Oral History - all
Birth Date: July 2, 1939
Deceased Date: July 8, 2018
Lou Curtiss was a long time supporter of American folk music and in fact, he helped coin the phrase “roots music.” For over 30 years he created, arranged and promoted the annual folk music festival in San Diego beginning in 1967. Lou also hosted a jazz radio program as well as running his rare... more
André Cotelle is the president of the French retail and wholesaler The Arpeges Company. The family-operated business has been a well-respected wholesaler in and outside of France for many years. André and his wife worked side by side until her passing in 2009, and for many years André’s children... more
Evelyn Conrad is the president of Tone King, a company her parents started in the early 1950s. Her father was innovative in manufacturing guitar bags and a line of accessories. By the 1970s he had branched into distribution for eight major music companies and by 1976 he took on the Ernie Ball line... more
Ray Benson and two friends formed a country rock band in 1970 called Asleep At The Wheel. Ever since that time Ray has continued to play with the band, which has seen nearly 100 musicians come and go, but Ray remained! His colorful career has had its highs and lows, most of which he has expressed... more
Drew Armentrout worked in music retail for years before being hired by the Roland Company to work in the electronic drum division. His early experience served him well as he viewed both the musician’s and retailer’s points of view when developing and marketing products for Roland. Drew’s passion... more
Marco Alpert has had a fascinating career in the music industry and lucky for the NAMM Oral History collection he shared many of his stories with us. Marco was an electronic music composer in Los Angeles when he happened to meet the two founders of E-mu. Marco was hired to promote the innovative... more
Jim Hennessey was working for Kaman Aerospace when he was transferred to the Ovation Guitar division. Jim worked closely with Charlie Kaman on several projects and later worked in the advertising department for Ovation. Jim expanded his duties to run the endorsement program and helped sign over 300... more
Joe Marinic played in several rock bands while in school and became fascinated with the electric guitar. As a teenager he began building his own amplifiers and pickups for his guitar. After working for the Framus Guitar Company for several years, Joe had the opportunity to form his own company,... more
TM Stevens is a well known character within the music industry who is respected for his design and endorsement of products as well as his mega career as a musician. TM is also beloved for his drive and passion for encouraging young students to become active music makers and has worked long and hard... more
David Schwartz was very active in the pro audio and recording industry in the 1970s when he had an idea. Since the era was filled with technological advances, why not highlight the happenings within the engineering world with a monthly magazine? And so, Mix Magazine was born, its first issue coming... more
Alan Parsons is known throughout the world for his innovative recordings in the 1970s and 1980s with the Alan Parsons Project, but did you know he was also an audio engineer who worked on such landmark albums as the last two albums by the Beatles and Pink Floyd’s "Dark Side of the Moon”? His studio... more
Birth Date: January 9, 1968
Deceased Date: May 12, 2020
Irena Komatar was the founder and president of the Lastra Company, located in the country of Slovenia. What started out as a small music retail store quickly grew into both retailing and wholesaling of musical products. Irena’s goal was to create top service for her customers, both musicians who... more
Micki Free is a Native American rock guitarist who has a strong passion for music education. He has worked with many tribes to encourage the youth to become active music makers. His own passion for music has allowed countless others the opportunity to enjoy the benefits that playing a musical... more
Birth Date: June 25, 1925
Deceased Date: September 5, 2014
Ruth Charles and her husband Dick opened a music store in Glendale, California, called Charles Music. They enjoyed a long life together as music makers and teachers and retailers of musical products. The couple pioneered many products in the southern California area including those of Yamaha and... more
Birth Date: April 17, 1937
Deceased Date: September 14, 2016
Don Buchla grew up with a passion for music and a passion for engineering. When he combined the two loves, he created electronic musical instruments the world had never dreamed of before. His early synthesizer work parallels the similar work Robert Moog was doing on the East Coast while Don was... more
This video is of our annual NAMM Tribute, created in honor of our members and music industry friends who passed away in 2010 and early 2011. This Tribute was shown for the first time at the NAMM Show in Anaheim, California in January 2011.
Neil Grover was playing percussion in the Boston Symphony Orchestra when he discovered a bright and unique triangle. When he bought a new triangle he realized it was nothing like that of the symphony and thus started a quest to find, produce and play the perfect triangle. Along the way, quite by... more
Birth Date: July 25, 1924
Deceased Date: October 25, 2021
Ginny Mancini always loved singing! When she had the chance to form a backup group for a 17 year old vocalist coming from Chicago to Los Angles for the first time in the 1940s, Ginny jumped at it. The group became known as the Mel-Tones and they became the backup group for Mel Torme for over 3... more
Birth Date: August 9, 1933
Deceased Date: July 4, 2018
Buzz Tarpley grew up in the music business. His grandmother was selling pianos as early as 1917 in West Texas. The Tarpley family officially opened a music store in 1927 in Pampa, Texas. Buzz recalled growing up in the late 1930s and 40s and the many radio sets his father would sell. He also... more
Birth Date: May 8, 1929
Deceased Date: August 8, 2015
Bill Tarpley remembered the stories his father used to tell him about the early days of the family music retail store in west Texas. Times were hard during the era of the dust bowls and depression, but he credits his father’s skills as both a businessman and salesman in the success of the store.... more