Oral History - all
Ralph Grierson’s father was a sawmill operator who loved playing music after work and on the weekends. As Ralph grew up, his father encouraged him to develop a career in music. After college, while playing in several bands in the Los Angeles area, Ralph was asked to record a film score. Over the... more
James Goldberg grew up in Washington DC and was a journalism major in college, which led to jobs as a writer for newspapers. He later received his law degree at George Washington University with the hope of getting involved in government affairs. He began working as a lobbyist in the late 1960s... more
Mitch Gallagher grew up in a musical family. His mother and her sisters sang three-part harmony for dance bands, encouraging all of the children in the family to get involved with music. Mitch followed his love of music throughout college and into a salesman job for the Sweetwater Sound retail... more
Birth Date: March 30, 1935
Deceased Date: December 2, 2015
John Eaton spent the latter part of the 1960s composing for electronic musical instruments such as early synthesizers developed by Robert Moog and Paul Ketoff. His microtonal music included several works for live performances such as “Song for R. P. B” in 1964 in which John played the Syn-Ket and “... more
Michael Diehl opened a small store in Freehold, New Jersey after serving in the United States Navy during World War II. He attended college on the GI Bill and found that he could run the music store with a small loan from the bank. His business flourished during the great accordion craze of the... more
Joseph Blumenthal had his sights on being a schoolteacher during his college days when he began to focus on working in retail. He worked at Sears and later at the Good Will Store in New England before he was given a chance to work for a small music store. Basel TV and Music Shop was the first... more
Mike Adams has a background in mechanical engineering as well as manufacturing, which seemed to fit perfectly when he began working with Bob Moog back in 2002. Bob was looking to expand his small company and to finally complete work on the Minimoog Voyager, which he has been working on for several... more
Lloyd Stark began his career in the music industry as a teacher in a small string shop in Berkeley, California, providing lessons on bluegrass instruments such as the guitar and banjo. With little experience as a salesman, Lloyd applied for a job at Coast Wholesale in the San Francisco Bay Area.... more
Rob Turner’s first instrument was the drums; in fact it was the drums that brought him to establish one of the world’s best-known guitar pickup companies! While on tour in the early 1970s his drum kit was stolen, forcing him to rent a kit for the remaining tour. The experience caused him to rethink... more
Michael Schmitt is the president of Peter E. Schmitt Music in New Jersey, the wholesale business his great uncle formed back in 1926. Michael’s father expanded the company over the years to include pro-audio gear such as speakers, microphones and mixing boards. Following in the family tradition,... more
Alan Poster grew up in the music products industry beginning in the 1960s during the folk and Beatles boom. He worked with Jerry Hershman for several years getting a strong background for the retail and wholesale business as well as manufacturing. In 1979 Alan formed Ace Products to offer a wide... more
Birth Date: August 24, 1948
Deceased Date: August 9, 2019
Aspen Pittman grew up in the 1960s as a student of the folk music movement. He studied the art form and performed on every type of string instrument there was to play. During high school he and a buddy got a job delivering organs for a retailer that was just about to open a rock and roll retail... more
Birth Date: December 17, 1920
Deceased Date: April 25, 2021
Larry Peyser spent most of his career in the music wholesale business. Larry’s sister married Abbott Buegelesien after World War II and over the years Larry did not just work for the company, he learned much of its early history. Abbott’s father, Sam, formed the historic music wholesaler,... more
Robert Morrison was fully involved with marching band and percussion in school and into college, where he studied music education. His involvement with school bands and music education landed him the job at Pearl Drums to help build the marching and concert band division, which he began to do in... more
Birth Date: July 21, 1941
Deceased Date: March 11, 2022
Lloyd Meyer was the president of Renner US, the world-renowned provider of piano keyboard actions. His long and productive career began with retail experience in Minnesota at the large Dayton Company. When the Dayton chain began carrying organs and pianos, Lloyd took a great interest in the... more
Rudi Metzler watched the Beatles on TV in his home in Germany and wanted to be the next Ringo Starr. He earned money washing cars, taking over a year to earn enough for his first drum kit. After playing in several bands he thought the future for him would be in selling instruments so he began... more
William Metcalfe’s father began working for A. P. (Pops) Schuttler in a little music store in Evansville, Indiana, back in 1930. When his father bought the store in a ten-year deal beginning in 1949, the store sold string instruments and accessories until his father brought in records. After... more
Michael MacDonald has been a key-figure in the world of audio engineering and sound reinforcement as both a field technician and as part of corporate staff including as the president of JBL Professional. In 1996, as the Vice President for Harman Industries, Michael created many of the marketing... more
Pat Brown has a most familiar face. His smile can be seen in the ProMark booth at every NAMM show and PASIC convention. More than a friendly smile, Pat has proven to be a strong supporter of the industry and music education. As the director of sales and marketing for ProMark, Pat has introduced the... more
This video is of our annual NAMM Tribute, created in honor of our members and music industry friends who passed away in 2009 and early 2010. This Tribute was shown for the first time at the NAMM Show in Anaheim, California in January 2010.