Music Manufacturing
Vito Pascucci was assigned to band instrument repair during World War II for Glenn Miller’s Army Air Force Band. Although Miller was much older, the world-famous bandleader and Vito became fast friends and, in fact, outlined a plan to establish a chain of music retail stores after the war. Miller’s...
Lloyd McCausland worked with Remo Belli when the famed Hollywood drummer began creating his own line of synthetic drumheads in the late 1950s. Lloyd became a fixture at the company and was known to dealers and musicians alike. As vice president, Lloyd played a large role in the marketing of the...
Fujio Suzuki was the president of the Suzuki Musical Instrument Company in Japan in 2003 when the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music celebrated the launching of the new Hammond-Suzuki B-3. Fujio Suzuki took the stage alongside the president of the United States office of Suzuki and legendary...
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...
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...
Antonio Monzino VII followed in his father’s footsteps. Antonio Monzino VI was a well respected violin maker and expert who began the exportation of Italian musical instruments to several key countries that had ports not previously open to Italian products. Antonio VII expanded the family company,...
Armand Zildjian had many friends in the music industry and even years after his passing, the stories of Armand and his role in the industry seem to be everywhere. As president of the Avedis Zildjian Company, Armand oversaw the cymbal manufacturing that was part of his family since it was first...
Jim Marshall was in a full body cast as a 12-year-old boy due to polio. He managed to overcome the incredible odds to not only walk again, but also to become a trained tap dancer. He founded a charity to help crippled children and tap danced at charity events to raise money for the cause. Of course...
Lee Oskar played the famed harmonica lick in the classic 1970s hit “Low Rider” as a member of the band WARS. The success of this song led to name recognition within the music industry that resulted in the idea of designing and marketing Lee’s own line of harmonicas. Lee Oskar’s has been noted for...