Les Paul
Sharon Sagar is the daughter of Paul Barth, the founder of Bartell Guitars. Paul started his guitar and bass manufacturing factory in Riverside, California, in 1964. As a teenager, Sharon worked in the factory in the summers and enjoyed getting to know the other dedicated employees who impressed...
Greg Martin was able to combine the many musical styles he admired growing up when he helped form the Kentucky Headhunters. The band made up of friends began playing together in 1968 and in 1986 officially changed their name from the Itchy Brother to the Kentucky Headhunters. They released their...
Steve Miller led a popular rock band beginning in the 1960s with a string of hit songs, most of which he wrote. His passion for music began at a very young age. Did you know Les Paul was his godfather? The Steve Miller Band was formed in San Francisco in 1966 and went on to record some 25 albums (...
Steve Gibson repeated, “I’ve been blessed,” which acted as a recurring theme throughout his NAMM Oral History interview. The sentiment comes from a review of his extraordinary career as a studio musician, producer, and musical director based in Nashville. At 19 years old, in the early 1970s, he...
Tom Wittrock remembers the very moment he decided to dedicate his career to the guitar: when he purchased his first Les Paul sunburst in the mid-1970s. Many of his friends thought he was crazy when he paid more for a used instrument instead of getting a new one cheaper, but Tom knew just what he...
Greg Golden was in the vintage guitar business back in the days when such instruments were referred to as simply “used.” Along with a handful of key dealers across the United States, Greg played a vital role in developing the vintage market by not only offering top quality instruments and setting...
Al Di Meola has long been known for his impeccable technique, perfect sense of rhythm and timing, and lightning fast displays of guitar virtuoso. Al has also become a very unique and multi-faceted composer. Al strives hard to build upon and improve with every album whether they be original...
Art Laboe admired radio broadcasters from the first moment he heard voices coming out of a box his aunt had sent to Art's family when he was eight. He went on to have a successful and innovative broadcasting career that not only included pioneering DJ programming and remote request programs but...
Maudie Moore was hired by Gibson Guitars in 1962 to do small piece work and soon branched out to engraving, which became a specialty for her over the next several decades. In fact, she opened her own shop called Moore’s Engraving in Kalamazoo in 1972, which allowed her to work with several other...
Buddy Merrill played the pedal steel guitar on the Lawrence Welk TV program from its start in 1954 until he left the show in 1974. Buddy played Fender products while on the Welk Show, which was an exciting time as several key instrument innovations were released during this time, including the...