Oral History - all
Ritchie Fliegler has come to be known throughout the music products industry as “the Amp guy.” He wrote several articles and two popular books on amplifiers. He has been in the forefront of the technology that helped advance the amp, particularly when he was working with Fender Musical Instrument... more
Wes Faulconer is the founder of Explorers Percussion in Kansas City, Missouri. He formed the store in 1984 with the goal of bringing quality drumming products to students and educators within the area. As technology developed over the years, Wes took full advantage of new ways to connect with his... more
Chris Crockarell and his partner in music publishing, Chris Brooks, have created a special line of percussion methods and music books for those educators looking to bring fun to the art of music. With silly and fun method books and a host of levels and skill sets, the Row-Loff catalog includes such... more
Birth Date: November 21, 1946
Deceased Date: July 15, 2016
John Craviotto, the founder of Craviotto Drum Company, has helped pioneer the handcrafted solid-shell snare drums, a leading product for his company and a tool he sought as a young drummer in the 1960s. As a musician, John worked for a host of top artists such as Neil Young, Ry Cooder, Buffy St.... more
Birth Date: April 15, 1933
Deceased Date: November 15, 2018
Roy Clark, the Country Music Hall of Fame guitar player, was always proud of his connection with the music products industry. In addition to the products he endorsed over his long career, Roy helped design his signature model for Heritage Guitars. Roy also was close to many in the music publishing... more
Jim Catalano loved playing drums as a small boy but never imagined a life in music. Jim jumped at the chance to work for the Ludwig Drum Company in the early 1980s. There he became known throughout the industry at trade shows and conferences promoting music education materials as well as the... more
Donald Casey has witnessed many changes in music education during his career. As Dean of DePaul School of Music in Chicago, Donald has studied the role of music and music education and its benefits. His interest in human creativity has led to some noteworthy studies on design and concepts of... more
Chris Brooks is proud of the publications he and his partner Chris Crockarell have created as part of their percussion-focused music publishing company. Since forming Row-Loff in the early 1980s, the team of Chris and Chris have lived up to their slogan of providing the “foremost in marching and... more
Janet Barrett feels strongly that if each person played their part in music education, the American system would gain the strength it needs to provide a meaningful element in the lives of each student. After serving as general music and choral teacher in the public school system, Janet became... more
Bruce Bannister is the current president of Samuel Music in Effingham, Illinois. The store was formed in the 1940s by Lowell Samuel, the band director turned music industry pioneer. Bruce was interviewed in the store and recalled working closely with Lowell as well as Dean Samuel, Lowell’s son and... more
Spencer Aloisio began working for the Slingerland Drum Company in 1969 and stayed with the company until 1986. During that time he worked on the selling, promoting and marketing of the popular percussion products. Spencer worked his way up from factory employee into the office as sales manager and... more
Dennis Guillaume began his career in the music industry in piano retail in the late 70's, a position he feels very much assisted him when he worked for Kimball Pianos throughout the 1980's. During this time the piano industry was experiencing steady decline. In an effort to reverse the trends,... more
Fred Allard has been passionate about music making since he began playing guitar in the 8th grade. As a teen he worked for Milano’s Music Center in Mesa, Arizona in the mid 1960s. Fred worked for the music store for over eight years working his way up from salesman on the floor to manager of one of... more
Dennis Bamber helped pioneer mail order catalogs for musical products beginning in the 1970s. After opening a small woodwind store in South Bend, Indiana in 1978, Dennis noticed that many of his customers were traveling 5 and 6 hours to his store. While he expanded the size of the store he also... more
Charlie Musselwhite recalls the day Muddy Waters called him on stage to jam with the legendary bluesman in a small Chicago blues club. It was the beginning of a long and impassioned career in music making. During his NAMM interview Charlie also spoke of his friendship with Howlin’ Wolf and Little... more
Al Siniscal received the Audio Innovator Parnelli Award in 2010 for his major contributions to professional audio innovations over his career, which began in the early 1960s. As founder of A1 Audio, Al has worked with some of the biggest names both in and out of show business including Frank... more
Birth Date: November 5, 1936
Deceased Date: November 22, 2017
Tetsuya Takagi served as Executive Vice President of Yamaha International Corporation (currently Yamaha Corporation of America) and worked for Yamaha Corporation in Japan holding several important positions during his long and successful career. Mr. Takagi received scholarship from Yamaha while in... more
Daniel Glass is the noted drummer for the Royal Crown Review, which helped renew popularity for swing music beginning in the 1990s. Daniel has studied the art form of drumming in all forms of American popular music and has become an expert, author and teacher on the subject with a focus on jazz... more
Birth Date: December 31, 1909
Deceased Date: April 29, 2000
Jonah Jones endorsed the HN White King line of trumpets as well as the FE Olds products during his noted career as a jazzman beginning in the 1930s. Jonah played lead trumpet for Stuff Smith and Fletcher Henderson before joining the Cab Calloway Orchestra and recording key trumpet solos for several... more
Birth Date: December 25, 1929
Deceased Date: May 31, 2020
Don Holcombe owned and operated several music stores during his long career. Among the most noted stores were those he opened with fellow salesman Russell Lindquist in and around Houston under the name Holcombe-Lindquist Piano and Organ. The stores played a big part in the home organ boom of the... more