Rock and Roll
Smoochy Smith was hired by Sam Philips at Sun Studios in Memphis to play piano on a few sessions in the late 1950s. Smoochy was being requested for record dates from both local performers as well as others who heard his style on countless tunes. He soon recorded on several other labels such as...
Roland Janes! There were musicians/engineers/producers and then there was Roland Janes! The man nearly single-handedly invented many of the engineering methods used in modern recordings, from microphone placement and cabling to board and tape deck tricks. Yet, what he seemed most fond of was his...
Carl Mann sang in church as a child and grew up just a few years behind Elvis Presley, who, like Carl, brought the style of church musical expression to popular music when he began recording for Sun Records in Memphis. While playing guitar on several Sun Record sessions, Carl met and befriended WS...
Jack Pearson grew up listening to the Allman Brothers not knowing that one day he would join the band and tour the world playing the songs he loved. His talents on the guitar developed as a teenager playing along to his musical heroes like Duane Allman on records and the radio, but he cut his...
Norbert Putnam is a studio musician’s studio musician. With a career that includes playing on most of the early Muscle Shoals recordings as well as hundreds of tracks with Elvis Presley, Norbert also played with and produced such artists as Jimmy Buffett, Dan Fogelberg and Joan Baez. At the heart...
Kevin Jarvis began working for Gelb Music in Redwood City, California in 1966 as a guitar teacher. The store was established in 1939 by Sydney Gelb, who was still running the store when Kevin joined the store. Kevin fell in love with the music business as he continued to teach and play...
Big Jay McNeely was there when the emotions of rhythm and blues gave birth to rock and roll. His honkin' sax style gave raw and bold tones to the feelings behind the R&B and Jump Swing styles of the early 1950’s, all of which played a key role in the popular musical trends that would follow. ...
Preston Epps was the percussionist who had a top 20 hit recording in 1959 entitled "Bongo Rock." The success of the song led to additional recordings and concert tours that forever tied his name with the bongos! His fascinating career in music included gigs with Count Basie, Ben Pollack and even...
Michael Laiacona wanted to create a guitar box with special effects just for himself. In fact, when he first showed it to the members of Taj Mahal in 1971, Michael didn't even have a name for it, nor did he think at the time it would be a product someone else would buy. When the band ordered...
Eddie Ray was the A&R man for Capitol-Tower Records and Imperial Records for many years. As a result he was instrumental in the careers of such artists as Fats Domino, Sandy Nelson, Pink Floyd and Ricky Nelson, among others. Eddie was also a songwriter whose songs have been performed and...