Soul Music
Stevie Wonder has earned the title of the "Mayor of the NAMM Show" for his countless visits to the show floor over the years. He has become an important part of the music products industry not only in promoting new technologies, but in working with companies to design and improve instruments. ...
Ben Cauley can be heard on hundreds of Stax Record hits including those with Otis Redding. Ben was a member of Otis's backup band called the Bar-Kays, which originated as the horn section at the Stax studio in Memphis beginning in the 1960s. Ben was the only survivor of the plane crash that took...
Larry Dodson Sr. was asked to become the first singer in the Bar-Kays back in 1970. The band started out as an instrumental group in the 1960s and gained world-wide fame as Otis Redding band. When Otis and four members of the band died in a 1967 plane crash, two surviving band members decided to...
Floyd Newman is among the most noted studio musicians from the early days of Stax Records in Memphis. As a saxophonist, Floyd became an integral part of the studio band at Stax Records known as the Mar-Keys. He was also a member of the famed Memphis Horns group, which was formed by Wayne Jackson...
James Alexander reformed his band, the Bar-Kays following the plane crash that took the lives of three members, and singer Otis Redding. The new band was created in tribute to those killed with the help of Ben Cauley, the only survivor of the crash (James was on a second plane) and singer Larry...
Steve Cropper became an integral part of the Stax Studio sound in Memphis as guitarist, songwriter and producer. He was a member of the studio's house band, the Mar-Keys as well as Booker T. Jones' MGs and recorded hundreds of sides for a wide range of artists. Steve famously played guitar on Otis...
Ralph Johnson joined Earth, Wind and Fire in 1972. That was an important year for the band as founder Maurice White changed the line-up to include singers Jessica Cleaves and Philip Bailey, keyboardist Larry Dunn, guitarist Roland Bautista and Ronnie Laws on flute and saxophone. The newly reformed...
Smokey Robinson! The man changed popular music! He brought a common, streetwise approach to his lyrics, which were embraced by millions of people the world over who related to his messages of longing, love and second chances. Smokey conveyed in words and music what many of us felt and wanted to...
Verdine White has become a close friend to the NAMM family thanks to his dedication to music education and music advocacy programs around the world. He has supported the efforts to keep music in public schools and has performed countless events to raise money for such causes. As the bassist for...
Kenneth Gamble was singing and playing the guitar in a band he formed in Philly when he first met his future songwriting partner, Leon Huff. The two discovered they had the same goals of making music and that Kenneth's strength as a poet was a perfect fit for Huff's musical background. Together...