Oral History - all
Lauren Vogel Weiss was playing in the high school band but struggling to find the accessories she needed. This program gave her and her father, Harvey, an idea. Together they formed Lone Star Percussion and worked hard to fill the need of providing instruments and accessories to students and... more
Bill Piburn wrote four method books for the Mel Bay Publishing Company on the art of guitar playing. His writing was well received by many who praised him for his unique and easy to understand style. Finger Style Guitar magazine had printed only its first issue and was looking for a writer when... more
Larry Morton grew up in a family in St. Louis that had a strong love of music. His parents provided piano lessons for his older sister and later Larry began learning music. His father encouraged him to follow his dream of being involved with music. Larry played in the marching band in high school... more
Wendy Kephart remembers her father bringing her to Kephart’s Music Center when she was a young girl. While she did study music, she recalled it was because her father was a working musician that they often would visit the store. Years later, after she married the store founder’s son, she... more
Rusty Kephart is the president of the music company his parents established as a small music store in Iowa. Rusty grew up in the store and developed his own passion for music, as a listener and as a performer. After gigging for several years, Rusty joined his parents in the store and soon... more
Birth Date: July 26, 1943
Deceased Date: February 16, 2015
Dee Hoyt played professionally since he was a teenager including in local clubs and played for the National Guard as well as for dances. His band, the Tornados, recorded and performed rock and roll in the early 1960s. While playing at night, Dee got a job at Hayes Music as a salesman by day. He... more
Gary Hanser grew up in the music industry. His grandfather formed a small music store and distribution business in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1924. Since that time the company has expanded, and with the guidance of Gary and his brothers, Hanser Music now includes such lines as Kustom, B. C.... more
Meredith Hamlin is the general manager of the Kyser Music Product Company in Canton, Texas. She is proud of the company her uncle formed in 1975, and the fact that all of their products are made in the United States. Her uncle, Milton Kyser, designed the company’s quick change capo, its first... more
Scott Peck is the President of Pecknel Music Company, the music store in Greenville, South Carolina that was formed by his grandfather. Scott grew up in the business, cleaning floors and learning the ropes from his father and other mentors such as his father-in-law, T. Warren Brown. Over the... more
Birth Date: October 8, 1932
Deceased Date: November 18, 2012
Jim Gurley had more stories than just about any one else in the NAMM Oral History collection! He taught guitar in Los Angles area music stores while picking up guitars at Rickenbacker Guitars and in Leo Fender’s first workshop in the late 1940s and early 50s. Jim later became one of the first... more
Ken Fuente is among the music industry’s top sales reps! He has established himself as an innovative and creative salesman who has befriended his competition to learn all he could about the business and share his thoughts whenever possible. He has won several awards during his career including... more
Birth Date: April 2, 1930
Deceased Date: November 20, 2021
Ida Eleck worked alongside her husband who was a big band musician and band director who had the idea of opening a music store. Ida was thrilled with the idea as it gave her more time to be with her husband. They called it Royalton Music Center, which is located in North Royalton, Ohio. She soon... more
Tom Bedell began giving guitar lessons in his home town of Spirit Lake, Iowa. Just a few months later, when Tom was 14 years old, he imported guitars with his name on the headstock from Japan. The year was 1963. Tom continued to make guitars and played in local bands, growing his wholesale... more
Birth Date: March 16, 1936
Deceased Date: August 1, 2019
Harvey Vogel was having a difficult time finding and purchasing quality percussion instruments and accessories for his daughter Lauren while she was in high school. He decided to do something about it and Lone Star Percussion – a name that Lauren came up with instead of the "Harvey Vogel Percussion... more
Sally Lindner once owned and operated a beauty shop in the small farming community of Watertown, South Dakota. After her husband, Rod, opened a music store in town, she could hardly wait to get off work so she could run to the store and help out. After a while she decided to work for the store... more
Birth Date: April 7, 1925
Deceased Date: August 9, 2013
Paul Jameson was a pioneer in audio wholesaling as the founder of Custom Products, located in Magnolia, Arkansas. His company was among the first to sell microphones, PA systems and speakers to music stores. Over the years the company expanded their product line to include amps, mixers and... more
Tom Haggerty grew up in the Black Hills of South Dakota where he learned to play the guitar. He gigged for many years on the road, which at one point took him to Nashville where he wrote songs and performed. However, he missed home and decided to return to Rapid City where he opened a music store... more
Jim Bornhorst was hired by Rusty Brutsche, the founder of Showco, to assist with the development of sound systems. In just a short time, Jim proved he was able to design systems as well as create company-owned products that would give Showco a leg up on the competition. Jim gratefully enjoyed the... more
Birth Date: May 6, 1924
Deceased Date: May 11, 2014
Dolores Crooks remembered her husband working in the garage at all hours of the night on a new sound he was after. He tooled his own guitar amplifier and took it down to country dances to show it off to the musicians. Before long performers such as Chet Atkins and Speedy West were not only buying... more
Birth Date: December 10, 1941
Deceased Date: August 5, 2022
Mike Lang was a well-respected keyboardist who can be heard on over 2,000 movie scores and countless studio recordings over his long and successful career. He worked with composers such as John Williams, Henry Mancini and Jerry Goldsmith to jazz and pop performers such as Ella Fitzgerald and Frank... more