Deceased
Isao Tomita was the world-renowned composer of electronic music who famously used the Moog synthesizers to create award winning music that influenced a generation of music makers! Among his most incredible contributions to music was his use of multitrack recordings to create polyphonic...
Sanjiro Kawamorita was drafted into the Japanese Army during World War II. He served under Shigeru Kawai who hired Kawamorita-San and other soldiers from his unit after the war. He remained with the piano manufacturer, based in Hamamatsu Japan until his retirement for a total of 53 years! Before...
Mitsuo Kasahara served as the first president of Yamaha Corporation of America after setting up the branch office in Southern California in 1961. Three years earlier he established the first Yamaha office in Mexico as well! These were the first branches in North America, which led to a period of...
Phil Passin began working for Carl Fischer in 1947 in the shipping department, where he took a deep interest in the industry. After serving in the US Army during the Korean War, Phil returned to Carl Fischer where he began working his way up in the company. When the company sold its interest in...
Andy Fraser took part in the second wave of the British Invasion in the late 1960s as a member of Free. He joined the group as a teenager and in fact was instrumental in the writing of their big hit, “All Right Now,” which has since become a rock anthem. Andy was involved with several other bands...
Bobby Wellins was surprised to learn that Charlie Watts, the drummer for the Rolling Stones, listed Bobby as an influence on his playing. After all, the jazzman played tenor saxophone. However, it was Bobby’s delivery that gained the ear of the young Mr. Watts, who later got to work with his hero...
Bill Hollingshead enjoyed a long and successful career as a concert and live events booking agent as well as a director and producer for many years. He worked for Knott's Berry Farm in Southern California as well as many other venues. He was there when rock and roll started and played a key role...
Ray Edenton played guitar on hundreds of recordings as part of the famed Nashville studio band known as the A Team. He grew up in a musical family with his grandfather playing fiddle and being encouraged to play music at a young age. In fact, he was performing in front of audiences by the time...
Glenn Snoddy was working in the recording studio in Nashville, when a short on the control board caused Grady Martin's guitar to take on a new sound. The engineers and producer looked at one another and asked if they heard that fuzzy sound. That sound was later requested by other artists who...
John D. Loudermilk wrote several songs that became the biggest hit recording for the artist who performed the songs. This includes artists Sue Thompson (Sad Movies Make Me Cry) and George Hamilton IV (A Rose and a Baby Ruth). John was also a recording artist whose first versions of his songs...