Oral History - all
Jay Pilzer is the founder of New Hope Guitars and has been very active in the vintage guitar market for several decades. While earning his doctorate and teaching history, Jay became fascinated with guitars. As a musician he enjoyed playing them and as a history professor he enjoyed learning about... more
Jyotindra (JP) Parekh is the owner of Rice Music House in Columbia, South Carolina. He is very active in educational programs within his community and has served the industry on many levels including being on the NAMM Board of Directors. His long industry history includes over 25 years with his... more
Arnie Lazarus invented what is largely regarded as the first three dimensional transducer for musical instruments in 1969. That same year he established a company that echoed the name of his product, FRAP. FRAP, or flat response audio pickup, was created for use on acoustic instruments. He also... more
Hideo Kamimoto wrote the book on guitar repair! He built his first guitar in the late 1950s and soon discovered he had a true passion as a luthier. Within a decade he opened H. Kamimoto Instrument Repairs in Oakland, California. By this time Hideo was also repairing other string instruments... more
Kevin Jarvis began working for Gelb Music in Redwood City, California in 1966 as a guitar teacher. The store was established in 1939 by Sydney Gelb, who was still running the store when Kevin joined the store. Kevin fell in love with the music business as he continued to teach and play... more
Birth Date: August 20, 1933
Deceased Date: October 18, 2013
Roland Janes! There were musicians/engineers/producers and then there was Roland Janes! The man nearly single-handedly invented many of the engineering methods used in modern recordings, from microphone placement and cabling to board and tape deck tricks. Yet, what he seemed most fond of was his... more
Wayland Holyfield wrote several popular songs for both popular and country artists during a career that began singing in church as a child out in Conway County, Arkansas. He wrote such classics as “Could I Have This Dance”, “Some Broken Hearts Never Mend”,“Till The Rivers All Run Dry” and one of... more
Birth Date: April 22, 1935
Deceased Date: September 23, 2020
WS Holland played drums behind Johnny Cash for over 40 years! The man put the beat to most of Johnny’s greatest recordings and his innovations in drumming inspired countless musicians around the world. WS, known by his nickname Fluke, began as a session player at Sun Records in Memphis and would... more
Birth Date: April 26, 1929
Deceased Date: April 15, 2015
Billy Ray Hearn is credited by many for pioneering the concept of Contemporary Christian Music during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Influenced by the folk musicians of the day (Peter, Paul and Mary and others) Billy Ray brought these modern sounds into the church to surprising results. The... more
Tony Falcetti grew up in the music business and developed his passion for music before he can remember. The store his parents started in Springfield, Massachusetts soon became the learning place for Tony and the hub for his own musical interest. He swept the floors, made sales and grew into... more
Jack Ashford played percussion as a member of the famed Funk Brothers, the house band for Motown Records beginning in the 1960s. Jack’s unique approach to the tambourine soon resulted in his growing reputation for adding special layers to the music. As a member of the Funk Brothers, he recorded... more
David Israelite is the president/CEO of the National Music Publishers Association located in Washington DC. While his career before NMPA was in politics, David played the guitar at a young age and always had a real passion for music and music making. Today his job focuses on representing music... more
Brent Fischer has provided several presentations at the Hot Zone during the NAMM Show, providing his insight regarding the music industry. His career started as a young child listening to his father, Clare Fischer, compose. Over the years they worked together and when his father’s health began to... more
Paul Williams is the actor turned songwriter who penned several of the most popular songs since the late 1960s. His hits include "Rainy Days and Mondays", "We've Only Just Begun" and the classic for the Muppets, "Rainbow Connection." Paul has also been active within ASCAP, serving as the... more
Mark Sendroff grew up close to downtown New York and at a young age fell in love with Broadway shows. Following his love of the theater and interest in the law, Mark became one of only a few lawyers specializing in theater in New York. While his practice has grown over the years, so has his... more
Larry Richmond's grandfather was a sheet music distributor in New York during the golden era of sheet music sales in the 1920s and 30s. Larry’s father, having grown up in the business, developed a strong passion for music but took his career in a slightly different direction when he opened a music... more
Linda Moran has enjoyed a long and successful career in the music business and is known for her friendships and nurturing attitude towards those starting out in music. When Linda "retired," she increased her responsibilities within the Songwriters Hall of Fame and built the board and its annual... more
Chris Jasper is the funk and soul keyboardist, singer and composer who played a key role in the Isley Brothers sound. He later helped form Isley-Jasper-Isley, which, like the Isley Brothers era, resulted in several classic hit recordings. Chris has also enjoyed a long solo career which has... more
Klaus Heinz, the CEO of ADAM Audio, grew up with a strong interest in engineering and speaker technology. In 1999, he teamed with Roland Stenz and established ADAM Audio in Berlin. The company has gained a strong reputation for products based on the development of the ART (Accelerating Ribbon... more
Michael Brettler is the current president of Shapiro, Bernstein & Company, which has been in his family for four generations. Michael’s interview was completed on the 100th anniversary of the famed music publisher’s beginnings in New York City. Over the years, Shapiro, Bernstein & Company... more