Interview Performance
Herb Holt has thoroughly enjoyed his life in music, both as a musician and as a sales rep! In 1968 he formed the Music Marketing Company to represent the Ovation Guitar line in Minnesota. The company quickly expanded to cover a long list of products for retail stores Herb called on in and around...
Ella Jenkins earned the title The First Lady of Children's Folk Songs and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for her dedication to bringing music to children. She began collecting and writing folk songs as a summer camp counselor, which years later tied nicely with her college studies of child...
Mary Faith Rhoads Lewis grew up on a farm outside of Allentown, Pennsylvania, where her mother played the piano and encouraged her children to play an instrument. Mary Faith began playing the violin at the age of eight and soon discovered she had a love of folk music. She built her own Mountain...
Sanjiro Kawamorita was drafted into the Japanese Army during World War II. He served under Shigeru Kawai who hired Kawamorita-San and other soldiers from his unit after the war. He remained with the piano manufacturer, based in Hamamatsu Japan until his retirement for a total of 53 years! Before...
John Primer was born in Camden, Mississippi, where he learned to play the guitar before moving to Chicago to play an important role in the city's blues culture. While recording Magic Slim, John was able to contribute several songs to the album. The success of his early recordings led to gigs with...
Kev Rones received his first instrument experience when a musician on his block recognized Kev’s passion and allowed him to use the Fender in his garage. That early influence really directed him towards music, which has been his life’s passion ever since. In fact, Kev is the Pied Piper of...
Bill Wallin is the instrument repair technician at Chafin Musiccenter in Lake Worth, Florida. Bill began working for the company alongside the store's founder, Paul Chafin. While Paul's son was out tuning pianos, Bill learned the trade of band instrument repairs. The service element of the store...
Carma Lou Beck was an active musician and teacher when she began working in music retail in Iowa in the 1960s. She opened her own store in Cedar Rapids in 1967, after working for a few other stores, including one owned and operated by the Wurlitzer Company. By the time Carma Lou's House of Music...
Charlie Gracie was an early Rockabilly performer who recorded three charted songs in 1957, right in the heart of the golden era of rock and roll. His biggest tune "Butterfly" was followed by several other hits over his career including "Fabulous." Since the beginning of his career, Charlie has...
Ray Brooks grew up playing the blues in juke joints and small clubs all across the United States even before he was of age to drink. He toured with Freddie King and Gene Alison (among others) and developed his own style of playing that seemed to echo his roots while adding new colors and flavors...