Fender Musical Instruments Corp
Ed Rizzuto was surrounded by music his entire life. As a young boy he started playing trombone, which he continued throughout high school and into his military service in the early 1950s. After teaching orchestra as a school band director for several years, Ed joined the music industry as a...
Michael Diehl opened a small store in Freehold, New Jersey after serving in the United States Navy during World War II. He attended college on the GI Bill and found that he could run the music store with a small loan from the bank. His business flourished during the great accordion craze of the...
Dan Smith was inducted into Fender’s Hall of Fame for good reason. Dan designed the re-launching of the famous guitar company after it was sold by CBS. Dan’s vision was to bring the product back to the early concepts that originally made the Fender name famous. His success led to a long career with...
Stephen Stern was born a wood craftsman. In fact, growing up his two passions became building furniture and playing the guitar. When he had an opportunity to put both together in the early 1980s, he jumped at the chance and went to work for Charvel Guitars. After returning to cabinet making he saw...
Abigail Ybarra was hired to work in the Fender factory back in 1956; just years after the famous electric guitar company released the Stratocaster. She conveyed in her interviews that the early years of the company were very exciting and that she and the rest of the factory workers were very proud...
Bruce Bolen has had a long and colorful career in the music industry spanning nearly 50 years and with two of the best-known guitar makers in the world. Mr. M.H. Berlin, the president of Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI), first hired Bruce into the industry. At the time, CMI owned Gibson Guitars...
Paul Damiano has played a critical role in the growth and development of Kaman Music ever since first joining the company in the early 1980s. With a great understanding and passion for marketing and manufacturing, he was able to design processes that increased the company’s success especially in...
Reggie Young is known throughout the world as one of the great studio session players referred to as the Memphis Boys. He played guitar on thousands of recordings as a session player in Memphis and later Nashville during the 1960s, 70s and 80s - turning out hit recordings that forever changed...
Yngwie Malmsteen is a ferociously talented guitar player, composer, and producer from Sweden. He first gained notoriety in the mid 1980’s when he exploded onto the music scene blending his mastery of neoclassical guitar technique with the heavy metal music genre. Building upon the fame from the...
Dale Hyatt was hired by Leo Fender while the iconic guitar builder was still a radio repairman in Fullerton, CA. The year was 1948. Dale recalled all of the major landmarks that helped establish the development of the Stratocaster and the birth of rock and roll. Dale remained with Leo as he...