Mandolins
Pete Langdell grew up in Northern Vermont and takes great pride in the fact that he has lived and worked in the same area his entire life. When he had an opportunity to establish his own musical instrument company, Rigel, making mandolins and guitars, he insisted the factory be located in Vermont. ...
Rick Peate recalled the story of how his family’s multi-generational music business began and developed. During his NAMM Oral History interview, Rick talked about his innovative grandfather, George Peate, who moved to Montreal from Utica, New York as a teenager and opened a music store in 1899....
Marty Stuart grew up in the small town of Philadelphia, Mississippi surrounded by country music, which he taught himself to play on a family guitar when he was 12 years old. Marty soon learned the mandolin and began writing songs for local dances and school events. During his NAMM interview he...
Lowell Levinger, known as Banana, was a founding member of the Youngbloods back in the late 1960s. The band had a series of hit records including the 60s anthem “Get Together.” Banana played lead guitar, piano, finger cymbals, pedal steel guitar, and sang with the band from 1965 until 1972. He...
Stu Cohen grew up playing the clarinet, and took lessons for close to eight years. In the early 1950s, Stu listened mostly to country music on the radio, just because it was the only station that his radio would pick up. When he was in college, Stu got into country music even more, and started...
Roman Zajicek was born in Kolin in the Czech Republic, where for several decades the government made it difficult to do business as an independent luthier. In 2003, when he had the opportunity to open his own guitar shop he did. Based on his first name and his favorite wood to use for guitar...
Vince Gill attended his first NAMM Show when he was nineteen years old and living in Los Angeles, California, back in 1977. Over the years, Vince has supported many music retailers and suppliers and has developed long lasting and meaningful relationships, which is why he is always excited to...
Bob Smakula built his first dulcimer when he was 14 years old. Having grown up all around the roots music of West Virginia, Bob loved all aspects of musical instruments. Along with playing and building, he developed great skills at repairing all stringed instruments and took great joy in playing...
Harry West was the founder of Fine Musical Instruments located in Statesville, North Carolina. The store was an early pioneer in vintage stringed instrument sales and in fact, Stanley Jay once called Harry, "the father of us all." His store was later renamed Harry and Jeanie West's Fine Musical...
Stu Goldberg established Marina Music in San Francisco at the beginning of the guitar boom. The folk music craze was in full swing and the Beatles just hit the USA and within a few months Stu opened his own music store. His small store had a very big impact on the music industry and soon became a...