Oral History - all
Ron Manus is as passionate and focused as anyone in our industry. His interest in developing new music makers has much more to do with sharing what he personally knows as the benefits than making an extra dollar. In thinking of the passion of his parents, Morty and Iris, this way of thinking... more
Patrick Wilson grew up in a very musical family. His father played piano in his own tenor band that his mother sang in and his sisters also played and sang. Patrick recalls the first instrument he picked up and played at age 6: the triangle. All throughout high school he played percussion in band... more
Andrew Surmani was always interested in both music and business. His parents owned their own business and even in high school while in the band, Andrew took care of the books for the band. A friend later told him about an opening at Alfred Music in Van Nuys, California. One of his first jobs was... more
Steven Raft was the CFO of Alfred Music for several years. Steven grew up in Montreal, Canada and he had an early start working in the music industry: as a teenager he was a manager for community dances which used Cerwin-Vega! loudspeakers. After completing college in California, Steven worked at... more
E. L. Lancaster was destined to become a teacher. His mother was a school teacher, and his years of piano lessons led him to major in music education in college. He continued his studies, receiving his masters and doctoral degrees, and began teaching at the college level. He taught at the... more
Gayle Kowalchyk loves teaching piano! She studied piano in college, taught at the university level, and then established a piano studio in her home with her husband, E. L. Lancaster. Together, they taught and eventually began writing piano teaching materials. Morty Manus, president of Alfred... more
Antonio Ferranti is the Vice President of Sales for Alfred Music in Van Nuys, California and a wonderful example of the passion and dedication for music that has such a positive effect on our industry. In the early part of his career he worked in music retail, a music publisher and a music... more
Rick Estrin and Charles Baty started playing blues together and decided to form a group in 1976. They brought in two other players and called themselves Little Charlie & the Nightcats. They began touring and soon began to feature at many of the top blues festivals. Ten years later they cut... more
Jerry "Swamp Dogg" Williams is the songwriter and blues singer who began his recording career in 1954. His soul and R&B-based blues included "There Ain't Enough Love," "She's So Devine" and "I'm in the Danger Zone." His popular singles of the 1950s and 60s on 45rpm changed with the trends of... more
John Primer was born in Camden, Mississippi, where he learned to play the guitar before moving to Chicago to play an important role in the city's blues culture. While recording Magic Slim, John was able to contribute several songs to the album. The success of his early recordings led to gigs with... more
Ralph Johnson joined Earth, Wind and Fire in 1972. That was an important year for the band as founder Maurice White changed the line-up to include singers Jessica Cleaves and Philip Bailey, keyboardist Larry Dunn, guitarist Roland Bautista and Ronnie Laws on flute and saxophone. The newly reformed... more
Larry "Moogstar" Clemon gained his nickname playing synthesizers for several funk and R&B bands such as the Zapp Band and Cameo. While working with Roger Troutman with the Zapp Band, Moogstar helped design a wireless vocoder to make it possible for Roger to walk into the crowds while... more
Elvin Bishop was inspired to play the guitar because as an early teen he noticed that the girls at the dance seemed to always hang out with the guitarist! When he discovered the blues, he was hooked, as he had found the style of music he felt could best express his feelings. Over his long and... more
Lenise Bent, as an assistant or chief recording engineer, has been associated with some of the most successful and creative albums in rock history. Her passion for music and her incredible talents to bring out the best in musicians have been key elements in a career that includes such projects as... more
John McCarthy has been running a music studio and teaching guitar lessons since the 1990s. After a conversation with his sister, he realized if he recorded and distributed his lessons on video, he could reach many more people who wanted to learn to play guitar. His approach includes getting people... more
Lane Zastrow was playing professionally and even teaching music as a teenager. His main instrument, the accordion! After years on the road, Lane made his way into the print world. In 1967, Lane joined Sight & Sound, which was owned by Zeb Billings. He later worked for the famed Chicago... more
Tim Laskey founded the Wyman Piano Company. After a long and successful career with some of the top names in the music industry, such as Wurlitzer and Baldwin, Tim wanted to introduce a new line of pianos to the market. The Wyman instruments are manufactured with state of the art advances in Asia... more
David Hall is the sales and marketing Vice President for Pro Active Websites, a company founded by Bill Walzak. David’s passion for his job is evident in the smile and handshake you receive at every trade show. That passion started as a student player with hopes of becoming a band director. He... more
Robert Cray walked into his local music store as a kid and dreamed of owning his own Fender Stratocaster. After years of playing the blues, his career took off to the point that Fender approached him to create a Robert Cray model Stratocaster, which thrilled him to no end. He was also honored to... more
Sheila E sat down for her NAMM Oral History interview to discuss the importance of music and music education, as well as her early musical experiences. She has always believed her earliest exposure to music, such as watching her father and his friends, proved integral in her development as an... more