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Marvin Zoschke
- Oral History
Marvin Zoschke had dreams of being in the music business while he was a boy.
Norman Zimmerman
- Oral History
Norm Zimmerman began his career in the industry with Steve’s Music in Canada, where he remains as the store’s sheet music buyer.
Snooky Young
- Oral History
Snooky Young was given his first trumpet from the local junk man who saw he had an interest in music, but whose family could not afford the expen
Masani Yanagisawa
- Oral History
Masani Yanagisawa’s father formed the Pearl Drum Company in Japan just after World War II.
Johnny Winter
- Oral History
Johnny Winter has become an important link between classic blues artists and modern audiences.
Robert Wilson
- Oral History
Robert Wilson formed his first rock and roll band when he was 14.
Robert Zoschke
- Oral History
Robert Zoschke is the president of The Piano Center in Beaumont, Texas, which his father Marvin formed in 1955.
Henry Wickham
- Oral History
Henry Wickham knew the secret of a good sounding piano, the cast iron plates.
Roland White
- Oral History
Roland White played the mandolin as far back as he could remember.
Larry Westland
- Oral History
Larry Westland set out to give a few music students a chance to play.
Bitsie Werlein
- Oral History
Bitsie Werlein was the last president of the famed Werlein’s For Music in New Orleans.
Saul Walker
- Oral History
Saul Walker’s career in the field of electronics went back to the early sound designs before World War II.
Kees van Willigen
- Oral History
Kees van Willigen opened a music shop in Holland in 1968.
David Van Koevering
- Oral History
David Van Koevering worked alongside Bob Moog in the early days of marketing the Minimoog synthesizer.
Pete Valentino
- Oral History
Pete Valentino noticed that band instrument repairmen often had a difficult task in replacing worn pads on flutes and saxophones.
Arturo Valdez
- Oral History
Arturo Valdez is known around the world as the “guitar repairman to the stars.” With his shop located on Sunset Blvd.
DeForest Thornburgh
- Oral History
DeForest Thornburgh came into the industry with a strong business background and a deep-seated passion for guitars.
Norman Thompson
- Oral History
Norm Thompson began his career in the music products industry as a salesman for retailers in Memphis during the 1950s.
Morley Thompson
- Oral History
Morley Thompson’s financial background was a key element in the expansion of the Baldwin Piano Company during the 1980s.
Hans Thomann
- Oral History
Hans Thomann runs the music store his father founded in a small German village.
Toshitsugu "Tom" Tanaka
- Oral History
Toshitsugu “Tom” Tanaka, the president of Hoshino Gakki.
Mehmet Tamdeger
- Oral History
Mehmet Tamdeger’s mentor was Mikkail Zilcan, who taught him everything the master craftsmen knew about cymbal m
Manji Suzuki
- Oral History
Manji Suzuki had a deep passion for the music industry.
Fujio Suzuki
- Oral History
Fujio Suzuki was the president of the Suzuki Musical Instrument Company in Japan in 2003 when the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music celeb
Don Stewart
- Oral History
Don Stewart was hired in 1957 by the famous composer Roy Harris to copy music – by HAND.
Ralph Sordyl
- Oral History
Ralph Sordyl believed in music!
Ed Soph
- Oral History
Ed Soph toured as the drummer and percussionist for several noted jazz bands during the 1970s.
Paul Reed Smith
- Oral History
Paul Reed Smith began playing guitar as a teenager. He soon designed his own style of guitar, which he built.
Holger Siems
- Oral History
Holger Siems had a prolific career in music publishing.
Mototsugu Shimamura
- Oral History
Mototsugu Shimamura grew a small Japanese music retail store into the country’s largest music retail chain.