Library - In Memoriam
Remembering oral history interviewees who have passed away.
Mo Morrison could often be found behind the stage at every concert and performance by Lady Gaga. As a concert production and tour manager, he worked with many of the biggest and brightest stars in pop music and rock and roll. His career started as a stage hand and rigger, which
Manuel Velazquez was one of the greatest guitar luthiers of the last one hundred years. He was born in Puerto Rico in 1917 and handcrafted his first classical guitar when he was still a teenager in 1929.
Wilton Syckes was thought to have sold more pianos than any other salesman. A veteran of the industry, Wilton was also a former president of the National Piano Traveler’s Association. The association awarded its lifetime achievement award to Wilton in 2000.
BR Wexler was the president of Wexler Music Company, the leading manufacturer of symphonic batons. The company also produces a wide range of accessory products.
Kazuo Yairi was one of the most renowned guitar luthiers in Japan. His long career began as a child when he watched his father building unique handcrafted instruments for local students and musicians.
R.C. Allen was a guitar luthier that used the style of his many friends of the era in the early 1950s in Southern California when guitar innovators were reshaping the instrument and grooming it for a new birth.
Don Wilson always enjoyed being around music, as a player, teacher, retailer, and as an award-winning baton twirler. He opened his music store in 1956 with the dream of running his business, raising his family, and staying close to the music he loved.
Paul Ash had great memories of his father, Sam Ash, the founder of Sam Ash Music in New York. Paul enjoyed the years he worked with his father and credited him for his knowledge of the music products business.
Pete Seeger was the American folk icon who made it a personal goal to bring peace to the world by getting people to sing! His role in the folk music movement, beginning in the 1930's, forever changed the role music played in protest, celebration and sorrow. Within the music pro
Harry West was the founder of Fine Musical Instruments located in Statesville, North Carolina. The store was an early pioneer in vintage stringed instrument sales and in fact, Stanley Jay once called Harry, "the father of us all." His store was later renamed Harry and Jeanie We