Interview with Marvin Lamb

Interviewee

Marvin Lamb

Files

Interviewers

Jay Gavan

Description

Interview with Marvin Lamb recorded on June 6, 2012 at Heritage Guitars in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Recorded by interviewer James 'Jay' Gaven for a Kalamazoo Valley Museum exhibit on Gibson Guitars. Marvin came to Michigan from Alabama in 1955, starting at Gibson Guitars at the age of 16 in 1956, first hand-sanding guitars.He recounts his memories at the factory, including:

• deciding not to move to the new Nashville factory
• becoming superintendent of the Kalamazoo factory in 1974
• staff reduction, slowing work, as the end neared
• last day for Gibson's Kalamazoo factory on September 14, 1984
• incorporating Heritage Guitars, April 1, 1985, moving into the old Gibson factory on Parsons Street
• continuing the handcrafting tradition of guitar making
• famous customers: Johnny Cash, Les Paul, Chet Atkins
• international market for Heritage Guitars

Date of Interview

6-6-2012

Location of Interview

Kalamazoo (Mich.)

Series

Gibson Guitar Factory Oral Histories

Keywords

Gibson Inc., Heritage Guitars, Gibson guitar, Guitar makers, Guitar history, Factories, Personal narratives

Disciplines

Oral History | Other Music | Public History

Notes

Another interview with Marvin Lamb was conducted in 2005 by NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) as part of their Oral History Program: https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/marvin-lamb

Also, a 2015 recording posted on YouTube by MLive, "Watch Marvin Lamb of Heritage Guitar talk about Kalamazoo's guitar making tradition": https://youtu.be/4A29DbMml-A?si=ofand0pUmPYIvDcN

Language

ENG

Document Type

Interview

Recommended Citation

Lamb, Marvin, "Interview with Marvin Lamb" (2012). Kalamazoo Valley Museum - Gibson Guitar Factory Oral Histories. 10.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/gibson-guitar-oral-histories/10

Length of video

00:32:34

Length of video log

15 pages