Oral History - all
Birth Date: March 20, 1918
Deceased Date: August 20, 2013
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Marian McPartland was a jazz pianist who helped elevate the scope of a series of jazz radio shows called Piano Jazz, which ran on PBS from 1978 until 2011. Marian began... more
Birth Date: April 20, 1908
Deceased Date: August 31, 2003
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Lionel Hampton helped bring the vibraphone to jazz with a series of important recordings and a long career as a musician and bandleader. He famously worked with Benny... more
Birth Date: April 7, 1918
Deceased Date: June 19, 2003
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Peanuts Hucko was a versatile clarinetist and saxophonist during the swing era. He worked with a number of big bands including Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, and Jack... more
Birth Date: July 21, 1922
Deceased Date: November 3, 2016
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Kay Starr enjoyed a long and successful career as a pop singer bringing in the Big Band Era and continuing into the Sing Era of the 1950s. Among the big bands she recorded... more
Curtis White was 11 years old when his father, Forrest White, resigned from Fender Guitar Company. Curtis remembers being devastated and wondering what the family would do since Fender was such a big part of his life. Forrest was one of the early employees of the guitar maker, located in Fullerton... more
Marc Silber has had a series of music stores during his long and colorful career including Fretted Instruments, located in Greenwich Village, New York and Marc Silber’s Music in Berkeley, California. While he owned Fretted Instruments in the early 1960s, Marc sold a guitar to Bob Dylan, who hung... more
Rand Cook recalls his mother taking him into the Candyman Strings & Things music store when he was three years old. He was quickly disappointed at that young age that the store when he realized they did not have any candy. With his parents support and playing the clarinet in school band, Rand... more
Cindy Cook married long-time music retailer, Rand Cook, in 1998. Ten years later, the couple had the opportunity to purchase the very store Rand had worked in for nearly 20 years. Together, the couple transformed the store into a welcoming music hub and education center serving people from all... more
Eddie Raymond is a noted trainer for IATSE Craft Advancement Program, which was a featured part of the ESTA sessions during the NAMM Show in 2018. It was the first such time ESTA and NAMM teamed up to facilitate these important training programs, which covered certification and safety training. ... more
Birth Date: May 25, 1960
Deceased Date: March 31, 2020
Wallace Roney attended the Anaheim NAMM Show in 2018, playing his Kanstul trumpet and taking time to sit down for an Oral History interview. He spoke of his love of the trumpet and some of the players he learned from over the years including Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, who became a personal... more
Dick Papalia witnessed a need for organ and piano owners in his neighborhood to have their instruments serviced in the early years of the home organ boom of the 1960s. As a result, in 1968, with the help of the Baldwin Piano Company, Dick established his music store. The store was originally called... more
Birth Date: January 9, 1910
Deceased Date: October 5, 1995
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Dick Jurgens formed a popular dance band during the big band era and enjoyed a string of hit recordings, several which he composed. The ever-humble songwriter and musician... more
Birth Date: March 24, 1917
Deceased Date: October 20, 2011
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Memo Bernabei led a popular society orchestra during the great Big Band Era. As a saxophonist, Memo cut his teeth within such bands as those lead by Jan Garber and Ray... more
Birth Date: October 20, 1913
Deceased Date: September 19, 2003
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Johnny Best started off learning the piano but switched to trumpet when he was 13. During his impressive career as a sideman in the big bands, Johnny played with several... more
Birth Date: October 10, 1918
Deceased Date: November 25, 2006
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Bobby Byrne played trombone with such control and tenderness that Tommy Dorsey once remarked, "You sit on the edge of your seat waiting to feel the next note." Bobby's... more
Birth Date: December 25, 1907
Deceased Date: November 18, 1994
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Cab Calloway was the hip cat of the Big Band Era, leading a swinging orchestra and charting hit recordings. His flamboyant stage personality landed Cab acting roles on... more
Long time music store owner and rights advocate, Fat Dog, was looking for a way to pay tribute to his all-time favorite blues musician, Howlin’ Wolf. Howlin’ Wolf was born Chester Arthur Burnett on June 10, 1910 in Clay County, Mississippi. He went on to record a series of songs that helped... more
Birth Date: September 24, 1913
Deceased Date: May 25, 2014
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Herb Jeffries was a singer with the Duke Ellington Orchestra who scored a top hit recording with "Flamingo" in 1941. Other songs would follow but none matched the success... more
Birth Date: May 26, 1920
Deceased Date: January 21, 2002
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Peggy Lee was an elegant jazz vocalist who started singing with Benny Goodman's Orchestra and went on to record standard jazz albums and hit songs in the 1950s and 60s.... more
Birth Date: April 6, 1927
Deceased Date: January 20, 1996
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Gerry Mulligan helped define the Cool Jazz genre with his rich baritone saxophone style and a series of historic recordings including several with Miles Davis. He played... more