Fender Musical Instruments Corp
Roger Cox began his career at Ampeg in Linden, NJ. At Ampeg he served as Vice President of Operations responsible for Quality, Manufacturing, Service, and Research and Development. During his time at Ampeg, Roger fathered the Ampeg SVT which is still in production. After two years at Altec Lansing...
Johnny Smith! What can you say about meeting not only your personal hero but also a hero to thousands in our own industry! Johnny Smith was in person what he has been on recordings, warm, engaging and inspirational. Over the years Johnny has been linked to many innovative musical products, most...
James Burton is a legendary guitarist in the world of rock music! In the early days of his career, James played influential licks on such 50’s hits as “Hello Mary Lou” with Ricky Nelson. He later toured with Elvis Presley as well as recording with the King of Rock and Roll for nearly a decade....
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...
Bob Bull held many positions throughout the music products industry over his long career. However, he is perhaps best known as the president of the Steinway & Sons piano company during the early 1970s. At the time, Steinway was owned by CBS Musical Instruments. Bob, as the president of Steinway...
Don Randall met Leo Fender before World War II when both men worked in radio repairs. After the war they decided to form a business together that would allow Leo to focus on developing a line of guitars. Don’s history of radio amplifiers and his business education made for a perfect match. The...
Robert Perine was raised in Los Angeles in a very artsy family. At the age of six, his father drew his portrait and asked young Bob to do the same. “It was like magic and from that time on I knew I wanted to be an artist.” After enlisting in the US Navy during World War II, Bob studied at the...
Phyllis Fender was married to Leo Fender, the great pioneer of the solid body electric guitar. After reading several publications on his life’s work, it was a refreshing treat to hear about the man behind the workbench when Mrs. Fender sat down for her NAMM Oral History interview in 2003. She...
Jim Cruickshank had an eye for design! While a proud member of the Fender guitar team, Jim designed many of the most memorable trade show displays for the company, including the 14-foot neck and headstock. Jim also worked on many of the company’s best known marketing graphics and even redesigned...
Robert Campbell began his career in the music industry working for Conn Organ in 1947, the year the company gave a unit to President Harry S. Truman. Bob later worked with Don Leslie, the inventor of the famed Leslie organ speaker. Bob played an important role in the Leslie Speaker Company being...