Grand Ole Opry
Lou Bradley served as a recording engineer in the famous Quonset Hut Studios in Nashville, TN which was operated by Owen Bradley (no relation). Among the thousands of recordings Lou played a part in are “Spooky” by the Classics IV, “Whistle Stop” by Roger Miller (later used by the Disney Company)...
Eugene Moles grew up surrounded by music. His father was a studio musician who also had a guitar repair shop in Bakersfield, California (he was an expert on refinishing, he added the famous red, white and blue colors to Buck Owens’ instruments). Eugene developed his playing skills playing in clubs...
Doug Kershaw is the wild man of Cajun music who has been a powerful ambassador for the musical style around the world for many decades. His passion and high energy performances gained the attention of people who may have otherwise not have been exposed to this native Louisianan's music. Beginning...
Steve Gibson repeated, “I’ve been blessed,” which acted as a recurring theme throughout his NAMM Oral History interview. The sentiment comes from a review of his extraordinary career as a studio musician, producer, and musical director based in Nashville. At 19 years old, in the early 1970s, he...
Marty Lanham first moved to Nashville in the early 1970s from San Francisco and soon set up his first workshop. He worked for Gruhn Guitars as a repairman for eight years while fine-turning his skills as a luthier. Country stars John Anderson and Marty Stuart are among those Marty has built and...
Charley Pride was born one of 11 children in Sledge, Mississippi. Although he enjoyed music as child and learned to pick out songs on guitar by ear, Charley had a desire to be a professional baseball player. Charley played for the Memphis Red Sox in the Negro American League and was shopped around...
Bobby Bare Sr. began writing songs as a teenager and landed a hit record with the talking blues song "All American Boy" in 1958 when Bobby was just 18 years old. He followed that recording with several other hits including "Detroit City" and "500 Miles Away from Home." During his NAMM interview,...
Vince Gill attended his first NAMM Show when he was nineteen years old and living in Los Angeles, California, back in 1977. Over the years, Vince has supported many music retailers and suppliers and has developed long lasting and meaningful relationships, which is why he is always excited to...
Mac Yasuda played country music at an early age and fell in love with the style. He organized a band in Japan dedicated to country music. As his audiences grew, Mac was being asked more and more about where they too could get the type of guitars he was playing. He soon began dealing in musical...
Jesse McReynolds was one half of the popular country and bluegrass duo Jim & Jesse. His late brother made up the other half, which by the way was once called Jesse & James, a name that did not sit well with the public. Together the brothers wrote and recorded a string of important songs...