Composer/Songwriter
Ray Stevens loves to tell the stories about how some of his hit records came about such as "Everything Is Beautiful" and "The Streak." Equally interesting are the stories of how he came up playing in school bands and how his passion for music grew and developed over the years. Ray recorded many...
Lalo Schifrin composed "Mission Impossible" for television and "Dirty Harry" for the movies (among others) and yet what seems to have brought him the most personal joy was his work and friendship with Dizzy Gillespie! During his childhood and music education in college, Lalo was a big jazz fan so...
John Higgins manages many of the recordings created for the Hal Leonard Corporation. As a former instructional director, arranger and composer, John oversees the studio recordings that are included in the publisher's products, such as sheet music with accompanying music or instructions within...
Botso Korisheli was born in Georgia, Russia, and came to America to become a composer and music teacher. After teaching music in elementary school, Botso established the County Youth Symphony for San Luis Obispo County, California in 1964, which over the years has showcased many of his musical...
Kurt Kaiser worked for Word Music beginning in 1959. Not only did he witness many of the changes to church music, many credit him for creating what is now known as contemporary Christian music. As an arranger and songwriter, Kurt worked with several leading church music artists, including Ethel...
Jim Hamblen proudly comes from a very musical family. His uncle was the great songwriter and musician, Stuart Hamblen, who wrote such classic songs as "It Is No Secret" and "This Ole House." Jim began writing songs himself, many of which have been published by Eagle Street Press. In the early...
Johnny Nitzinger began playing guitar and writing music at an early age. By the early 1970s, several of his songs were recorded by the Fort Worth band Bloodrock for their first two albums. This success led to his own record deal with Capitol Records and the release of his first two albums. Alice...
Ethan Neuburg began arranging for bands while in college but did not originally land a job in publishing. He was working as an office worker for Warner Communication, when he was given the opportunity to work within the company’s arranging division, Warner Bros. Publications, Inc. Over the years...
Smokey Robinson! The man changed popular music! He brought a common, streetwise approach to his lyrics, which were embraced by millions of people the world over who related to his messages of longing, love and second chances. Smokey conveyed in words and music what many of us felt and wanted to...
Todd Rundgren was interviewed for the NAMM Oral History program the same day he was presented with inducted into the TEC Awards Hall of Fame. His visit to the NAMM show was his first in many years, however back in the 1970s and 80s Todd was often seen as a product endorser for string and guitar...