Oral History - all
Gary Beckerman was introduced to TEAC and TASCAM when he consulted on inventory control in the early 1970s. The company appreciated his ideas and dedication and soon asked him to join full time. Over the next thirty years, Gary’s position and responsibilities changed, and before retiring he was a... more
Kevin Crossley studied as a classical pianist and technician before he started working for SIR (Studio Instrument Rentals) in 1974. While he was based in Los Angeles, he traveled often to work in San Francisco and New York City. The company always had a need for a tuner to ensure their Fender... more
Honoring Hap Kuffner for his invaluable service in assisting the NAMM Resource Center in obtaining fantastic interview contributions to the NAMM Oral History Program. This video contains some of the highlight interviews that Hap helped us gather over the years. Thank you Hap!
This video is of our annual NAMM Tribute, created in honor of our members and music industry friends who passed away in 2018 and early 2019. This Tribute was shown for the first time at the NAMM Show in Anaheim, California on January 24, 2019. All moving images within this video indicate those who... more
Birth Date: September 5, 1951
Deceased Date: July 16, 2020
Jamie Oldaker sat down in his living room in Tulsa, Oklahoma for his riveting and inspiring NAMM Oral History interview in December 2018. He opened up about his background in music and how his drive and passion led to a series of gigs, including the Silver Bullet Band and Eric Clapton. He recorded... more
Mat Donaldson set out to create an encouraging and exciting lesson program when he opened his own shop, Drum World, in 1990. He opened the store, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with the idea that selling drums would be a small part of what he offered his customers. With that, he recalled taking music... more
Rick Peale is the Sales Manager for Saied Music in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He began working for the company in 1991 and managed a store outside of Tulsa before moving to the main branch and running the combo department. His rich background in music served as the perfect foundation for his position in the... more
Steve Wilkerson was just a young saxophonist when legendary bandleader, Stan Kenton, hired him to join his orchestra in 1975. It was a great experience for Steve, who went on to play in several bands and with a long list of performers both in jazz and rock. While living in Los Angeles, Steve became... more
Mike Bennett began playing trumpet at the age of eight and played jazz trumpet and piano throughout high school. He studied music at the University of Tulsa and in 1980, landed a part time job at Saied Music. That first job was in the sheet music department and less than a year later, in January... more
Ron Kuykendall is the Sales Manager for the Band & Orchestra Department at Saied Music in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As a college student, Ron was studying to become a band director and working at South Western Music in Oklahoma. The owners of the store, both former band directors, realized Ron had... more
Kim Koch has fond memories of driving to the family’s music store with her father, Bob Saied, and learning from him about the business side of the company. That inspiration stayed with her as she went to college and studied classical singing. When the time was right, she moved back to Tulsa and... more
Roxie Hyatt was married to one of Leo Fender’s early sales representatives, Harold Hyatt. Harold first worked for his brother, Dale, who Leo hired in the late 1940s. After working for Dale for several years, Harold was officially hired as a salesman in 1965 and stayed with the guitar maker until ... more
Birth Date: December 7, 1937
Deceased Date: December 24, 2020
Bob Brumley was the owner of Albert E. Brumley & Sons, a music publishing company established by his father in 1944. Albert E. Brumley was a gifted songwriter who often penned religious themed songs such as the classic “I’ll Fly Away.” Bob joined the company with one goal in mind, to preserve... more
Dan Hein joined the rock band, The Flippers, in the early 1960s just as the group was starting out. With a strong influence from jump blues and soul bands, they added a horn section and changed their name to The Fabulous Flippers. Dan believes they were among the first all white bands to add horns... more
Randy Goodrum became well known in Nashville as a studio piano player. He has played on many albums for a wide range of performers while developing his skills as a songwriter. In 1977, Randy had four number one hits (with several more hits to follow). Among his most noted tunes are “You Needed Me... more
Al Bell was in the Stax recording studio in Memphis at the very moment Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed just a few blocks away. Ironically, the recording Al was producing at that time was a song he wrote encouraging Dr. King, whom he had known for years, to be cautious carrying... more
Zach Phillips lives and breathes the music products industry, and this has led him into a role that appears to have been tailored specifically for him as the Director of Professional Development for NAMM. With a passion for music products and an innate ability to educate others, Zach has been... more
Stuart Robertson is the Creative Director at NAMM with over 20 years of experience with the organization. With a passion for music and a talent in creating marketing and communications material, Stu has been an integral part of the NAMM team and has witnessed the exponential growth of the... more
Eric Ebel is a Senior Project Manager for the Public Affairs and Government Relations department at NAMM. Working throughout the industry before taking a job at NAMM prepared Eric for a multitude of roles within the organization including in the Trade Show Sales department before finding his... more
Michael Mullens grew up in his father’s New England music store. He caught the music bug early and to the surprise of even his father, Michael also became a knowledgeable salesman while he was still a kid. Understanding the products and the needs of the store’s customers seemed to come natural to... more