Oral History - all
Birth Date: October 30, 1948
Deceased Date: October 17, 2019
William Reglein played a key role in the growth and development of the jj Babbitt Company since taking over its presidency from his father, Bud. William’s great uncle was the company’s founder, Jessie James Babbitt, who began creating musical instrument mouthpieces out of his small garage in... more
Birth Date: August 24, 1917
Deceased Date: October 13, 2005
Bud Reglein’s uncle formed a small mouthpiece company in Elkhart, IN and named it J.J. Babbitt as he felt it sounded better than Jessie James Babbitt. Bud took over the company in 1939 and, in the 1940s, engineered a custom facing machine to ensure each mouthpiece made could be consistent, thus... more
Birth Date: October 19, 1936
Deceased Date: February 24, 2017
Les Ray was a well spoken advocate for music education. As the founder of ASM Music Schools in Florida, he created a respected educational program that includes some 2,500 students each week. He had strong feelings about the importance of the process in learning to play a musical instrument. Mr.... more
Birth Date: September 15, 1941
Deceased Date: April 20, 2012
Warren Price’s father started a small Canadian music retail store when Warren was just 17 years old. Soon after Warren purchased his first drum kit and discovered he wanted to join his father in the music business. A few years later, with his father’s blessing, Warren started a drum shop and a... more
Flip Oakes is the designer of the Wild Thing series of trumpets and cornets. Although Flip is a master of many musical instruments including the clarinet and saxophone (for which he was widely known during most of the 1960s and 70s), the trumpet later became his main instrument. He established the... more
Paul Murphy has served his industry well, just as did his father, his grandfather and his great-grandfather. Paul was elected to the NAMM Board of Directors where he served for over a decade including a term as chairman. Two of his relatives also served as president of the NAMM Board, as well as... more
Roger Murrah has enjoyed an incredible career as a country music songwriter and with passion for the craft has dedicated his time and talent into creating a Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame. Beginning in the 1960s, Roger performed and wrote music in Nashville. His string of hit songs includes... more
Gavin Mortimer spoke with great understanding of the current challenges the music industry faces. He observed with a brilliant insight that changes such as the advent of Internet are not unlike challenges that the industry has faced head on, time and time again. As president of Headline Music Ltd... more
Peggy Lamb began working at the record division of the Acuff-Rose Company before transferring over to the publishing division in the early 1980s. She worked with Mr. Wesley Rose, the father of songwriter Fred Rose, who built up the catalog and reputation of the company to one of the most respected... more
Eugene Kornblum’s father formed the famed St. Louis Music Company, which played a legendary role in the music products industry during most of the 1900s. As President beginning in the 1960s, Gene expanded the company with a number of important product lines including Ampeg basses and amplifiers.... more
Birth Date: October 14, 1927
Deceased Date: July 8, 2012
George Koregelos made a series of well-respected flutes under his name in the 1970s that was but one of his career highlights in the music products industry. After studying instrument repair at the CG Conn Company in Elkhart, Indiana, George began designing his own instruments with a focus on the... more
Birth Date: December 15, 1927
Deceased Date: March 25, 2017
Katinka Lathrop was married for over 60 years to a guitar player with a passion. After he retired from the ceramics industry, the couple moved to Modesto, California, where they opened a small retail shop. Her husband Buck was not too interested in the business of selling instruments, he mostly... more
Birth Date: March 29, 1933
Deceased Date: November 15, 2015
Phillip Stanger began playing drums at an early age and took lessons from the famed percussionist, Roy Knapp. Phil remembers with great joy the first time he walked into Frank’s Drum Shop in Chicago. Years later he would teach out of the world-renowned percussion store and over the years got to... more
Birth Date: May 2, 1941
Deceased Date: November 10, 2012
Sam Keeney loved playing music! He had a road organ he hauled to performances nights and on weekends. Starting in the late 1950s, his day job was music retailing. In 1970 he bought a store in Spry, Pennsylvania, and renamed it Sam Keeney Piano and Organ Company. Over the years he pioneered product... more
Birth Date: May 26, 1930
Deceased Date: December 17, 2015
Lance LeRoy was a top music manager in Nashville, TN, and was the founder of the Lancer Agency. Among his clients was the famed guitarist Lester Flatt. Lance helped outline Mr. Flatt’s career during our interview by sharing facts and stories about his long-time musical teammate Earl Scruggs (Flatts... more
Birth Date: June 14, 1927
Deceased Date: August 9, 2014
Patrick Hiatt was among the leaders of band instrument repairmen in the industry. His work spanned several decades and was vital in the formation of NAPBIRT, the National Association of Professional Band Instrument Repair Technicians. Pat served as president of the association beginning in 1979 and... more
Birth Date: October 21, 1931
Deceased Date: December 24, 2018
Kern Kennedy tickled the ivories on a number of early rock and roll and rockabilly recordings back in the 1950s. It was the heyday for Sun Studios in Memphis right after the success of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis. Founder, Sam Phillips often called on Kern when a piano player was... more
Murrey Harman is the first of Buddy Harman’s six children. He remembers well the days he would sit on the floor of the recording studio to listen to his legendary father play drums on many of the classic recordings created in Nashville beginning in the 1950s. Buddy Harman was a key figure in the... more
George Gruhn is without question one of the top experts of vintage guitars on the planet! George collected guitars before opening the world renowned Gruhn Guitar Shop in Nashville, TN in the early 1970s. Since that time he has authored several historical reference guides and thousands of articles... more
Jerry Gorby followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming a passionate advocate for music and music making. Jerry worked in the family music store, Gorby Music, in West Virginia, later becoming president of the store. Along the way, he was noted for his keen interest in preserving history and... more