Full Interview
Rick Hall was born just down the country road from Sam Philips, the founder of Sun Records in Memphis. Perhaps there was something in the Florence River there near Muscle Shoals because Rick too went on to establish a famous recording studio, Fame! Rick entered the music publishing industry in...
David Briggs was a struggling musician in Nashville when he received a call to replace Floyd Cramer on a recording session. That session just happened to be for an album titled “How Great Thou Art” for Elvis Presley. That session took place in May of 1966, impressing Elvis and his band enough to...
David Hood is the co-founder of Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Alabama. The studio was formed in 1969 when four session musicians left Frame Studios to create their own recording studio. The four, Jimmy Johnson, Roger Hawkins, Barry Beckett and David, were first a well-known rhythm section that...
Orrin Foslien grew up around music. He started out playing the ukulele, then moved to the banjo and guitar. In high school he began singing in the choir and playing the trombone. Around 1962, he traveled to San Francisco hoping to play music, but ultimately ended up working in manufacturing. After...
Steve Cropper became an integral part of the Stax Studio sound in Memphis as guitarist, songwriter and producer. He was a member of the studio's house band, the Mar-Keys as well as Booker T. Jones' MGs and recorded hundreds of sides for a wide range of artists. Steve famously played guitar on Otis...
Patrice Rushen has forged many in roads in the music industry. While Patrice got her start recording as an accomplished jazz pianist, she soon branched out into many other genres including pop and R&B. Along the way, Patrice took her passion for composing and arranging into the TV and Film...
Pepe Romero Jr literally grew up surrounded by guitars. As part of the Romero family, Pepe was exposed to classic guitars and music from the time he was born. While he learned to play at a young age, as a teenager, Pepe found his true passion in the instruments themselves. After completing his...
Jose Feliciano is one of the most recognized and loved guitarists worldwide. Jose’s unique style and approach to songwriting and guitar playing is accessible yet technically brilliant. At a very early age, Jose started playing concertina and cuatro before moving onto the guitar. As a teenager, Jose...
Rose Mann-Cherney had a passion for music since she was a little girl listening to records while her parents would dance around the house. While in her native Chicago, Rose was hired by a booking agent to help arrange concerts with the likes of Curtis Mayfield before she decided to move to...
Larry Manley first met the former CEO for NAMM, Larry (Link) Linkin, while he was working at a bank in Escondido, California where Link held NAMM's business accounts. It was during a time when NAMM was growing and Link thought it was a good time to elevate and strengthen NAMM's financial staff, and...