Me by Willie Nelson and There Goes Rhymin' Simon by Paul Simon. Like so many musicians, in the early part of his career, Jerry worked for a local music store between gigs, including for Army Brown the founder of Brown Music in Jackson where he bought his first Les Paul and Stratocaster.

Luroy Hart was in the ninth grade when his family moved to Jackson, Mississippi. His father was a preacher and filled the home with music. Luroy picked up the bass horn and tuba with dreams of teaching music after earning his degree at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi. It turns out, he was teaching even before he graduated and soon realized he greatly enjoyed the role of band director. Before retiring, Luroy taught for 34 years! During summer and other school breaks, Luroy worked for a few music stores including Mississippi Music in Flowood, where his brother Sam w

Terry Hart is well known at Mississippi Music for her expert saxophone repair skills. Students and professional musicians from around the state (and sometimes outside of Mississippi too) come to her for help with their beloved instrument. She majored in flute performance in college and taught music before she was hired to repair band and orchestra instruments. Wright Music in Jackson hired her in the early 1970s and she worked there in repairs for two years before being hired by Mississippi Music. Being married to a band director, Luroy Hart, Terry is constantly getting referrals

Tommie Vaughn was just seven years old when his father purchased a piano. He played in church since age 11 and was inspired and encouraged by the church organist who also took time to show Tommie the technical side of playing. While gigging with the likes of Knight Bruce in the 1980s, Tommie witnessed first-hand the exciting technical developments in electronic keywords and synthesizers. In fact, he recalls the impact the Korg M1 made when it was introduced as well as the incredible influence MIDI made when it debuted. Tommie moved to Jackson where he joined the Mississippi Music

Dr. John Hanbery joined the school band in the fourth grade in his hometown of Greenwood, Mississippi. He was encouraged and inspired by his band director, which is a strong reason why he perused the profession after attending Old Miss. Dr. Hanbery went on to teach in the Madison Country school district as a band director as well as serving as band director at Mississippi College in Clinton. To pay it forward and to pass on the gift of encouragement given to him, Dr. Hanbery often provided private lessons for one dollar to those who could not afford the full price.

Raphael Semmes (pronounced Raf-yul) has fond memories of his mother singing as he was growing up. The feeling of her music became an inspiration for him and when he was given a Silvertone guitar, and he soon discovered that he could express himself with music as well. Switching to bass, Raphael performed with blues and jazz artists such as John Lee Hooker, Vasti Jackson, Milt Hinton, Mose Allison, Katie Webster and Jewel Bass. Among his touring highlights were playing behind the Iron Curtain and for Tiny Tim (after all, who wouldn’t take the opportunity to play with Tiny Tim!).

Dawn Dixon formed Music Plus in Birmingham, Alabama with the goal of providing the same teaching opportunities for local vocalist that she was afforded. After a strong college experience and vocal training at the Dalrymple Agency in London (among others), Dawn created the teaching studio that grew to more than 20 teachers in three locations. When she moved to Jackson, Mississippi, she began teaching at Mississippi Music in Flowood, which was very rewarding for her. She has always been proud of the accomplishments of her students, many of whom have gone on to roles ranging from ope

Jewel Bass is known for singing backup on countless Malaco recordings since 1969 and with her own band, These Days. She started singing in church, influenced by her uncles who sang in a gospel group. After joining an R&B band that toured the East Coast, she began singing for Malaco Records in Jackson, Mississippi. Over the years, she recorded with Bobby Bland, Johnny Taylor and Benny Latimore. Along the way she recorded on her own to great success with such hits as “Mr. Big Stuff” in 1972 and “Sugar Britches,” which was recorded in 1976. Since the 1990s, she has toured the wor

Vince Massimino was surrounded by music growing up as both of his parents taught music. His father was also a composer who wrote educational music. As a result, Vince played in bands (with his father in the early days) at dances and for weddings, and he estimates he has performed at over 1,000 weddings! Vince has even provided the strings for Big Al’s Hot Dance Orchestra and played backup for Ray Price. Then, in 1993, he was hired by Mississippi Music in their repair shop, where his first duty was to rehair bows.

CD Hagan was always a believer in the benefits of the social aspects of being involved in a school band program. While playing in his college band, he met his wife and while teaching band, he witnessed first-hand friendships of a lifetime forming and the positive effects those relationships had, not only for the band, but for the students. CD joined his school program in the fourth grade and a year later was already playing in the high school band! During his career he served as President of the Band Masters Association in Mississippi and as a school road rep for Wright Music in J

Donna Reed wanted to continue to provide music lessons even after retiring from teaching in a traditional school setting. After 30 years as a music education teacher in the public schools, Donna retired and turned to providing private lessons at Mississippi Music. Growing up in the church and in a musical family, Donna took to her own piano lessons as a child and was eager to teach others. That same enthusiasm propelled her to seek a teaching studio at Mississippi Music in Flowood where she continues to encourage young students. Part of her teaching style comes from the 16 years s

Jesse Robinson grew up in Benton, Mississippi, the son of a Holiness Preacher. His father was always very encouraging of Jesse and his music, which was a major source of empowerment for the young bluesman. While still a teenager, Jesse was playing in and around Jackson for Sam Myers and Jimmy King. In 1965, he moved to Chicago and began performing live and recording with Magic Sam and Junior Wells, as well as serving as the bandleader for Bobby Rush’s smash blues album Sue in 1983. A longtime friend of BB King, Jesse was humbled and honored when he was asked to lead the BB King Bl

Duncan Goff was a band director in Mississippi for 33 years. His first teaching job, at a junior high school, showed Duncan he was in the right line of work as it was a meaningful experience. When an opening for a band director at Madison Central High School in Madison, Mississippi became available, Duncan jumped at the chance to teach at one of the leading schools in the state. He remained at Madison Center for 22 years. In between his teaching, Duncan took three years to serve as a school road rep for Mississippi Music, which he enjoyed.

Marc Johnson was a band director for 27 years and in retirement felt he could help the younger generation of directors. While working for Mississippi Music as a school road rep, Marc has been able to do just that. With his knowledge and understanding of the struggles and concerns of the band director, Marc can provide advice as well as instruments and accessories to keep the school programs successful. Marc moved to Mississippi in 1969 and attended Delta State with a focus on music education. His first teaching job began in 1978 and was a wonderful experience. The school was in Se

Sam Hart’s father was a preacher who sang with his siblings as the Hart Brothers. Sam grew up surrounded by music and was encouraged to join the school band in the sixth grade. In 1975, after studying music education, Sam was hired as a repairman for Wright Music in Jackson, Mississippi. Sam later joined Mississippi Music where he continued to repair instruments as well as managing the front desk. In working the front, Sam began overseeing the accessories, specifically helping to display the items clearly for the customers. With his knowledge of repairs, Sam also enjoyed selling b

Doug Williams heard his father singing as far back as he can remember. As a member of the Big Five gospel group, his father encouraged his children to sing in church. Doug sang with his two older brothers as part of the Williams Brothers, a group that performed and recorded for several decades. In the early days they would often sing songs written by his older brother, Frank Williams. The Williams Brothers recorded several popular gospel songs beginning in the early 1970s such as “He’s My Brother” and their signature song “Jesus Will Fix It.” The brothers formed Blackberry Records

Jason Stanfield has always enjoyed finding new and funny sounds, which means he really enjoyed the synthesizer developments of the 1990s! He worked for Mississippi Music in Hattiesburg, Mississippi in the early 1990s where he fell in love with music retail. Jason later worked for Sam Ash in Florida as well as Armadillo Enterprises before returning to Mississippi where he worked for Morrison Brothers Music in Jackson. In 2013, an opportunity to run the keyboard division of Mississippi Music brought Jason right back to the company where he started.

Richie Jones Jr. began playing drums professionally when he was 12 years old for teen clubs and skating rinks. While gigging, he developed skills in production and worked for Morris Brothers Music in Jackson, Mississippi, which led to his interest in music retail. He was hired by Mississippi Music in 1995 and soon took on the task of developing the combo department for the Flowood, Mississippi store. After serving as a salesman for the store for over 13 years, in 2005 Richie was asked if he would be willing to manage the store.

David Schommer was playing in the Mississippi Community Symphonic Band when he approached the conductor, David Miller, and inquired about forming a swing band. David had the vision of a swing community band that would play the roots music of the area, jazz, and the blues, in the hope of keeping the music alive. Mr. Miller gave his blessing and provided his support and soon the swing band was performing around the state for holiday parties and parades. David was asked to form offshoots of the swing band such as a brass band for Saint Patrick’s Day parades and an oompah band for Ger

David Miller is the band director who had the vision of a musical outlet for adult musicians in mostly non-music careers when he helped establish the Mississippi Community Symphonic Band. He was active in school band programs as a kid and played French horn in college, after which he became a band director in Florida all while serving twenty years in the US Air Force. In 2004, David assembled a team of passionate music makers to form the community band, which continues to provide free concerts and the opportunity for musicians, no matter their day job, to come together and make mu

James Evans met one of his musical heroes, Louie Lee, in 1977. Mr. Lee took the time to show James techniques in playing his saxophone that greatly inspired him. Over the years he developed into a highly regarded studio musician, often recording at Malaco Records in Jackson, Mississippi. Among those he has recorded or toured with are Bobby Rush, ZZ Hill, Percy Sledge, Willie Clayton and Sam Myers. James toured with ZZ Hill just after the release of his critically acclaimed record Down Home in 1982. The two bluesmen remained friends until Mr. Hill’s passing in 1984 at the age of 48

Jerry Mannery enjoyed writing poems and was encouraged by a college professor to set his words to music. When one of his songs was performed by the legacy choir director, Frank Williams, Jerry felt a calling to write gospel music. In 1985, Jerry oversaw the Gospel Division at Malaco Records and began leading the Mississippi Mass Choir, who often recorded songs he had written. Jerry also became a minister in the Jackson area, combining music with his messages on Sunday morning.

Bobby Rush won his first GRAMMY at the age of 83 in 2017, some sixty years after his first professional gig as a bluesman. Beginning in the 1950s, Bobby performed live and recorded in Chicago with such artists as Bo Diddley, Elmore James, Jimmy Reed, Little Walter and Muddy Waters. Moving to Jackson, Mississippi, Bobby recorded on the Malaco label for other artists as well as several of his own albums. His Porcupine Meat album won the 2017 Best Blues GRAMMY and featured the song “Funk O’De Funk.”