Oral History - all
Mike Wood has witnessed many developments in professional lighting throughout his career. During his NAMM interview, Mike spoke about his background, as well as a few of those milestone improvements. He also talked about the importance of the first moving light system, which was introduced in the... more
Michael Bland was playing drums for top acts while still in high school. Just two years out of school, in 1989, Michael began playing for Prince, a gig that lasted seven years. Michael was on drums for such Prince albums as Crystal Ball, Emancipation, and Chaos and Disorder. He also worked with... more
Birth Date: March 15, 1944
Deceased Date: December 18, 2011
Ralph MacDonald grew up in Harlem, where he was exposed to many musical traditions. As a drummer, he focused on his African roots and as a songwriter he relied on his soulful understanding of the blues. Ralph wrote "Where Is the Love", the Grammy winning song made popular by Roberta Flack and Donny... more
Antonio Sanchez began playing drums at the age of five in his native Mexico and by the time he was a teenager he was playing professionally. After graduating from Berklee College of Music, Antonio earned a masters in jazz improvisation from the New England Conservatory of Music. After performing... more
Tommy Aldridge doesn't mind being compared to the wild Muppet named “Animal." As Tommy puts it, both have crazy hair and crazy drum styles! Tommy's playing career has included gigs with Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy, and Black Oak Arkansas. Being a fan of jazz, Tommy used Louis Bellson's... more
Jim Peterik was just a teenager when he joined a rock band and knew what he wanted to do when he grew up! He began writing songs and formed several bands including The Ides of March, which scored a couple of hit recordings on songs Jim wrote including “Vehicle”. He also formed the band Survivor and... more
Nicko McBrain joined the heavy metal rock band Iron Maiden in 1982 and has been an active endorsee of musical products since that time. Nicko can often be seen at a NAMM booth or on the floor posing for a photograph. Over the years, he has endorsed Premier Drums, but since the early 2010’s he has... more
Tim Spicer studied special education in college and has applied his passion of helping others and his love of music when he opened a music store in 2012. Spicer's Music focuses on offering its customers with a wide range of quality products as well as carefully constructed lessons that meet the... more
William Groener has had an extensive career in lighting and theater design. He started out as a theater major at UC Santa Barbara and returned to the university as a professor before becoming Product Manager for Strand Lighting in Orange County. William has also been active as an instructor for... more
Roger Sparks started teaching guitar lessons in the wake of the Beatles boom in 1964. Just four years later he and his wife, Diane, opened Sparks Music in Arkansas City, Kansas. In 1974, the store held its grand opening at its current location of 315 South Summit in Arkansas City. The couple had... more
Diane Sparks and her brother, Donnie, formed a successful singing group in the 1960s. Donnie & Diane performed and recorded a string of hits, most written by Donnie. Diane's husband, Roger Sparks, played lead guitar in the Donnie and Diane band from 1968 to 1974. The Donnie and Diane band was... more
Yeegn Lougn Hoe, known as YL, grew up in a music filled home. His grandfather, Hoe Toh Hui, was born in China and moved to Malaysia in the 1940s and setup a piano store in a small mining town known as Ipoh. His son, Willy Hoe, used to help his father at their family's piano store. As Willy grew up... more
Birth Date: July 7, 1927
Deceased Date: February 6, 2021
Frank Hackinson received the Music Publisher Association’s Life Time Achievement award in 2012 for a good reason; he was a legend in the industry! He began his career in music publishing working for Charlie Hansen in New York. He learned so much from Charlie who himself pioneered many practices... more
Perry Owoo has always had a real love and passion for music, so it did not surprise any of his family and friends when he opened up a music store in 2014. The store is located in his hometown of Accra in Ghana. Perry has focused on providing solutions to those who buy from him so he named his store... more
Jeremy Payne first played clarinet in the school music program as a kid before switching to trumpet. That experience brought to light a true passion for music, which was further embedded when Jeremy began working at a local music store. Generations Music was a great training ground for Jeremy and... more
Marinko Tesla expressed a deep sense of pride in the fact that he works alongside his father, Bogdan, who established Tesla Tonewood Serbia in 1991. The father-son team work long and hard to produce the highest level of quality as well as strong customer support to the luthiers and instrument... more
Bogdan Tesla is related to the physicist Nikola Tesla, who was born in the village of Smiljan, Austrian Empire (today that area is part of Croatia). Bogdan was in the military, but found that during the civil war he was being asked to fight against his own family. He left the service and... more
Robert Riedel sat down for his NAMM Oral History interview in January 2018 and spoke in depth about the steel guitar. As a steel guitar musician, Robert was influenced by the giants of the instrument including Speedy West, Jody Carver, Alvino Rey, and Buddy Emmons. Throughout his interview, Robert... more
Russ Kunkel has had a great influence on young drum students, not just because of his steady playing but because of his willingness to share his techniques and ideas. Russ has performed and recorded with Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, and the rock band Spinal Tap (he played... more
Tabitha Fair grew up singing in her father's church in Oklahoma. She discovered at an early age songwriting and formed Avalon, a highly successful Contemporary Christian group with some of her musical friends. The group toured with several top gospel acts while performing many of Tabitha's songs. ... more