NAMM Show Celebrates Icons, Rising Stars and Musical Innovation

By George A. Paul

On April 13, the 2023 edition of The NAMM Show returned to the Anaheim Convention Center in Southern California. Last held in June instead of the traditional January dates on the calendar, this year’s event was 20 percent larger and had 200 more exhibitors. There were over 3,500 exhibiting brands and 200+ music panels and sessions.

Day 1 got off to a winning start early with the Breakfast of Champions session hosted by NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond. It featured Grammywinning Creedence Clearwater Revival singer/songwriter/ guitarist John Fogerty, who was presented with the Music for Life Award and did a Q&A.

Lamond has led the Carlsbad-based not-for-profit association NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) for 20+ years and will be retiring from the position. His replacement is music education advocate John Mlynczak. As a surprise, Lamond’s predecessor presented him with a Music for Life Award and Mlynczak put Lamond in the interviewee “hot seat” chair.

During Fogerty’s brief chat with Lamond, he relayed how serving in the military during the 1960s affected his music. “We got vocal about the war in Vietnam. It was the first time a whole generation was questioning government policy and not told the truth about” why we were there. “That came out in my songwriting, obviously, with ‘Fortunate Son,’ like a flaming arrow. “I had the viewpoint that sending kids off to die for business” was useless. “I couldn’t help myself.”

Fogerty was honorably discharged from Army active duty in 1967. Immediately after, he went to a drugstore and bought a small notebook to jot down song titles and other ideas. At NAMM, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer took that original binder out of protective covering and showed it to Lamond and the audience.

It was amazing to see.

Then he revealed how the ‘69 CCR hit “Proud Mary” (famously covered by Ike & Tina Turner) was written. “I knew it was a classic” right away.

“I knew I had written a great song,” he said. “I thought, ‘I hope I can do this again.’ ‘’

Elsewhere in the discussion, Fogerty recalled the influence of a music teacher in school and that even though he was shy, he’d sometimes go over to a classroom piano and start playing “Do You Wanna Dance” and suddenly the other students would be dancing. “I met two of the guys from Creedence in that room later on.”

About having perseverance when first starting as an artist, Fogerty said, “If people say you’re no good and that stops you, you probably weren’t meant for this job.” Fogerty had just began describing how the 2020 album Fogerty’s Factory recorded with his children came about when an alert rang out and the conference room had to be cleared - a false alarm. This writer could have listened to Fogerty talk for hours. (GP)

On the main trade show floor, Sheldon Dingwall, founder of Canada’s Dingwall Guitars, did a special presentation of the new limited edition John Taylor signature Rio Dream Bass. Reps from collaborator Rupert Neve Designs, which crafted the onboard preamp, were on hand.

Taylor’s female assistant described how the orange and green pastel stripes paid subtle tribute to Duran Duran’s Rio album cover design by Patrick Nagel without being “overtly obvious.” She also pointed out two small symbols used by the band in the ‘80s (such an eye) on the guitar’s fretboard and headstock that longtime fans will instantly recognize.

Each bass guitar is individually numbered and includes a Hipshot Drop D Xtender key, special string pack, spare cream pickguard and custom gig bag. Currently on tour in Europe, Taylor said via video that the bass felt “intuitive to me from

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