Oral History - all
Greg Walker was inspired by musical masters and song stylists such as Nat "King" Cole, Johnny Hartman, Sarah Vaughn, and Sam Cooke, and started singing at the age of nine. These legendary musicians made an indelible impression on Greg's artistry and style, setting high performance standards in... more
Jack Pinney grew up in San Diego, California, where he developed a love of music and began playing drums in the early 1960s. When some friends wanted to form a band, Jack was eager to join them, after all he had noticed the screaming girls following The Beatles and thought it looked fun. The... more
Birth Date: November 5, 1915
Deceased Date: December 11, 2014
William Kent, along with his brother Ed, formed the Kent Drum Company in 1947 with a focus to create student-level kits to encourage music making at all economic levels. The company offered professional-level drums as well as other products such as the tambourine. William was always proud that a... more
Jim Kaplan and his longtime partner, Jim Botti, were both band directors in Pittsburgh area schools when they saw the need to provide private lessons after school. Together they opened a small studio, with a small glass case for accessories. That case expanded and within a few years the store was... more
Birth Date: March 31, 1928
Deceased Date: September 14, 2020
Ruth Kadison enjoyed her role as a NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music volunteer, and applied many of her talents and skills to the organization over the years. Her love of music goes back to her grandfather who printed sheet music in New York City during the golden era of Tin Pan Alley and... more
Booker T. Jones grew up in Memphis and began recording as a session player while still in high school at the age of 17. While waiting for a session to begin, Booker and the other musicians in the studio began playing a song Booker wrote, which was later given a name when the engineer encouraged... more
Chuck Campbell revolutionized the "Sacred Steel" style of gospel music by adding electric guitar effect pedals to his amplified pedal steel guitar. Campbell—a member of the Keith Dominion of the House of God Church—was born in 1958 and learned from the founders of the movement, including Willie... more
Stan Buswell had owned and operated several businesses when his teenage son, John, took an interest in the drums. Stan decided to open a small shop, which his son helped establish in Pittsburgh. They called it Drum World! John took a few years to pursue his musical career after school and... more
John Buswell was a 16-year-old drummer in the school band when his father, Stan, decided to open a drum shop. The year was 1976. The city was Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The store was called Drum World. John took a few years to pursue his musical career after school and returned to the store to... more
Jim Botti always had a passion for music education and in fact has taught most of his life. In 1958, after he met Jim Kaplan, the two opened a teaching studio that would grow into a music store. In fact, Brighton Music has two locations in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. While the two Jims... more
Joe Beard doesn't remember a time when he didn't have a guitar. He grew up near Ashland, Mississippi becoming friends with locals Syl and Jimmy Johnson and Floyd and Matt Murphy. In Memphis he met B.B. King and Howlin’ Wolf. Later in the 1960s in Chicago, he played with Buddy Guy, Junior Wells,... more
WMAX-TV Host Jim Hutton with Hy Babit of QRS.
WMAX-TV Host Jim Hutton with Vito Pascucci, Mark Jones and John Risso of Le Blanc.
WMAX-TV Host Jim Hutton with Mark Dronge of Guild Guitars.
WMAX-TV Host Jim Hutton with Dick Denny and Tom Jennings of Vox.
WMAX-TV Host Jim Hutton with Judd Taylor of HAMMOND.
WMAX-TV Host Jim Hutton with NAMM Vice-President, Bill Gard.
Tony Yarbrough’s love of music led to buying a music store in Memphis that was closing and renaming it Yarbrough Music, which soon became a hub for musicians in and around town. He took an interest in audio and pro audio installations and created a division of the store called Memphis Audio. ... more
Craig Yarbrough worked alongside his brother Tony and sister Phyllis (his younger sister joined them later) in running the music store they established in Memphis to serve the working musician. The all-in-the-family store soon developed a special role in the industry, which focused on audio and... more
Karl Schulze’s grandfather worked in the piano business during his career, so it certainly was not out of place when young Karl began learning the craft of piano building. Karl worked for the C. Bechstein Piano Company, which was founded in 1853. When the company went up for sale in 1986, Karl... more