Composer/Songwriter
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...
Verdine White has become a close friend to the NAMM family thanks to his dedication to music education and music advocacy programs around the world. He has supported the efforts to keep music in public schools and has performed countless events to raise money for such causes. As the bassist for...
John O’Reilly is the composer and editor whose musical career spanned educational and textbook materials to movie scores and classical works. He was published by Shawnee Press and G. Schirmer before working with Alfred Publishing full time. He became Editor-in-Chief and had a hand in many of the...
Eddy Clearwater was a teenager when he left Mississippi to live with his uncle in Chicago. There he discovered his love for the blues. As a guitarist, Eddy became a sought after session player in the area. As a songwriter, Eddy added to the modern blues movement in the 1950’s with a string of...
Syl Johnson recorded a string of popular blues and R&B songs in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, which have been inspirational for generations of musicians. Soul, funk and Hip-Hop artists have cited Syl and his style of playing as influences including Jay Z. Over the years he performed with such icons...
Kenneth Gamble was singing and playing the guitar in a band he formed in Philly when he first met his future songwriting partner, Leon Huff. The two discovered they had the same goals of making music and that Kenneth's strength as a poet was a perfect fit for Huff's musical background. Together...
Leon Huff cut his teeth in the recording studios as a session player in the 1950s before meeting Kenneth Gamble. The two became one of the most prolific and successful songwriting and record producing teams in the music industry. They not only created the Philly Sound, they set standards and...
Joe Beard doesn't remember a time when he didn't have a guitar. He grew up near Ashland, Mississippi becoming friends with locals Syl and Jimmy Johnson and Floyd and Matt Murphy. In Memphis he met B.B. King and Howlin’ Wolf. Later in the 1960s in Chicago, he played with Buddy Guy, Junior Wells,...
Booker T. Jones grew up in Memphis and began recording as a session player while still in high school at the age of 17. While waiting for a session to begin, Booker and the other musicians in the studio began playing a song Booker wrote, which was later given a name when the engineer encouraged...