Deceased
Mike Finnigan was a leading Hammond B3 performer who recorded with many of the top performers in pop, rock, and jazz for nearly 60 years, although his soul had always been rooted in rhythm and blues. In the late 60s, he recorded with Jimi Hendrix and Joe Cocker. Up until the 2020s he toured and...
Max Cooke was an Australian classically trained pianist and professor who wrote a series of method books to assist his students. He began teaching piano students at the University of Melbourne in 1952. Along the way, he developed a teaching style based on his teachers and ideas he gathered about...
Alan Schulman was a freelance recording engineer who worked in many of the top studios in Muscle Shoals and Nashville. Bassist Norbert Putnam called Alan, "Mr. Golden Ears" for his skillful recording techniques. Alan engineered albums for the group Alabama, Ronnie Milsap, and seven albums for Ricky...
Bob Giacoletti and his wife Eleanor opened a small music school in 1978 that soon took on a line of instruments and accessories to become a full line retail store. The store moved to downtown Carlsbad, California in 1982. A year later Bob hired a young man named Roy Good who was interested in...
Charley Pride was born one of 11 children in Sledge, Mississippi. Although he enjoyed music as child and learned to pick out songs on guitar by ear, Charley had a desire to be a professional baseball player. Charley played for the Memphis Red Sox in the Negro American League and was shopped around...
Kevin Becka started playing guitar at 11 years old and aspired to become a famous guitar player. Eventually realized he had a passion for engineering while working on construction crews building recording studios throughout the Los Angeles area, later becoming an assistant engineer in one of the...
Roy Head was born a sharecropper's son in the tiny town of Three Rivers, Texas. Growing up listening to every style of music available on his small radio, Roy became heavily influenced by early Rhythm & Blues musicians. While still in high school Roy and five buddies formed the band The Traits...
DJ Imperial JayCee first played records in the parks back in 1974. The world of Disco had created a career for DJ Kool Herc, a hero in JayCee's Bronx neighborhood, which inspired him to take out records in the local park to entertain people. In 1977, he officially joined Herc's crew of DJs just as...
Vinnie Bell was a studio musician in New York who often was asked to create new and unique sounds. As a luthier, Vinnie built several innovative guitars including one tuned like a sitar. His efforts were recognized by the Danelectro Guitar Company who hired Vinnie to help design their electric...
Bud DiFluri enjoyed a long and successful career in the music industry in both retail and manufacturing. He managed the Yamaha band and orchestra department in New York City with a focus on sales and marketing, which he also focused on while working as the Senior Sales and Marketing Manager for New...