Oral History - all
Birth Date: December 30, 1927
Deceased Date: January 23, 2015
Horace Gamlin was born to a piano tuner who taught his son the trade with hopes he would follow in his footsteps. While Horance enjoyed piano tuning, he felt he would be just as good as a salesman so he did both in other retail stores in and around Wales in the 1950s. In September 1960 he and his... more
Wally Evans grew up in Wales with music all around him. He played piano and sang in church. He later learned to play the guitar and worked in several bands at night and worked in a power plant by day. For two years he studied electronic musical instrument technology in London before being hired by... more
Linda Emmet enjoyed talking about the often over-looked business side of her father’s remarkable career in music publishing. Her father was Irving Berlin! Mrs. Emmett and her older sister, Mrs. Mary Ellin Barrett, gathered together for their NAMM Oral History program at the Irving Berlin Publishing... more
Richard Elkin ran the England-based music publishing company his grandfather formed. Richard’s father, William, was a well liked publisher who brought English products to America. Elkin’s Publishing was sold to Music Sales, where Richard later worked for several years before opening his own music... more
John F. Edmunds began arranging music as a high school student, when he found that commercially available arrangements were not suitable for his band of non-standard instrumentation. After college and a stint as a US Navy bandsman, John became a college professor, first as assistant director of... more
Barry Draisen recalls the stories he was told about his grandfather who started a store that his uncle would later expand to include school band instruments. The store is now in Anderson, South Carolina, and one of the area’s best known band and orchestra retailers. Barry is proud of the... more
David Cox was a software engineer who decided to create a computer solution for music retailers’ accounting and rental management. David created Tri-Technical Systems, Inc in 1984 and focused on designing software to meet the needs of music stores, which he now admits required more attention than... more
Michael Compernass is the president of the Hoyer Guitar Company in Germany. Michael focuses on the history of the company’s innovative products, particularly those created by Arthur Hoyer in the late 1940s until his passing in 1967 and Arnold’s son, Walter, who ran the company for a decade. Michael... more
Graham Butterworth has spent a few decades in the British music industry. He has worked with both retailers and suppliers alike and has witnessed first hand changes to the industry that have impacted the music business. Along the way he has also developed many life long friends. Graham was one of... more
Jack Bullock has always enjoyed bringing music to young players. His long and well-respected career as a composer of works for bands and his method book have helped establish him as one of the leading writers for the music publishing industry. Working with Columbia and Frank Hackinson in the early... more
Roger Bucknall is an instrument maker who formed Fylde Guitars, which is located in Penrith, England, not so far from the Scottish border. Roger’s long and well regarded career as a guitar builder began as a teenager, although he actually made his first guitar when he was just nine years old. Roger... more
Theo Boylan grew up in a small town 80 miles from Chicago and has a musical performance background in both piano and oboe. As a small child, she began her love of classical music at the piano, which, over the years became a career when she was hired by Thoroughbred Music in Clearwater. During the... more
Graham Blyth began playing music at the age of 4 and studied electrical engineering in college, which led to his final paper on the topic of electronic organs. While writing the paper, Graham visited a local organ company and met friends who helped shape his ideas of having a career in the music... more
Andy Bereza was on the team that created the now famous Portastudio products for TASCAM. In fact, Andy is credited with the mixer’s first blue prints as well as coming up with its clever name. The product forever changed the industry by offering a small mixer for home and road use. His work with... more
Birth Date: November 25, 1926
Deceased Date: July 16, 2022
Mary Ellin Barrett was the oldest of Irving Berlin’s three daughters and the author of the 1994 book, Irving Berlin: A Daughters Memoir. During her NAMM interview she and her sister Linda Emmet spoke of their father’s business side including his publishing and role as a founder of ASCAP. Mrs.... more
Birth Date: May 22, 1929
Deceased Date: October 13, 2015
Don Banks was a band director who felt he could have more of an impact on music makers by providing them with quality instruments. In 1967 he opened Don Banks Music in Tampa, Florida to serve the local school bands. Over the years he expanded the store to include a full line of product offerings... more
Rod Argent had an idea for a new sound, a new band in a new era of music. After creating a group and writing songs to perform and record, Rod’s dream of a new style of rock was born (with the help of his fellow countrymen, the Beatles). His group, the Zombies, helped change the face of music and... more
Grace Altieri has a background in law but was willing to put that career on hold when her husband decided to open a drum shop in Tampa. AJ was working for a local music store and was really growing the drum segment of the business, so, when a chance came along to open his own store he jumped at it... more
AJ Altieri began working in the music retail business in the mid 1970s after a childhood filled with music. He played in bands as a student along with being a Drum Major, before performing in area rock bands. He began working in Elliott Rubinson’s Thoroughbred Music in Tampa, Florida. AJ was asked... more
Frank Alkyer has asked a lot of questions. As a writer and editor of Music Inc. he has interviewed music retailers and suppliers alike. As a writer and editor for Down Beat Magazine, Frank has interviewed countless jazz and big band performers. With this background you can imagine how meaningful it... more