OH Taxonomy
Bobby Bare Sr. began writing songs as a teenager and landed a hit record with the talking blues song "All American Boy" in 1958 when Bobby was just 18 years old. He followed that recording with several other hits including "Detroit City" and "500 Miles Away from Home." During his NAMM interview,...
Laura Whitmore’s passion for music began at a young age, learning to play guitar and writing songs as a teenager. She attended Hofstra University where she earned a B.S. in Music Merchandising and an MBA in Marketing. Laura worked for CBS Records and Korg, where she rose through the ranks of...
Chris Syllaba grew up in Washington D.C. and found music throughout the city during his childhood years. He soon found a position within Jordan Kitt’s Music store in 1984 and rose through the ranks to his current position as the President and CEO. During his Oral History interview at the 2017 NAMM...
Terry Christian is a noted recording engineer whose passion for music began as a drummer. While playing in bands as a tennager, Terry took an interest in the process of how records were made. After attending recording school in San Francisco, he applied for a job at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles. His...
Mike Martin grew up tinkering on his grandmother’s piano before and taking piano lessons throughout his school years. Hearing his first synthesizer helped provide the motivation to work towards buying his first one in the early 1980s which he still has today. Mike got his official start in the...
Buddy Spicher started playing the fiddle for $10 a night at local square dances, but also played some rhythm guitar to accompany his brother at performances. During his NAMM Oral History interview, Buddy tells of how he acquired his first violin, by trading his brother a Coca Cola for his brother’s...
Michael Spriggs is a session guitarist who got his start at the age of 14 when he joined “The Rogues”. In 1971 Michael moved to Nashville where he played with Eddie Rabbitt. With over 35 years as a session player, Michael has worked with the likes of Waylon Jennings, BB King, Elton John, and Dolly...
Jimmy Gilmer was born in Chicago, but spent his formative years in Amarillo, Texas. As a singer and guitar player, Jimmy gravitated across state line to Norman Petty’s studio in Clovis, New Mexico made famous by the fact that Buddy Holly recorded there. After a fill-in gig with the Fireballs, a...
Cathy Currier is the second generation to run Currier’s Music World, started by her father, Clifford. Currier’s Music World celebrated their 50th year in business in 2017 and Cathy and her mother Angela were present at the Summer Show in Nashville, Tennessee to receive a Milestone Award from NAMM....
Jim Phiffer accepted a position at Pearl Drums which would lead him to a 20 plus year career in the music business. While at Pearl, Jim was the Vice President of Sales and Marketing, eventually making his way to President and CEO of the US division. Jim shared his talent for selling and his love of...