Guitars
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...
Eugene Kornblum’s father formed the famed St. Louis Music Company, which played a legendary role in the music products industry during most of the 1900s. As President beginning in the 1960s, Gene expanded the company with a number of important product lines including Ampeg basses and amplifiers....
Mickey Jent opened a small music store in Lubbock, Texas after World War II with her husband, Ray, after his return from military service. The store became a hub for local musicians including Buddy Holly. Strong supporters of the industry, the Jent's participated in Scull Groups, the early days of...
Logan Swords has always been passionate about music and about promoting music makers. As a young child he began playing drums and found out first-hand the benefits of music making. When he opened his own music retail shop in Fort Worth, Texas, he found himself in the position of bringing those...
Bob Luly built the first sound system for the Rolling Stones that they used in the United States. The system was created for the Orange Show in the 1960s and led Bill to build systems for the likes of Three Dog Night and Frank Zappa (whom Bill played electric bass for on stage in the early part of...
John Carruthers has established himself as a leading expert on guitars and amplifiers as a designer, builder and repairman. Working along side Leo Fender at Music Man, John helped improve the quality of the product line and years later helped establish a series of instruments for Yamaha including...
Michael Dresdner loves woodworking, so when the opportunity came up to build guitars he jumped at it. He designed and built several styles of acoustic guitars before being hired by the C.F. Martin & Company. He later worked for Young Chang, the piano company, as they wanted to expand their...
John Decker had the idea of building a guitar without wood, no wood at all. In the era of limited wood supply and growing technology, John experimented with a host of materials before deciding that a very good sounding guitar could be made from graphite. John formed the Rain Song Guitar Company in...
Jimmy Rivers was known in the world of Western Swing as an innovative guitarist who played a double neck and brought to life a hard driving style known as the Brisbane Bop. Jimmy was a cowboy-type, playing hard and working even harder at his craft as a performer. He was easy-going and low-key,...
Jimmie Rodgers was a popular singer and songwriter who topped the charts in the 1950s and 60s with recordings such as "Kisses Sweeter than Wine," "Oh-Oh, I'm Falling in Love Again," "Are You Really Mine" and his 1957 hit “Honeycomb.” Jimmy was taught music by his mother, learning to play the guitar...