Harry Benson became the president of William Lewis & Son when the company was under the ownership of Chicago Musical Instrument (CMI). Harry’s guiding principles resulted in the expan...
Arnold Berlin was a one-time president of Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI) and co-founder of Norlin Music Corp. He is also Mr. M.H. Berlin’s son, one of the true icons of the industry. A...
George Bishop had the idea of bringing the Canadian music industry together in 1971. With the help of some friends, the Musical Instrument Association of Canada (MIAC) was established not...
Bruce Bolen has had a long and colorful career in the music industry spanning nearly 50 years and with two of the best-known guitar makers in the world. Mr. M.H. Berlin, the president of ...
Dick Contino had a series of hit recordings and popular television appearances in the 1950s playing his trusty accordion. By the end of that decade, he was hired by M. H. Berlin at Chicag...
Roger Cox began his career at Ampeg in Linden, NJ. At Ampeg he served as Vice President of Operations responsible for Quality, Manufacturing, Service, and Research and Development.
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Doug Davies entered the music products industry in 1972 when he was hired by Turner Music in Canada. Turner was a subsidiary of Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI) and at the time, Doug was...
Norman Erickson was hired by the Lowrey Company in 1947. At that time, the company was still producing cement powder mixture. However, Lowrey’s owner had an interest in the electronic org...
Dee Hoyt played professionally since he was a teenager including in local clubs and played for the National Guard as well as for dances. His band, the Tornados, recorded and performed ro...
Robert Johnson served as a sales manager for Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI) when the company first acquired the noted violinmakers William Lewis & Son. As a salesman, he worked clo...
Walt Johnston was best known throughout the industry for his role in introducing the Pearl Drum Company to the United States. After a gig selling band instruments, Walt was hired by CMI t...
Alberto Kniepkamp engineered many of the electronic organs produced by the Lowrey Organ Company in the 1970s and 80s. Alberto took an active role in the development of the MX1 Lowrey Orga...
Susan Kniepkamp fondly recalls the job opportunity she eagerly pursued at Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI), perhaps mostly because it eventually led to meeting her future husband, Albert...
Ted Krumwiede was a veteran of the piano industry working for Kimball and Story & Clark in the important re-birth of the piano business following World War II. Ted had training and a ...
Pete LaPlaca is a well respected industry leader who has added his great musical passion to the creation, development and marketing of musical products going back to the 1960s. Pete was a...
David Leed was born in the United Kingdom where he was hired by Boosey & Hawkes, which sent him to South Africa. While there, David became the General Manager for the Hammond Organ Co...
Bob Lynch is a pioneering independent representative in the era when many manufacturers were slowly phasing out the inside rep. Bob began playing trumpet at an early age and even provide...
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 ...
Lloyd Meyer was the president of Renner US, the world-renowned provider of piano keyboard actions. His long and productive career began with retail experience in Minnesota at the large Da...
Mudge Miller was a veteran of the Chicago Musical Instrument Company and had expressed great satisfaction in working under Mr. M.H. Berlin, the president of CMI for many years. Mr. Berlin...
Jerry Muenchow a veteran of the music industry worked in music retail for five years before joining the famed Chicago Musical Instrument Company (CMI) as a field sales representative in M...
Michael Nugent was the former president of Norlin Corporation. He joined the company when it was still Chicago Musical Instrument Corporation (CMI). M.H. Berlin, CMI’s founder, had purcha...
Tom Pooton was not yet a teenager when he began taking guitar lessons. A year later, with the support of his mother, Tom attended a Gibson clinic where he connected with some of the emplo...
Art Van Damme became one of the biggest stars of the 1950s with a 15-minute radio and TV program, a noted role in the NBC orchestra, and many miscellaneous recordings, all-centering on hi...
Giuseppe Vecchietti, known throughout his career as Beppe, primarily worked for three companies over his long career. All three were located in the same Italian Marche region by the Adria...
Lane Zastrow was playing professionally and even teaching music as a teenager. His main instrument was the accordion! After years on the road, Lane made his way into the print world. I...
