OH Taxonomy
George Gruhn is without question one of the top experts of vintage guitars on the planet! George collected guitars before opening the world renowned Gruhn Guitar Shop in Nashville, TN in the early 1970s. Since that time he has authored several historical reference guides and thousands of articles...
George Klein first met Elvis Presley when the two attended Humes High School in Memphis. Over the years, George became one of Elvis’ closest friends. He was a part of many of the King’s important moments. George appeared in the 1957 film “Jailhouse Rock,” was a groomsman during Elvis’ wedding in...
John Hampton was a Grammy winning engineer at the Ardent Studios in Memphis, where he worked side by side with the studio's founder, John Fry. The studio recorded a long list of artists from Stax in the early days when Mr. Fry opened the business. Over the years the studio was home to many...
John Fry was the founder of Ardent Records and a noted recording engineer with a special talent for sound mixing and studio sound control. The results of his efforts are enough to fill several walls with gold and platinum records from the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Led Zeppelin. John was also...
Specs Powell played jazz drums during the hey-day of 52nd Street in New York City. He worked hard -- sometimes four gigs a night -- playing behind such legends as Billie Holiday, John Kirby and Red Norvo. Specs was active in the V-Disc recordings to boost the troops’ morale during World War II and...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Nick Brignola’s baritone saxophone can be heard on several important jazz recordings beginning in the 1960s. He helped define the role of the baritone saxophone in the...
Ted McCarty was the president of Gibson Guitars when he signed Les Paul to help design a series of instruments with his name. Ted went on to design and patent guitars such as the Flying V before working with Chicago Musical Instruments and Bigsby Guitars, becoming an industry icon. Among the...
Bill Walden began playing harmonica at the age of 11. He joined a few harmonica groups in the from the 1930s through the 1950s, which were very popular, especially in night clubs. One such group was called the Harmonica Rascals. He toured with the group throughout the United States for many years...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Frank De Vol was a noted arranger who took jazz to television and the movies and incorporated top musicians within Hollywood studio work whenever he could. Frank began...
This audio only interview was conducted for a radio program by Dan Del Fiorentino and donated to the NAMM Oral History program: Barney Kessel was a well-respected and sought-after studio musician who became part of the famed “Wrecking Crew.” He was also an innovative jazz technician who inspired...