Oral History - all
Don Oriolo grew up in a very creative home. His father was the cartoonist behind such characters as Casper the Friendly Ghost and Felix the Cat. Don developed a passion for music as a child and played in bands growing up, as well as writing songs. His introduction into the music products industry... more
Glenda Mims was hired in 1978 in the purchasing department of the Greenwood, Mississippi, Baldwin plant. She remained with the company when it was sold and the Greenwood plant was closed in 2001. Then she was transferred to Trumann, Arkansas, where she remained for a few more years. Her delightful... more
Ellen McDonald is a passionate music retailer who has strived to create programs and events that encourage her community to take part in active music making. Hartland Music, located in Hartland, Wisconsin, just west of Milwaukee, is home to over 2000 weekly music students and has become the... more
John Maher began his career as an employee of a retail store in Illinois before joining the sales team at St. Louis Music Supply. He worked for the wholesaler for 11 years and traveled to dealers, creating programs and promotions to help them with sales while at the same time developing new and... more
Barbara La Mair is the niece of the late industry icon Louis La Mair. During her interview, she provided warm and insightful background into the personal life of this one-time NAMM President. Barbara and her friends just happened to be visiting the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music at the... more
Mike Ladd was one of the first music retailers in the United States to provide custom-made guitars. He had three locations in Memphis, the last of which was right across the street from Graceland, Elvis Presley’s famed mansion. In fact, Mike made a custom guitar for Elvis, along with many other... more
John Kozar is the founder of Piano Productions Press in Philadelphia. This music publishing company was formed to release the works of the First Piano Quartet, which began broadcasting a 20-minute radio program in the 1940s that ran for 12 years. The amazing output of the quartet were mostly based... more
Birth Date: June 20, 1933
Deceased Date: August 22, 2018
Lazy Lester developed a unique style of blues harmonica playing that has influenced the beginner as well as the professional performer. His early recordings of his own songs led to his long relationship with the Hohner Company. Over the years he developed as a guitarist and played both instruments... more
Birth Date: November 24, 1941
Deceased Date: June 21, 2016
Wayne Jackson and his saxophone-playing friend, Andrew Love, formed the Memphis Horns, a group that played on countless recordings and on stage for over 40 years! Wayne, on trumpet, began playing professionally in the late 1950s and teamed with Andrew a few years later. Together they created a... more
Christian Hoyer wrote the book on the history of the Framus Guitar Company and became the director of the museum for the famed guitar company in Germany. His research brought to light many forgotten elements of the guitar maker's history, the key innovators and the product line that has been known... more
Birth Date: July 17, 1928
Deceased Date: January 4, 2015
Joe Guercio is best known for the 8 years he served as Elvis Presley’s musical director, beginning in Las Vegas in 1969. He formed the orchestra that backed Elvis and his band on every tour until the King of Rock’s passing in 1977. Joe arranged Elvis’ stage introduction and wrote the 6-note fanfare... more
Marty Golden is the founder of the Canadian music distribution company JAM Industries. Marty began his career in retail, first working for his father in a pawnshop and later a music store. He began making his own line of guitar amplifiers he named JAM (which is comprised of the first letter of his... more
Nick Firth served as the chairman of BMG Music Publishing for several years during his long and noted career in the music industry. His grandfather and great-uncle owned Chappell Music in the United States as well as in England beginning in the 1910s. Nick grew up in the business and worked for... more
Jimmie Smith designed and built the Trumann, Arkansas, Baldwin Piano factory in the early 1980s after working in the company’s Greenwood, Mississippi, plant for several years. The Trumann plant was state of the art for the time and included many automated processes fairly new to the piano industry... more
Bob Sowell had a long run as a Baldwin employee, beginning in 1969 in the Greenwood, Mississippi, factory and running until 2010 in Trumann, Arkansas, when the Gibson Guitar Company owned the company. Bob specialized in safety and helped create many of the Baldwin plants operational manuals as they... more
Birth Date: November 24, 1925
Deceased Date: March 28, 2014
Wilton Syckes was thought to have sold more pianos than any other salesman. A veteran of the industry, Wilton was also a former president of the National Piano Traveler’s Association. The association awarded its lifetime achievement award to Wilton in 2000. Wilton’s love and knowledge of the piano... more
Frank Untermyer studied woodworking and instrument building in Germany before returning to the United States to help form Hamer Guitars with college friends, Paul Hamer and Jol Dantzig. The company produced a series of innovative products and when it was sold to Kaman, both Frank and Jol moved to... more
Birth Date: September 4, 1944
Deceased Date: November 3, 2020
Joe Ussery was the supply manager for the Baldwin Piano factory in Greenwood, Mississippi when he first joined the company in 1973. He later helped manage the raw materials for Greenwood as well as other Baldwin factories in the United States including Holly Springs, Mississippi, and the Conway and... more
Jim Whitehill provided a very important overview of the products and politics of the Norlin Music Company, which was originally named Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI) when Mr. M.H. Berlin formed the company in the 1920s. In the late 1960s and early 70s, the Norlin company, headed by Mr. Berlin’s... more
Birth Date: March 23, 1923
Deceased Date: July 22, 2015
Ralph Zumpano worked in the Kenosha, Wisconsin, Leblanc plant most of his professional career. Ralph married Vito Pascucci’s sister and was alongside Vito from the very beginning of the opening of Leblanc in the United States in 1947. Over his long career Ralph held many positions, becoming Vito’s... more