Arnold Davidson

Arnold Davidson was born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa where he began playing in area bands.  He was given the opportunity to distribute the strings he special ordered from England and found himself in the music products business.  He later opened his own wholesale firm, based largely on accessories, which he ran for over 20 years.  One of the brands he carried was D'Addario Strings and over the years Arnold developed a strong relationship with, not only the company, but the family.  When Arnold and his family decided that they wanted to leave South Africa, he approached John and Jim D'Addario.  At this time they were contemplating the possible opening of a distribution company in Canada and Arnold seemed a good fit to run the operation.  Arnold’s passion for music and musical products has been an inspiration to many and it was an honor to interview him for the NAMM Oral History program.