Oral History - all
Birth Date: October 28, 1937
Deceased Date: March 18, 2018
Bob Giacoletti and his wife Eleanor opened a small music school in 1978 that soon took on a line of instruments and accessories to become a full line retail store. The store moved to downtown Carlsbad, California in 1982. A year later Bob hired a young man named Roy Good who was interested in... more
Eleanor Giacoletti began playing piano as a child. While in college, studying music education, she realized she had a strong passion for providing meaningful lessons to young students. In 1978, she attended a Yamaha Music School program and talked her husband, Bob, into opening a music school. The... more
John Lewis was awarded the 2015 Volunteer of the Year for his dedication to the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, California. John has enjoyed several positions within the museum including working in the museum store and helping with concerts and special events. However, it is... more
Bob Boss was encouraged to pick up an instrument at a young age by both of his parents and quickly gravitated towards the guitar when he received his first electric guitar; a Sears SIlvertone for just $30. Bob decided to leave his guitar behind when he left for college, but quickly found that he... more
Birth Date: August 12, 1937
Deceased Date: August 11, 2021
Roy Gaines, like his brother, Grady, who played saxophone for Little Richard, made his mark in the early days of rock and roll. As a blues guitarist, Roy recorded a number of songs for RCA, which have become popular rockabilly tunes such as "Skippy is a Sissy" in 1958. He worked with a number of... more
Birth Date: April 26, 1945
Deceased Date: August 11, 2021
Mike Finnigan was a leading Hammond B3 performer who recorded with many of the top performers in pop, rock, and jazz for nearly 60 years, although his soul had always been rooted in rhythm and blues. In the late 60s, he recorded with Jimi Hendrix and Joe Cocker. Up until the 2020s he toured and... more
Glenn Phoenix formed Westlake Audio in 1971 with the goal of providing high quality loud speakers that utilized the latest in audio technology. This remains the goal of the company, which has developed a number of successful and innovative loud speakers including the LC and BBSM series, and well as... more
Greg Gohde's love for violins and bow making began in college and soon became his life's work. He moved to San Diego from Chicago, where he opened a repair shop and crafted handmade bows. His store expanded over time into Classic Bows, a world-renowned location for violin goods and services. The... more
Lois Bach proudly worked beside her husband, Greg, to expand his music business into a strong retail and repair service. Lois joined Greg in the business after a successful career in television. She could see that Greg needed help and brought her business and social media skills to the store. Their... more
Don Blocker worked behind the music, promoting and selling for several record companies over his long and impressive career. First working for Dot Records, Don learned the craft, which he later honed at Liberty Records. His deep understanding of the business and his caring approach to the artist... more
Bill Gardner grew up in Los Angeles surrounded by music. His mother worked at a local record store where he heard the music that would forever shape his life. Years later, Bill went on the air for his first radio show to honor those early musical pioneers. Bill's most recent program, Rhapsody In... more
Sharon De Lorto truly discovered her passion for music upon marrying her husband, Greg, and was introduced to the culture behind Heritage Guitars, Gibson, and the iconic factory at 225 Parsons St. With a desire to understand the history and preserve the legacy of Orville Gibson, Sharon has... more
Gregg De Lorto has had a passion for music and playing the guitar from a young age. Growing up playing in multiple bands and feeling the influence of popular music, Gregg eventually entered into a career in sales, working for companies like Music Man, Rickenbacker, and Gibson. Now with Heritage... more
Kaki King first heard the Ovation Guitar being played by her father. It was one of his prized instruments and young Kaki was not allowed to play with it without him. He later gave that instrument to her, which she used in a few of her recordings and live performances as a professional musician. ... more
Frank Corniola was born in Italy and moved to Australia when he was seven years old and he began playing drums professionally as a teenager. Like many gigging musicians, Frank took a day job at a music store when he was not out touring. That first job, at Sutton's Music in Melbourne providing drum... more
Kevin Hague is the Managing Director and founder of Australasian Music Supplies. He started his wholesale business in 1978 and grew it to become one of the biggest in the country. Australasian Music Supplies, known as AMS, all started when Kevin began importing the Zachary Organ from New Zealand... more
Peter Vogel and his schoolmate, Kim Ryrie, created the Fairlight Computer Musical Instrument (CMI) in 1975. The innovative computer based synthesizer helped revolutionize the music industry while providing cutting edge technology that allowed musicians to create and perform new sounds. Among the... more
Kim Ryrie was just a few years out of high school when he called his friend Peter Vogel to discuss a new idea. Peter and Kim worked on several electronic related projects together in school and during the phone call Kim explained an idea he had for developing a computer based musical instrument... more
Carole Johnston is the Managing Director of CMC Music, a wholesale company she formed with her father, Pat Bonham. Pat was a pioneer in the music industry and a founding member of the Australian Music Association in 1977. When Carole and her dad formed CMC in 1991, they set out to focus on quality... more
John Payton and his brother Paul were always surrounded by music. Their father, John Payton Sr., ran the family business that he moved to Australia and expanded into music wholesaling. John Sr. was also a founding member of the Australian Music Association in 1977 and helped create the music trade... more