Actor
Tony James hosted the popular Disney Channel series “Out of the Box” for seven years. The show exposed the young audience to music and music making, which is why he continues to be stopped and thanked by those influenced by the show. Tony, a multi-talented performer, with worldwide acclaim as a...
Willie Hayes is a Chicago blues drummer who found his style was suitable for a wide range of performers and media. He can be seen and heard in the movies and on the recordings of many top performers over the years. His passion and charming personality has made him one of the most sought after...
Clifton “Fou Fou” Eddie began his career as a big band and jazz drummer but soon discovered he has the skills for the blues and pop music. He has played with the likes of The Dells, Patti La Belle and Tommy Hunt, along with his dear friend Preston Epps. After moving from his native Chicago, Fou...
Paul Williams is the actor turned songwriter who penned several of the most popular songs since the late 1960s. His hits include "Rainy Days and Mondays", "We've Only Just Begun" and the classic for the Muppets, "Rainbow Connection." Paul has also been active within ASCAP, serving as the...
Red Dog Weber saw a pogo-cello during the NAMM show in the early 1950s and thought if there was a percussive version of this instrument he could play it with his band and have a lot of fun. He started designing the instrument that he called the "boom schtick" in 1958 and has made thousands of them...
Billy Vera spent 40 years waiting for overnight success, which came in the form of his 1985 hit song “At This Moment.” His road to overnight success is a very fascinating story that began in 1962 when Billy was playing guitar for the band, the Resolutions. He wrote several songs throughout the...
Whispering Bill Anderson began his music career as a songwriter penning the 1958 hit “City Lights” for Ray Price. Within a few years Bill was encouraged to sing some of his songs in his low and mellow way. The results were a string of hit songs including the cross-over smash record “Still” in 1963...
Bunny Kacher began volunteering at the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music in 2002 as part of the second docent training class (the museum opened in 2000). Her love of music is easy to detect when taking one of her tours at the museum and, in fact, that love of music goes back to her days as a...
Jack LeMaire took guitar lessons from the legendary Eddy Lang. Jack played on radio broadcasts and recordings with a number of top artists during the 1940s and 50s. He all but gave up the guitar due to suffering from an early onset of arthritis. He then turned towards acting and appeared in...
Orrin Tucker’s Orchestra recorded one of the greatest successes of the big band era, “Oh Johnny Oh.” This novelty number featured the shy voice of Wee Bonnie Baker and has come to symbolize the musical era and the social climate of America during the late 1930s and early 1940s. Orrin enjoyed a full...