Oral History - all
Roland Wilfer is a fourth generation master luthier of the Emanuel Wilfer Double Bass Master Workshop. The workshop was founded 1905 and is specialized in crafting fine double basses for classical music, jazz, rockabilly and blues. Owner Roland Wilfer visits three trade shows a year to meet his... more
Rudolf Neudörfer, bow maker, grew up in the Czech Republic after 1945 and went to the Violin Making School in Luby, learning the craft of violin making from his teacher Bohumil Pechar and Hans Schmirler. He then worked at the Cremona cooperation for string instruments in town until he escaped... more
Bastian Teller is a bridge maker in the 5th generation. Since he was a child, Bastian wanted to step into his father Manfred’s footsteps. After receiving his state certified diploma for mechanical engineering he started in the family’s workshop. Over many years he learned from his dad how to choose... more
Hagen Weise was born in Dresden. He shares his experience of his apprenticeship at Musima in a state run production in East Germany before 1989. Per day, four-hundred classical guitars were built until the material allotted for the day was used up. The guitar makers sometimes finished their work at... more
Norman Treitl’s grandfather was Otto Josef Klier, who established the Klira company to be the third largest music instrument production during Bubenreuth’s boom years. Norman Treitl can tell how Klira started out producing violins, soon thereafter adding guitars and electric guitars to their... more
Jerry Fuller recorded a Rockabilly version of “Tennessee Waltz” which was a favorite of Elvis Presley and gave Jerry extra status among Elvis and Rockabilly fans alike. Yet it was his skills as a songwriter that resulted in big hit records for Ricky Nelson, Gary Puckett and Al Wilson! Ricky Nelson... more
Honoring Bob Wilson 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 Bob helped us gather over the years. Thank you Bob!
Roland Schuster is a bridge maker in the town of Bubenreuth, which has been the center of production for string instruments in Germany since 1945. He started his craft in the workshop of Ernst Heinrich Roth and later worked for Josef Teller specializing in bridges. When violin makers asked him to... more
Günter Lobe is a violin maker who is known for his faithful copies of Stradivari and other famous violins. He was an apprentice from 1977 to 1980 in the Ernst Heinrich Roth workshop in Bubenreuth, Germany and in 2008 Günter became master of the guild of string instrument makers with about 50... more
Willie Chambers and his brothers fell in love with gospel music while growing up singing in church. Even though they received some strong criticism, they expanded the places where church music was heard, including night clubs and bars in the late 1950s and early 1960s. With the support of Pete... more
Hans-Peter Messner’s story begins in Trossingen. After he completed his studies in economics and law, he started working in sales and marketing at his uncle’s company, Hohner, which is known for their accordions and harmonicas. Here Hans-Peter gained experience with the Hohner line of electric... more
Titus Tost studied computer programming in the mid-1980s in East Germany. He enrolled in a newly established study program called the Studio for Electronic Sound Generation (SEKD) in Dresden. Titus found the perfect outlet for his programming genius and passion for music. The Commodore 64 (later an... more
Terry Lowe is the founder of Timeless Communications Corp. (TCC) and the publisher of several important trade magazines including FRONT of HOUSE (FOH), Musical Merchandise Review (MMR) and Projection, Lights & Staging News (PLSN). Terry played drums professionally until his mid-20s when he... more
This video is of our annual NAMM Tribute, created in honor of our members and music industry friends who passed away in 2019 and early 2020. This Tribute was shown for the first time at the NAMM Show in Anaheim, California on January 16, 2020. All moving images within this video indicate those who... more
Michael O’Dorn still remembers the moment he met one of his musical heroes, Merle Travis. Mr. Travis flicked a thumb pick to young Michael, who soon developed an even greater appreciation for the man and his music. The two became friends and Michael worked long and hard to understand and later... more
Jonathan "Sugarfoot" Moffett grew up in New Orleans and used the style he developed in clubs, starting at the age of 10, to create a unique place in music history. His first significant recording in 1979 of “Don’t Stop the Music” by Yardbrough & Peoples led him to an introduction of the Jackson... more
Ellen White did not work in the music store her husband Jerry operated for many years and yet her supportive role helped that little retail business grow into the White House of Music chain consisting of multiple locations. Both Jerry and Ellen were teaching when Jerry decided to join his cousin in... more
Birth Date: June 29, 1931
Deceased Date: July 10, 2022
Jerry White and his brothers all played musical instruments growing up on their family farm in Wisconsin. Their father was a professional musician who played in popular dance bands. Jerry and his wife, Ellen, both became schoolteachers and Jerry continued to play on the side. When he had an... more
Diane Johnson, who was born in Brooklyn, was living on Madison Avenue when she landed a job at Music Merchandise Review (MMR). The magazine’s office was located just around the corner on Lexington Avenue so Diane could walk to work each day. She served as the Office Manager for MMR from 1979 until... more
Martin Johnson served as publisher and, at times, editor for Piano Trades Magazine (PTM) from 1959 until 1967. He studied art in school and became editor of the college newspaper, which gave him the idea of seeking a career that combined his two main interests, art and writing. He joined the... more