Library - In Memoriam
Remembering oral history interviewees who have passed away.
Manji Suzuki had a deep passion for the music industry. He is the founder and president of Suzuki Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company in Hamamatsu, Japan.
Donald Johnson was known throughout the industry as DJ. He began working in music retail in 1958 in the San Jose, California, area before joining Coast Wholesale in 1961. It was an interesting and historic time to begin calling on retail stores in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Trini Lopez became an early Latin-American pop singer with a string of recordings in the late 1950s and 60s including "If I Had a Hammer" and "Lemon Tree." Frank Sinatra took him under his wing and signed Trini to an eight year record contract that included the talents of Sinatra
Michael Nugent was the former president of Norlin Corporation. He joined the company when it was still Chicago Musical Instrument Corporation (CMI). M.H. Berlin, CMI’s founder, had purchased a few instrument lines to expand the company’s keyboard products department. Mr. Berlin’s son, Arnie, hired Michael to oversee that growing department. As it turned out, he was hired in the early 1970s, which was the beginning of the greatest sales boom the home organ has ever experienced.
Bryce Taylor was one of the best known and respected bandmasters in the state of Texas. His school bands performed at the Midwest Band Clinic, TMEA, and the Texas Bandmaster’s Association (TBA) for several decades. His close relations with music dealers made Mr.
Buddy Harman Jr. followed in the footsteps of his legendary father, Buddy Harman, one of the most influential studio drummers in Nashville history. Since his father’s passing in 2008, Buddy Jr.
Herbert David was often called upon when a guitar needed repair – especially when the guitar belonged Eric Clapton. Still, guitar repair was only a part of his business.
Phyllis Fender was married to Leo Fender, the great pioneer of the solid body electric guitar. After reading several publications on his life’s work, it was a refreshing treat to hear about the man behind the workbench when Mrs.
Joe Seawright was a piano designer and engineer for the Baldwin Piano factory in Greenwood, Mississippi, beginning in the early 1970s. Joe created several improvements to the workflow of the operations as well as designing new features to the piano line of products.