Library - In Memoriam
Remembering oral history interviewees who have passed away.
Ted Herbert was a well known bandleader during the great big band era who opened a store on Manchester, NH to help him get the repair service he needed for his own road band. Although his band worked steady long after swings golden days, Ted found the store a nice place to come home to. NAMM's interview with him is a wonderful history of the music retail environment after World War II and his own history as a bandleader during that era.
Leita Jolly was celebrating her 100th birthday the week she was interviewed in 2003. On the occasion, she played the piano for her friends with her ragtime flare. In 1917, while World War I was ending, Leita was hired as a song plugger.
Gil Marschner had several key positions in the music products industry beginning in the 1950s and into the 1980s. Best known as G.
Luella Derwin was one of the first women owners of a music store in America. In 1937, when her bandleader husband Hal Derwin went on the road, Luella was left behind, “So one day I was thinking of all the fun we had with musicians who would come to town and look for a local pla
Bob Ziems (it sounds like "seems as in Ziems it seems") was a dedicated member of the testing department at CG Conn from 1941-1971 and later with Selmer. However, it was what he did for a hobby that became most important to the NAMM Resource Center. As early as 1937, Bob took photographs of every musical company, store and even small tool shed that produced instruments in the town of Elkhart.
Del Courtney was among the most popular Big Band leaders of the golden age of swing. Getting his start in the Al Hill Orchestra, Del soon found fame when he formed his own band at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, Calif., in 1939.
David Abell formed his piano retail store in Beverly Hills back in the late 1950s. Since that time he has established one of the finest reputations in our industry. Noted musicians, industry leaders and movie stars alike have boasted of his quality of service and the fact that
Lou Mitchell was a product of the big band era and cut his teeth on swinging trumpet solos, such as those of his musical heroes of the 1930s. After meeting Rafael Mendez (his life-long friend), Lou moved to Hollywood and worked for the movie studios on countless soundtracks.
Bud Reglein’s uncle formed a small mouthpiece company in Elkhart, IN and named it jj Babbitt as he felt it sounded better than Jessie James Babbitt. Bud took over the company in 1939 and, in the 1940s, engineered a custom facing machine to ensure each mouthpiece made could be consistent, thus setting the stage for a much larger product line. His creative thinking and dedication guided the company through expansions and growth. Bud’s son, William, took over as company president and has clearly inherited his father’s love of the industry.