OH Taxonomy
William Cordier remembered piling in the family car for a road trip to their favorite lake northwest of their home in Ohio. Each and every trip included a detour into Elkhart, Indiana where his father would pull over and show off the large sign announcing the "World's Biggest Musical Instrument...
Jorma Kaukonen played guitar in two classic rock bands of the 1960s and 70s, Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna! His passion for the blues helped create his style, which was in such demand by up and coming players that Jorma started a fantasy guitar camp to teach his style. The Fur Peace Ranch:...
Lou Witt grew up on a small farm in Iowa and one day asked his band director in school for an instrument. He was given a trombone and has played the instrument ever since. He enjoyed playing music and soon developed an interest in working within the music industry. Lou worked for Schmitt Music in...
John Anning is the Executive Director of the Alliance of Independent Music Merchants (AIMM). He began his career as a sales rep for the pro audio industry after growing up as a musician and falling in love with music. His career as a rep expanded over the years and he came to understand the inner...
David Magagna had an incredible career selling guitars for some of the biggest names in the industry. He worked for the government out of high school and attended college in Georgetown before coming into the music industry by way of the C.F. Martin & Company. The year was 1962. David became...
Joseph Gomes is a partner with his brother in the music company their father purchased in 1953. BX Furtado & Son opened in 1865 in India, having a small part of their store dedicated to musical instruments. That focus expanded over time, and by 1953 the store was well known for service and...
Larry Fishman had an idea to create an electronic pick up for the upright string bass. The task was not an easy one. In fact, others had tried and failed to produce the correct balance of electronic tones within the range of the strings. However, Fishman was able to do just that. The success of the...
Harry Fleishman is the founder of Fleishman Instruments located in Northern California and has become among the most noted luthiers of his time. His passion for music developed in part by hanging out at his local music store, Fife & Nichols, beginning at the age of 12. As a result of being...
Alan Rosen sat down for his first interview for the NAMM Oral History program in January 2014. It was a special occasion as it was Alan’s 30th anniversary of his first show and his 30th winter show, as he has not missed one since first attending! Capturing this interview was also important for...
Cliff Unruh has a background in marketing and was pursuing such a career when he was given the opportunity to sell Hammond Organs –and he jumped at the chance. He fell in love with the instrument as well as the history of the product. He enjoys bringing music and the sound of the Hammond into...