Interview with Jack French

Interviewee

Jack French

Files

Interviewers

Jay Gavan

Description

Interview with Jack French recorded on December 2, 2011 at Heritage Guitars in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Recorded by interviewer James 'Jay' Gaven for a Kalamazoo Valley Museum exhibit on Gibson Guitars. He started at Gibson in 1961 as a binder, right after high school. After four years he moved to the repair department. He recounts her memories of Gibson, including:

• running through workflow of the repair department
• doing repairs for famous people, like Johnny Cash and June Carter
• leaving for military service in 1966, and welcomed back to Gibson two years later
• the different companies that owned Gibson
• the time leading up to the close of the Kalamazoo plant
• driving to and from the Nashville plant to do the repairs
• doing repairs for Heritage Guitars

Date of Interview

12-2-2011

Location of Interview

Kalamazoo (Mich.)

Series

Gibson Guitar Factory Oral Histories

Keywords

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

Disciplines

Oral History | Other Music | Public History

Notes

Compromised audio/video quality - low resolution and feedback. Audio quality improves at 10:20 mark.

Language

ENG

Document Type

Interview

Recommended Citation

French, Jack, "Interview with Jack French" (2011). Kalamazoo Valley Museum - Gibson Guitar Factory Oral Histories. 13.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/gibson-guitar-oral-histories/13

Length of video

00:44:46

Length of video log

22 pages