Eric Clapton
Gordon Kennedy is the songwriter behind such hits as Eric Clapton’s “Change the World” and Bonnie Raitt’s “Gypsy in Me.” As many may also know, Gordon is a sought after musician who has recorded and performed with Garth Brooks, Ricky Skaggs and Peter Frampton (to name but a few). His parents sang...
Mike Soldano says he was late to game, picking up the guitar when he was 20, but soon made up for lost time by jumping in with both feet! He studied the instrument and listened to live and recorded guitar heroes at every chance he got. Next he fell into building guitars and took a woodworking class...
Michael Doyle was traveling with a band when he had an opportunity to tour the Marshall factory. It was an eye opening and fortuitous experience. Several years later he was offered a job with Korg USA, and was able to rep the Marshall line for over nine years. After working for Fender (he got to...
Jamie Oldaker sat down in his living room in Tulsa, Oklahoma for his riveting and inspiring NAMM Oral History interview in December 2018. He opened up about his background in music and how his drive and passion led to a series of gigs, including the Silver Bullet Band and Eric Clapton. He recorded...
John Mayall has been an enduring voice on the modern blues scene since the early 1960s. Mayall is a self-taught musician well versed on guitar, harmonica, and piano. Following art school and military service, Mayall entered the British blues scene in 1962 at Alexis Korner’s burgeoning blues club....
Greg Phillinganes reminds one of a chameleon with his innate ability to perfectly blend into any musical situation or setting. While still a teenager, Greg had the opportunity to join Steve Wonder’s Wonderlove band. This opportunity would help shape Greg’s musicality, giving him exposure to and the...
Allen Toussaint represented one of the quintessential New Orleans sounds. Toussaint’s compositions and songs seamlessly blend blues, jazz, ragtime, R&B, and funk to create an amalgam that is unique and readily identifiable to New Orleans. Starting on piano in the 1940s and initially influenced...
Arturo Valdez is known around the world as the “guitar repairman to the stars.” With his shop located on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood, California, Arturo has worked on thousands of guitars, many legendary in the history of rock and roll. He opened his shop in the early 1960s and soon had customers...
Ian Anderson grew up in England during the 1960s and had a long list of guitar heroes who inspired him to play music. However, he found the power of people like Eric Clapton to be disconcerting, as young Ian felt inferior next to such guitar gods. He felt his best chances to success in rock was to...
Herbert David was often called upon when a guitar needed repair – especially when the guitar belonged Eric Clapton. Still, guitar repair was only a part of his business. Herb enjoys making “odd ball instruments” as he calls them, and was hired by the Smithsonian to create an ancient instrument they...