Women in the Music Industry
Joy Akerman was one of the first volunteers in the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music docent programs back in 1999. Over the years, she became active in many elements of the museum, including the store and the monthly volunteer training classes. Her love of people and music made her role...
Evelyn Lipson and her husband Ray became early volunteers for the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music in the months before its grand opening to the public in 2000. Over the years she has become a very important part of the volunteer program. As a coordinator for her fellow volunteers, she...
Naomi Marblestone has been a dedicated volunteer for the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music for several years and has become an often-requested docent for tours for all ages. Over the years, she has played an important role in organizing the monthly volunteer meetings, docent training classes...
Judy Hauth loved being a docent for the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music, a fact very clear on the faces of those who have been on one of her informative tours. Judy was also one of the pioneers of the museum’s Speaker Bureau program and was in charge of the second class of docent training...
Billy Shaw and his wife Donna opened Desert Piano in Palm Springs after working in a series of piano sales jobs, including one at Colton Piano where the couple met. Billy is well known in the industry as a creative salesman and the inventor of the Piano Bar, which was introduced in the 1980s. He...
Liz Beloff and her husband, Jim, formed Flea Market Music to promote all things ukulele, and together they have played a big part in the resurgence of the instrument. The company is widely known for creating and publishing the "Jumpin' Jim's Ukulele" songbooks, including the "Daily Ukulele". They...
Vivian Artley’s brother formed the Artley Flute Company in Elkhart, IN, during the 1930s. With an innovation that allowed the instrument to be made cheaper, Artley became a successful product for school band programs as well as a well-established and noted professional line of products. Vivian’s...
Brenda Dillon has played a vital role in the development and acceptance of group piano lessons based on the concept of recreational music making. As a strong advocate of RMM, Brenda has promoted the many benefits to students and to teachers. Brought up on the piano and having studied music in...
Margie Coyle joined several big bands as a singer in the golden age of the swing era. Bandleader Ziggy Coyle hired her for his band and the two fell in love. She worked at her husband’s store, Coyle Music in Columbus alongside Ziggy and years later with their son Jeff. She became NAMM’s first lady...
Kimberly Lewis grew up in the industry, first with her father’s ShoBud retail store in Nashville and later with his cable and accessories business known the world over as George L’s. Kimberly enjoyed her childhood being surrounded by country legends such as Roy Acuff, whom she also referred to as...