Oral History - all
Birth Date: October 7, 1920
Deceased Date: June 5, 2011
Joe Campana returned from serving in World War II to his native Oakland, California, with a dream-–and the GI Bill. While taking business classes, Joe established Campana Music in nearby Lafayette in 1947. The store began offering music lessons and repairs along with a large range of musical... more
Paul Calvin feels that his experience as a music retailer, including several years with Schmitt Music in Minnesota, has been helpful in his role as Vice President and General Manager of the Keyboard Division of Yamaha. Having a background in retail plays an important part in working with music... more
Bruce Bush cut his teeth in the industry as a music retailer. Just out of college he managed the print music department of Onondaga Music Service in Syracruse, New York. He later owned the store before deciding to take on the role of sales manager for Hal Leonard. A long-time advocate for music... more
Birth Date: February 3, 1938
Deceased Date: January 26, 2020
Garrett Bowles was always interested in computer technology, music and library science, so it came to no surprise to his family that Garrett found a way to combine the three fields long before most other librarians even knew there was a need. Garrett was an early architect of the computer music... more
Athan Billias had a rather impressive vantage point to witness the growth and development of the synthesizer in the late 1970s and early 80s. After performing as a professional musician in New England for several years, Athan found himself working on the landmark M1 keyboard as an engineer for KORG... more
John Bertrand Sr. has thoroughly enjoyed bringing music to the lives of young students. As a band director in the early part of his career he taught and encouraged children at nearly every grade level. As music retailer (he opened his first store in 1983) John has played a vital role in promoting... more
Bryan Bell was given the task of engineering a working synthesizer using all of Herbie Hancock’s favorite keyboards back in the early 1970s, well before MIDI. Herbie’s single instruction to Bryan was that he wanted all of the sounds of his 20 plus instruments powered and fully controlled by one... more
Edna Adams has been a mentor to many within the music publishing and music retail business since first entering the industry in the early 1970s. She joined Charlie Hansen Music Publishing and Warner Brothers Publishing for which she traveled to dealers around the country. Her extra attention to... more
Birth Date: August 13, 1925
Deceased Date: April 20, 2004
Jimmie D. Webb operated a small music shop in Antioch, California, which was also the headquarters for his amplifier business. The Webb Amps were widely used by electric blues and rock bands, mostly in San Francisco beginning in the early 1970s. Although he never developed a production line or... more
Birth Date: October 26, 1934
Deceased Date: July 17, 2012
Masamitsu Yamano’s grandfather opened up a small music stop in the heart of Ginza –the shopping area of Tokyo, Japan. The year was 1892. The retailer, which started out as a small keyboard dealer, has expanded over the years to include over 50 retail stores in Japan. Mr. Yamano’s vision for the... more
Birth Date: July 23, 1935
Deceased Date: December 29, 2011
Jack Linton followed in the footsteps of his father who formed the famed Linton oboes brand of musical instruments. The instruments have been handcrafted in Elkhart, Indiana, since the 1930s. The company gained a well-respected reputation for their professional series, which have been played by the... more
Wayne Charvel is the electric guitar designer and luthier who placed colorful and innovative instruments in the hands of heavy rockers in the 1980s and 90s--ushering in a new era of music and a new era for electric guitar sales. Wayne started making guitars in his Azusa, California, home before... more
Birth Date: September 7, 1939
Deceased Date: December 14, 2016
Francois Leduc was the President of the French music publishing company Editions Alphonse Leduc, which has been in his family since it was first established in 1841. The family musical origins began in Arnay-le-Duc in Burgundy and its first musician, Antoine Girard. Alphonse Leduc, teacher,... more
Birth Date: October 10, 1909
Deceased Date: April 1, 2001
Ted McCarty was the president of Gibson Guitars when he signed Les Paul to help design a series of instruments with his name. Ted went on to design and patent guitars such as the Flying V before working with Chicago Musical Instruments and Bigsby Guitars, becoming an industry icon. Among the... more
Gerhard Meinl represents the 7th generation in a family of brass instrument makers. After integrating the East German, formerly state-owned, B&S GmbH in Markneukirchen in 1991 with Melton Meinl Weston, Gerhard and an investment group bought the clarinet maker Antoine Courtois in 1994.Then in ... more
Masashi Miyazawa formed the Miyazawa Flutes Company in 1969. Mr. Miyazawa founded the company with a dream to create a better instrument. With his background in the design and manufacture of professional flutes, Miyazawa successfully brought together traditional craftsmanship with advanced... more
Takuya Nakata is the Director and Executive Officer for Yamaha in Japan. During his NAMM Oral History interview he provided details about the development of Yamaha’s electronic musical products beginning with the D-1 organ in 1959. Mr. Nakata also related the stories of the GS-1 digital keyboard in... more
Birth Date: September 16, 1920
Deceased Date: September 17, 2020
Hideo Nonaka was the chairman of Nonaka Boeki Company, a music instrument distributor located in Yokohama, Japan. His father began importing musical recordings in a business that was burned to the ground during World War II. Hideo reestablished the business and in 1953 expanded the product line to... more
Yukio Ohashi is the chairman of one of Japan’s leading music instrument distributors, Prima Gakki. The company was established in 1945 as a sheet music distributor and wholesaler. Over the years Yukio has been a key player in the development of the Japan music industry, designing associations and... more
Hiroo Okabe is the Director and Managing Executive Officer of Yamaha’s Musical Instrument Business Group. During his NAMM Oral History interview he provided the history of how Mr. Torakusu Yamaha began his career in the music industry by first repairing a reed organ and later, in 1900, introduced... more