Oral History - all
Mickey Hart is the noted drummer of the Grateful Dead who has helped define rock drumming since the 1960s. His passion for the art form of percussion led him to write a series of books and countless articles on the history of drumming. His activities have helped popularize drum circles and music... more
Barb Fairhurst was hired by Dave Smith to manage the business elements of his newly-formed company he called Sequential Circuits, back in 1977. The following year, the company released its first product, the Prophet-5 synthesizer, which helped revolutionize the electronic keyboard and synthesizer... more
Paul Chandler discovered a specialized market within the music industry as a result of being a rock and roll performer and loving vintage guitars. Over the years, Paul found that he had to replace vintage-style pickguards due to the composition of the materials used back in the 1930s and 40s. As a... more
Birth Date: March 24, 1950
Deceased Date: May 9, 2015
Gary Burgett and his brother Kirk established PianoDisc out of their piano retail store in Sacramento, California in the late 1970s. Gary was a pianist and music teacher with a successful studio of his own, and Kirk was a skilled piano technician and rebuilder. The store, Burgett Pianos, sold a... more
Birth Date: February 18, 1921
Deceased Date: December 26, 2002
Armand Zildjian had many friends in the music industry and even years after his passing, the stories of Armand and his role in the industry seem to be everywhere. As president of the Avedis Zildjian Company, Armand oversaw the cymbal manufacturing that was part of his family since it was first... more
Bob Heller’s grandfather began working in the music industry as a piano manufacturer in New York. Along with two partners, his grandfather formed the Winter Piano Company, which under the leadership of Bob’s father, branched out to include other brands such as Aeolian Pianos. Bob worked alongside... more
Birth Date: August 19, 1945
Deceased Date: July 17, 2020
Joe Seawright was a piano designer and engineer for the Baldwin Piano factory in Greenwood, Mississippi, beginning in the early 1970s. Joe created several improvements to the workflow of the operations as well as designing new features to the piano line of products. When the Greenwood factory was... more
Ricky Skaggs is the internationally known Country Music performer and Bluegrass mandolin player who sat in front of our cameras to discuss his passion for Pro-Audio gear. Ricky covered his early career in music, his early performances and influence from Bluegrass founder and personal hero, Bill... more
Rick Shubb has always been fascinated with bluegrass music and its instruments. He has recorded and performed often playing his five-string banjo. He grew up in the Berkeley area and met many performers including the members of the Warlocks that would later become the Grateful Dead. Rick designed... more
Doug Segars was the controller for the Baldwin Piano factory in Greenwood, Mississippi, beginning in the early 1970s. Over his 25 years with the company, Doug oversaw the time studies in many of the company’s factories beginning with the operations in Greenwood. Doug studied the cost of the... more
Birth Date: August 5, 1947
Deceased Date: February 10, 2015
Bob See was the founder of See Factor, one of the pioneering and innovative pro-lighting and pro-sound services in the world. Bob’s influential career began when Bill Graham opened up a music venue in New York City called the Fillmore East in the late 1960s. Bob cut his teeth in the lighting field... more
Elwyn Raymer grew up in a very musical family and developed a real love for church music early on. His father and uncles formed the Raymer Trio, who traveled to churches around the Kentucky and Tennessee region singing what was called Southern Gospel. Over his career, he has worked with church... more
Ted Rasch was one of only a handful of music retailers who began using the Internet for commerce as early as 1996. He was asked many times in those early years to explain the Internet and how it could possibly fit into the music industry. One of the advantages in using the Internet in the early... more
Ron Raup was among the first commercial members to serve on the NAMM Board. His long career in the industry has been highlighted by his incredible vision and marketing skills for the MakeMusic company. MakeMusic, Inc. is a world leader in software and systems for music educators and musicians.... more
Birth Date: July 16, 1941
Deceased Date: June 3, 2020
Eberhard Rahm started out as a flute maker in 1976 and was in charge of the former Erlbach Flute company. 1991 Schreiber & Sons put him in charge of the production, when they opened a small workshop in Erlbach, East Germany with 13 people, right after the reunification. Step by step the... more
Robert Petteruti sat in the showroom of Twin City Music in Providence, RI, for his NAMM Oral History interview. The showroom is in the store his father opened in the 1930s and within the same building his grandfather owned since 1921. To say there was a lot of Petteruti history in that room is an... more
Ken Parker began building guitars and basses, first for his brother then for other players, in the early 1970s. He fell in love with arch-tops and became one of the best-known guitar luthiers in the industry. After learning his trade in New York in the 1970s and 80s, Ken met Larry Fishman and... more
Marlene Parker teamed with her husband, Drew, to move from Canada to South Carolina to take over a small town music retail business, Separk Music, which had been established by a band director who had since passed away. Drew and Marlene felt compelled to continue to achieve the original mission of... more
Drew Parker has traveled a remarkable musical journey as musician, Canadian band director, publisher, and music retailer. Along the way, he earned the reputation as a dedicated music educator. With his wife Marlene, he bought Separk Music in North Carolina. Drew has remained active in the music... more
Walt Ostermeyer had a solution to the complaint of millions of school age music students who came into his music retail store, the wood reed tastes yucky. Walt designed a series of reeds with a variety of flavors such as cherry and watermelon. The idea caught on and he soon established the Flavor... more