Oral History - all
John Allegrezza began working in the piano business in 1957 and soon discovered he had a real passion for the business and the people. In 1981 he opened his store, Allegrezza Pianos, in Ridgeland, Mississippi, just north of Jackson. Over the years he has worked with some of the biggest names in... more
Kenny Loggins has enjoyed a long and prolific career in music as a performer and a songwriter! In addition to his celebrated musical career is his dedication to music education and the many projects he has been involved with over the years. His work with Sesame Workshop resulted in the filming of... more
Birth Date: November 7, 1917
Deceased Date: July 15, 2015
Howard Rumsey may have played the first electric bass to be recorded on a jazz recording. While performing with Stan Kenton’s first orchestra in the early fall of 1941, Howard was asked by the bandleader to experiment with a new electric bass. The instrument had no name on it and Howard was never... more
Birth Date: June 26, 1933
Deceased Date: January 23, 2014
Milton Kyser was raised in a small, poor farming family in East, Texas. He grew up during the Great Depression and in fact as a boy told himself if he ever had a business of his own he would have all the work done by local employees so they could provide for their own families. After years as a... more
Jeff Eckroth is the son of the founders of Eckroth Music in North Dakota. His parents, Bill and Mary Ann, established the store in 1972 and Jeff recalls numerous stories about growing up in the store and in the industry he would come to love. Jeff helped develop the store’s combo business and... more
Mike Greene is the president of Greene Music in San Diego, California, a store he started with his father in 1974. Mike grew up in the business and recalls dressing up like a circus barker to help his dad sell chord organs at state fairs. After the boom of the home organ, Mike focused on pianos... more
Jon Gold grew up playing in area bands and hanging out in local stores. He soon was able to answer customer's questions about guitars hanging on the walls and found he was offered a job. He later worked for the Fender Sound House in London and his love for the industry grew as did his knowledge... more
Fred Decker formed the retail store Music Villa in Boseman, Montana, which is now run by his son. Fred's passion for the music business became an inspiration for several members of the music industry including reps and other retailers. His love of people and the products makes for a very... more
Jim Crockett was the first official editor of Guitar Player Magazine as he was hired by the founder, Bud Eastman, four years after the magazine began. Bud and Maxine Eastman owned Guitar Showcase, a music retail store in San Jose, California. Guitar Player was created to drive business into the... more
Birth Date: August 20, 1934
Deceased Date: January 29, 2017
Ernie Borr was a band director from Mandan, North Dakota who was an early supporter of the Eckroth Music store. Ernie was on hand for the Eckroth Music Center's 40th anniversary party in July 2012 and recalled the early days of calling on the store to help him with his school band instruments and... more
Sharman Beasley-Vesecky grew up in the music business as her grandfather, William Howard Beasley, served as the president of the NAMM Board of Directors from 1939-1940. Sharman has become the holder of her family's history and was kind enough to share the history with us during her NAMM Oral... more
Dean Zelinsky wanted to bring cool guitars to the market place and when he set out to do just that he was still in high school! The year after graduating, he opened Dean Guitars and attended his first NAMM Show the year after that, which was 1977. Dean pioneered several aspects of the industry... more
Art Wiggs has always admired the Gretsch brand of guitars. He grew up in a musical family, as his parents played in church and on the radio together. As a kid he played the guitar with a classmate and the duo even had a running gig at Disneyland. He gave up playing to focus on his young family... more
Sam Wangler ran a music store in Bismarck, North Dakoda for 35 years before his retirement. He taught himself guitar after hearing "Walk Don't Run" by the Ventures as a kid. He later played in several bands in and around the area, and the passion he had for playing transferred into music... more
Ren Wall proudly followed his father's footsteps and worked in the Gibson Guitar Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He began working for the company in 1960 and continued until 1982. A few years later he returned to the very same factory to work for Heritage Guitar Company, which was formed by... more
Robert Walker worked for the retail stores of the Baldwin Piano Company. He was located in the San Francisco store but later traveled the western states repairing and adjusting organs as they arrived in the stores. While the retail arm of Baldwin did not last, the ideas created in the stores were... more
Mike Stoll has had a passion for electronics and music since before he can remember. He pursued an education in electronics and began working with the famed Crown International in Elkhart, Indiana in the boom of home recordings of the 1960s. The company produced reel to reel tape machines, which... more
Birth Date: April 10, 1927
Deceased Date: March 10, 2018
Joyce Shelven was a factory worker for the Gibson Guitar Company when it was located in Kalamazoon, Michigan. She was hired in 1947 just after the war and began working in the sanding department. Joyce worked both the belt sanders as well as the hand sanders before she left the company in 1964. ... more
Ron Sfarzo may be the only interviewee within the NAMM Oral History collection who served as a police officer in California! Ron has been involved with music his entire life, with both his father and brother involved with music retail. While working in his brother’s San Francisco store, Ron was... more
Birth Date: June 17, 1920
Deceased Date: September 23, 2013
William Reynolds made his career designing signs and even a few monuments in and around Bismarck, North Dakota. In 1977 he was hired by Bill and Mary Ann Eckroth to design their now famous logo for their music store. The logo remains just as William had designed all those years ago. Several... more