Oral History - all
Bill Harvey was between band director jobs in the summer of 1974 when he took a road sales position with Buddy Roger's Music in Cincinnati, Ohio. He felt the sales job would allow him to travel to area schools and line up his next director position for the fall. While on the road, Bill discovered... more
Ian Harvey has served as Executive Officer of the Australian Music Products Association since taking over for Rob Walker in 1999. Since that time, Ian has been on the front lines in the world-wide effort to expand the music industry globally. Ian has developed relations with other countries and... more
Birth Date: August 6, 1934
Deceased Date: July 19, 2016
Bill Harris was a Utah music retailer so passionate about the business that he often is heard saying, “I hate Sundays because the store is closed.” He began working in music retail when he was in high school and soon after teamed up with two local band directors to open a store in 1953. Within the... more
Norman Harris loves guitars! His vast knowledge and collection has made him one of the industry’s leading experts on vintage guitars and basses. As the founder of Norm’s Rare Guitars in Tarzana, CA, he played an important role in the great boom in vintage guitars that began in the 1980s. His... more
Jack Hanser’s grandfather started a music retail store called Hanser Music. Jack’s father and uncle reshaped this business into a powerful music wholesaler in the late 1950s. In the 1980s, Jack and his brothers added the manufacturing of musical instruments to the company’s repertoire. Today,... more
Denisa Hanna took guitar lessons with jazz great Johnny Smith before working with him at his musical instrument store in Colorado Springs, CO. While working in the store she met and fell in love with jazz drummer, Jake Hanna. When the couple moved to Los Angeles, Denisa expanded her interest as a... more
Dave Gupton has had a long career with a number of companies and a rather impressive list of innovators who helped pioneer our industry. Dave worked in retail with Karl Bruhn before joining Fender--before the CBS Musical Instruments buyout in the mid 1960s. As a result he was able to work with Leo... more
Gloria Guido studied classical music and opera before meeting her husband, jazz man Joe Guido. Together the couple opened Guido’s Music in Chicago, Illinois, in 1958, the same year they were married. When Joe would go on the road to perform, Gloria operated the store and eventually grew the lesson... more
Birth Date: November 15, 1942
Deceased Date: February 7, 2020
John Gronemeyer enjoyed his career in the school band instrument segment of the industry, which included sales positions at CG Conn, King, UMI and Jupiter Band Instruments. John worked for Danny Henkin when many of Henkin’s music companies were sold and became United Musical Instruments in 1985.... more
Birth Date: June 18, 1940
Deceased Date: February 5, 2020
Ron Griggs dreamed of being a band teacher as a child. His career as a teacher was rewarding as he was often stopped in the street by former students who would remark on how much of an important influence he had been as their band director. His teaching background proved helpful when he was hired... more
Birth Date: August 14, 1926
Deceased Date: January 10, 2017
Buddy Greco was classically trained on the piano and found himself arranging for Benny Goodman as a teenager. With his love of singing and the encouragement of mentors such as Nat “King” Cole and Frank Sinatra, Buddy launched into his own singing career. Over the years he recorded a string of hit... more
Neil Grant worked with Alto Tatum long enough to understand some of the magic behind the man who defined music retail in Texas. Well respected and often sought out for advice and ideas, Alto gained the reputation few have in the business. Neil felt blessed to have had such a mentor. Neil took... more
Janice Goodman has shared the history of the music products industry with music lovers of all ages as a docent for the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, California. Among the most rewarding tours she has provided are those for school age children who come to the museum by the... more
Robert Godin grew up in love with woods and handcraftsmanship. He worked along side a luthier long enough to understand he had found his passion. Robert designed and perfected a style of building that produced a unique sounding guitar, special in many ways. He took extra care in selecting the woods... more
Richard Glazier has made a career out of his personal goal of keeping the American songbook alive. As a trained pianist, Richard travels around the world playing the songs of Irving Berlin and Cole Porter. Along the way he has befriended songwriters from those eras to gain stories and insights that... more
Simon Gilson and Terry Hope represent more than the new era of powerhouse music retailers in the world, they represent a refreshingly new approach to old and standard methods of selling. As founders of the Professional Music Technology (PMT) chain of stores, Simon and Terry speak with pride about... more
Tom Getzen is president of the horn company his father established in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. The Getzen Company is world renowned for the hand-made products such as trumpets and trombones and has introduced several innovative improvements to the instruments over the years. Tom’s father also helped... more
Midge Ure was on stage for the two largest musical events in the World! As co-founder of Live Aid in 1985 and Live 8 in 2005, Midge created the venue to raise millions of dollars to feed the hungry all over the planet. In 1984, he wrote what became the anthem to this cause, “Feed the World, Do They... more
Emilio Castillo plays second tenor sax, as well as providing background and lead vocals for the band he help establish in 1968 called Tower of Power! The year before Emilio formed a band called the Motowns, which became Tower of Power after meeting Stephen “Doc” Kupka. They began writing original... more
Billy Everitt grew up in the music industry beginning with weekend jobs at his father’s retail business in Dallas. Billy attended his first TMEA (Texas Music Educators Association) annual meeting in 1969 and ever one since. He became president of Brook Mays, the music retail chain formed in 1901.... more