Country Music
Susan Aberbach is the president of the music publishing company, Hill & Range, which was formed by her husband and his brother. The two brothers wanted to publish country music and went to Nashville in the early 1950s representing a new company named to conjure up thoughts of country music. In...
Hubert Friar was hired by the Gibson Guitar Company in Kalamazoo in 1959. Hubert worked for the company over 25 years. He worked at the end of the line, doing fret work. Hubert grew up playing guitar and knew Ren Wall and his father as a kid. When he was older he was recommended by Ren's father...
Ren Wall proudly followed his father's footsteps and worked in the Gibson Guitar Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He began working for the company in 1960 and continued until 1982. A few years later he returned to the very same factory to work for Heritage Guitar Company, which was formed by...
Fred Foster is a legendary name in Nashville music history. His role first as a record promoter then producer helped the careers of many performers and resulted in hundreds of hit recordings. He began working for Mercury Records in 1955 and played a vital role in the early careers of Roy Orbison...
Chip Young was one of the best known recording session guitarists in Nashville. His thumb picking style can be heard on countless recordings and hundreds of hit records made in Nashville between the early 1960s into the 2000s. Chip's thumbing can be heard on Vern Gosdin's 1984 hit "I Can Tell by...
Bill Kirchen is a well known rockabilly guitarist known by his tag, The Titan of The Telecaster! During much of his career Bill could be seen and heard playing his 1959 Sunburst finished Fender Telecaster. His driving playing style has been an influence on rock and country players alike, but Bill...
Jens Kruger is one of the world’s most technically accomplished 5-string banjo players who have worked with the Deering Banjo Company to create a more sophisticated instrument; one that could holds its own in a classical music concert. Jens has played the banjo is many settings and finds the...
Jesse McReynolds was one half of the popular country and bluegrass duo Jim & Jesse. His late brother made up the other half, which by the way was once called Jesse & James, a name that did not sit well with the public. Together the brothers wrote and recorded a string of important songs...
Jimmy Capps backed nearly every performer at the Grand Ole Opry as a house band guitarist since 1960! The list of artists he played with is nothing more than amazing and represents the grand old pioneers such as Roy Acuff as well as current Opry members Vince Gill and Garth Brooks. Along the way he...
Spider Wilson began recording with Little Jimmy Dickens in 1947 and over the years backed nearly every performer at the Grand Ole Opry as a house band guitarist from the late 1950s until 2006. Spider was a sought-after studio musician playing guitar on recordings by country, rock and bluegrass...