Oral History - all
Jason Stanfield has always enjoyed finding new and funny sounds, which means he really enjoyed the synthesizer developments of the 1990s! He worked for Mississippi Music in Hattiesburg, Mississippi in the early 1990s where he fell in love with music retail. Jason later worked for Sam Ash in Florida... more
Birth Date: September 30, 1972
Deceased Date: October 4, 2020
Richie Jones Jr. began playing drums professionally when he was 12 years old for teen clubs and skating rinks. While gigging, he developed skills in production and worked for Morris Brothers Music in Jackson, Mississippi, which led to his interest in music retail. He was hired by Mississippi Music... more
David Schommer was playing in the Mississippi Community Symphonic Band when he approached the conductor, David Miller, and inquired about forming a swing band. David had the vision of a swing community band that would play the roots music of the area, jazz, and the blues, in the hope of keeping the... more
David Miller is the band director who had the vision of a musical outlet for adult musicians in mostly non-music careers when he helped establish the Mississippi Community Symphonic Band. He was active in school band programs as a kid and played French horn in college, after which he became a band... more
James Evans met one of his musical heroes, Louie Lee, in 1977. Mr. Lee took the time to show James techniques in playing his saxophone that greatly inspired him. Over the years he developed into a highly regarded studio musician, often recording at Malaco Records in Jackson, Mississippi. Among... more
Jerry Mannery enjoyed writing poems and was encouraged by a college professor to set his words to music. When one of his songs was performed by the legacy choir director, Frank Williams, Jerry felt a calling to write gospel music. In 1985, Jerry oversaw the Gospel Division at Malaco Records and... more
Bobby Rush won his first GRAMMY at the age of 83 in 2017, some sixty years after his first professional gig as a bluesman. Beginning in the 1950s, Bobby performed live and recorded in Chicago with such artists as Bo Diddley, Elmore James, Jimmy Reed, Little Walter and Muddy Waters. Moving to... more
Wolf Stephenson met Tommy Couch (the founder of Malaco Records) while the two studied pharmacy in college. They began booking musical acts for their college parties and soon expanded to events and night clubs in and around Oxford, Mississippi. In 1963, Wolf met Rick Hall (the founder of Fame... more
Tommy Couch was born in Tuscumbia, not too far from Muscle Shoals, Alabama and grew up with many of the studio musicians and engineers at the Fame Recording Studio. He later moved to Jackson, Mississippi to form his own studio, Malaco Records, with the help and advice of his old friends. The label... more
Birth Date: May 6, 1880
Deceased Date: June 20, 1961
Jerome F. Murphy Sr. was the president of M. Steinert & Sons in Boston. He joined the company on January 10, 1897 and dedicated himself to the business and the industry. He was promoted to treasurer in 1916 and took the opportunity given him in 1934 to purchase the business. Mr. Murphy was... more
Birth Date: December 21, 1946
Deceased Date: February 6, 1998
This audio only interview was conducted by David Schwartz and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Carl Wilson co-formed The Beach Boys with his brother, Brian, and school friend, Al Jardine. The songs they wrote and recorded helped invigorate popular music in the 1960s. Carl played lead... more
Leo Adelman spent much of his life playing the jazz trumpet. In retirement, he spends a great deal of time playing and promoting jazz throughout San Diego County. When the NAMM Oral History Program was established in 2000, Leo was among the first to help arrange interviews with many of his friends... more
Birth Date: February 23, 1947
Deceased Date: January 28, 1998
This audio only interview was conducted by David Schwartz and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Colin Sanders began building sound systems for churches when he was still a teenager. By the age of 22, Colin formed Solid State Logic (also known as SSL) and at first focused on electronic... more
This audio only interview was conducted by David Schwartz and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Al Jardine can be heard on the very first Beach Boys recording. The song, “Surfin’” was recorded in 1961 for Candix Records. Al left the group for a bit but returned to play bass for the group in... more
Birth Date: January 10, 1917
Deceased Date: August 15, 2008
This audio only interview was conducted by David Schwartz and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Jerry Wexler became a major contributor to the record business in the 1950s and 60s with his work as a producer at Atlantic Records. Many feel it was Jerry who coined the phrase “rhythm and blues... more
This audio only interview was conducted by David Schwartz and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Narada Walden formed Tarpan Studios in San Rafael, California in 1985. Over the years, Narada produced several albums in the studio, including a few of his own. As a percussionist and drummer, he... more
Birth Date: January 5, 1934
Deceased Date: March 30, 2013
This audio only interview was conducted by David Schwartz and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Phil Ramone was an audio legend! His success as a studio owner and producer helped guide the careers of many in our industry and his influence as an engineer helped define his era. Phil and Jack... more
This audio only interview was conducted by David Schwartz and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Tony Bennett, the legendary jazz and pop music singer, provided his thoughts about the recording process to David Schwartz, who interviewed Tony for MIX Magazine in 1986. During the interview,... more
Robin Galison is the founder and president of Music Gift located in Boca Raton, Florida. The company began as a division of the Edwin F. Kalmus Music Publishers, which her husband’s family started. The publishing company was founded in 1926 by Edwin Kalmus originally as the United States Agent for... more
Alex Ordonez was eight years old when he began playing the piano. He was the first in his family to play music and was encouraged by his parents. Although he later focused his time on sports, Alex somehow knew his love of music would be part of his future. It was after serving in the United States... more