Oral History - all
John Felice likes to say he was in the right place at the right time when he opened a Hammond Organ dealership in the 1960s. As the home organ market began to take off John had the staff and inventory in place to meet customer’s needs. His creative marketing led to many special promotions within... more
Birth Date: November 2, 1944
Deceased Date: March 10, 2016
Keith Emerson was the British rocker who in the early 1970s helped define live performances on electronic musical instruments such as the modular Moog. He gained fame as a musical composer and clever keyboardist for The Nice before forming Emerson, Lake & Palmer and recording a string of hits... more
Birth Date: August 21, 1924
Deceased Date: October 18, 2014
Vernon Drane played several musical instruments growing up in Tennessee including the trumpet and saxophone. He later studied instrument repair and spent 68 years (!) working with the Amro Music Company in Memphis. Vernon was also a baritone singer who performed in two church choirs for over 60... more
Dave Campbell grew up in a household full of music! Both of his grandmothers were piano teachers and his father was a professional piano player. With such a strong background in music it was no surprise that Dave became a professional musician and made it his career until his early 30s. Dave also... more
Birth Date: June 30, 1928
Deceased Date: March 15, 2010
Dean Burtch was a past president of the world famous music publisher and retailer JW Pepper. The company was formed in 1876 and was purchased in 1941 by a group of businessmen headed by Harold Burtch. Under Harold’s leadership, the company expanded its publishing catalog and opened a chain of... more
Lynn Wheelwright has always been fascinated with the guitar, especially the craft of building the instrument. After performing as a teenager, he developed many of his luthier skills from repairing guitars in his own shop. After befriending Alvino Rey in the 1980s and repairing several of Mr. Rey’... more
Stephen Stern was born a wood craftsman. In fact, growing up his two passions became building furniture and playing the guitar. When he had an opportunity to put both together in the early 1980s, he jumped at the chance and went to work for Charvel Guitars. After returning to cabinet making he saw... more
Birth Date: April 5, 1946
Deceased Date: September 28, 2016
Dan Smith was inducted into Fender’s Hall of Fame for good reason. Dan designed the re-launching of the famous guitar company after it was sold by CBS. Dan’s vision was to bring the product back to the early concepts that originally made the Fender name famous. His success led to a long career with... more
Money Mark grew up fascinated with music and musical instruments. He read all he could about the latest keyboards and synthesizers, which were becoming popular during his childhood. In his 20s he played in several Los Angeles-area bands, wrote his own music and began recording. All of this was the... more
Birth Date: October 27, 1918
Deceased Date: February 27, 2015
George Hanson’s father was hired by M. Steinert and Sons, the piano dealer in Boston, in 1900. Forty years later George would help his father out after school and on weekends to earn some pocket money. In 1947 George was hired full time and became the longest running employee in the company’s... more
Birth Date: May 21, 1929
Deceased Date: November 30, 2014
Frank Green opened his first music retail store in Southern California in 1959 and called it Music For Everyone. He began working in the music industry some 12 years earlier as student enroller in an accordion school. He soon became a teacher for the school and a manager before deciding to open his... more
Birth Date: March 15, 1931
Deceased Date: June 13, 2018
DJ Fontana drove down to Houston in a pink Cadillac with Elvis Presley after being hired as the then unknown singer’s first drummer. They pulled up to Herbie Brodstein’s Drum Shop (Herb would later form Pro-Mark Drum Sticks) to buy a kit. After playing on all of the sets Herb had out on display,... more
Birth Date: January 12, 1929
Deceased Date: June 8, 2015
Lloyd Fillio grew up in the band instrument capital, Elkhart, Indiana. His father worked in the industry as did his uncle and cousin (Ernie Kenaga who was also interviewed). It seemed natural for Lloyd to work in the industry. He worked for CG Conn for a short time before moving over to Selmer in... more
Bill (the Buddha) Dickens became a performer/inventor when the speed of his funky bass lines allowed him to do more than the traditional four string electric bass would allow. Working with Cort Guitars, the Dickens model was designed by Bill and the Cort engineers to get the most out of his talents... more
Rob Cook’s name is very familiar to those interested in vintage drums and the companies who produced them. As an author and publisher Rob has penned a series including “The Slingerland Book,” “The Rogers Drum Book,” and “The Ludwig Book.” Rob also established Rebeat Vintage Drums and the magazine... more
David Cockerell designed one of the earliest synthesizers produced in the United Kingdom. The Synthi was introduced in the late 1960s by EMS Ltd. The unit, which came in a case with a KS keyboard, used patch cords to root reverb and ring modes. David also included two oscillators both with shape... more
Birth Date: April 7, 1920
Deceased Date: December 11, 2012
Ravi Shankar was called the Godfather of World Music by his long time friend George Harrison. Ravi’s role in bringing Indian music to the world was the beginning of many musical exchanges that have since been referred to as world music. Ravi’s role as a player is only matched by his amazing... more
Abigail Ybarra was hired to work in the Fender factory back in 1956; just years after the famous electric guitar company released the Stratocaster. She conveyed in her interviews that the early years of the company were very exciting and that she and the rest of the factory workers were very proud... more
Birth Date: January 25, 1924
Deceased Date: November 15, 2003
Speedy West was inducted into the Pedal Steel Guitar Hall of Fame as one of the instrument’s most innovative performers. He was able to apply his unique style to country, jazz, and popular music. As a driving force on classic recordings with Jimmy Bryant, Speedy was also a long time product... more
Morton Subotnick composed one of the earliest and most important works of electronic music. When his album “Silver Apples of the Moon” was released in the late 1960s, it represented an entirely new era of composition. Years before the recording, he hired inventor and engineer Don Buchla to create a... more