Deceased
Ziggy Kanstul knew more about brass instruments than most people. As an important part of the manufacturing end of the FE Olds Company, Ziggy became an expert on model designs, the specifications for each and every product, and the measurements of the horns made by their competitors. He later...
Bill Lawrence was known for his pick-up design and his long career as a German based guitarist. In fact, when visiting the Framus Museum in Markneukirchen Germany, you can learn of his influential musical career when he was known as Billy Lorento. Always interested in electronics, he applied his...
Del Courtney was among the most popular Big Band leaders of the golden age of swing. Getting his start in the Al Hill Orchestra, Del soon found fame when he formed his own band at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, Calif., in 1939. He established himself as "The Old Smoothie" and created a band ideal...
Val Eddy was a legendary vibraphonist and composer who played a large part in the early acceptance of the vibraphone in classical music and popular recordings. With his trusty 1922 Leedy vibraphone, Val composed and arranged a number of important books for the instrument including the renowned “...
Hugh Martin was a great American songwriter who teamed with Ralph Blane at the end of the golden age of Tin Pan Alley to give us such classics as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “The Trolley Song” and “The Girl Next Door.” As a tunesmith, Hugh worked on Broadway, for the movies, and as...
Charles Walter was a pillar in the piano business for nearly 60 years. He was hired by the C.G. Conn Company to work in the piano design department back in 1964. While there he worked under the legendary Dr. Earle Kent, the Director of Research and Engineering. When the company decided to...
Jess Oliver was the inventor of the Ampeg Baby Bass, the first electronic upright bass instrument. The fiberglass body and unique design was key to projecting the sound of a double bass into an electric amplifier. His idea was one of the many used by the Ampeg Company. When the Baby Bass was...
Marvin Zoschke had dreams of being in the music business while he was a boy. After working in a piano store after World War II, Marvin had the opportunity to open a Baldwin Piano dealership and soon became one of the top dealers in the country. The Piano Center in Beaumont, Texas, has served their...
Karl Hirano was an electronic engineer for Yamaha in Japan during the great MIDI boom of the early 1980s. In fact, Karl was a member of the team that gathered at the 1983 NAMM Show to discuss the MIDI spec and agree on the protocol and how MIDI would be engineered into the vast number of new...
Sylvia Perry and her late husband, Mack, teamed up in 1945 to establish Peripole, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Perry taught music and worked to innovate and manufacture instruments for the growth and development of music education from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. In 1986, the Music Industry Council...