Scott Ray passion for music was sparked at an early age, when his mother gifted him his first guitar. When his father took him to buy a Gibson electric guitar and amp from David Platt Mus...
Owen Ray recalls his father buying him a ukulele when he was a kid and his passion for string instruments began! Owen played a vital role in the Australian guitar market when he started r...
Brian Reardon, owner of Monster Music in Levittown, New York, got his start manufacturing record racks to house albums and songbooks in record stores. One of his customers was Monster Mus...
Frank Reda began his career in the insurance business, where he honed his skills in customer service and sales—skills that would later prove invaluable in the music industry. In the 1970s...
Chelsie Reed is the Marketing Coordinator for the store her parents, Cindy and Rand Cook, own and operate. Candyman Strings & Things was formed in 1969 by Matthew Schwartzman and late...
Elmer Reeder and his brother purchased a sawmill outside of Lansing, Michigan, right after World War II. It was during that time that Elmer became an expert in wood, an important part of...
James Reeder is the piano technician who formed James Reeder Piano in Lansing, Michigan, as both a repair and retail business. With a strong background in the restoration of pianos, Jim ...
Wayne Reinhardt began his musical retail career in 1971, with the same company he was working for at the time of his 2013 interview, Schmitt Music in Minnesota. Wayne is proud of the opp...
Mike Reininger has always had an unwavering love for drums. Growing up surrounded by music, he often sang with his brother and developed a keen sense of rhythm through tap dancing. In fif...
Richard Rejino has spent much of his career in print music. Along with Charles Ashley, he owned and operated the print music department within Brook Mays Music stores in and around the D...
Michael Remenyi has been the proud third generation of the company his grandfather founded in Hungary in 1890 to build and repair violins and other string instruments. After World War II...
Mike Remenyi represents the fourth generation of family members running the Remenyi House of Music located in Toronto, Canada. It was his great-grandfather Mihály who opened a small viol...
William Reynolds made his career designing signs and even a few monuments in and around Bismarck, North Dakota. In 1977 he was hired by Bill and Mary Ann Eckroth to design their now famo...
Bret Rhoades began his career in the music industry by working for Ken Stanton Music in Georgia. Bret learned band instrument repairs while attending college, and after a short time as a...
Maury Rhodes enjoyed a long career in the music industry with a focus on the music publishing side of the business. He oversaw the Chicago operation of the Carl Fischer Company before bei...
Al Rich, the former president of Pearl River Pianos in the United States seems to have pianos in his blood. He grew up in DeKalb, IL, the home of the mighty Wurlitzer Corporation. Al’s fa...
Phil Rich remembers sitting on the couch with his mother, who was a nurse during the day and a songwriter in her spare time, as she wrote songs. His band directed the music at their chur...
John Richardson has fond memories of walking into Don Wilson Music in Kentucky and purchasing his first tenor saxophone. Mr. Wilson sold the instrument for less than it was worth in the h...
Bill Richardson played drums and his brother played guitar growing up in Canton, Mississippi. His drum kit came together very slowly, first a Ludwig part, then something from Slingerland ...
Tristann Rieck’s first instrument was the song flute, which was an introduction to the band program in grade school, which she joined the very next year. She later took up the alto horn ...
Allen Riley served as the district sales manager for the Baldwin Piano Company. Allen learned guitar as a child and continues to play music. He became a Minister for several years befor...
Al Rinaldi was the first person ever to receive the Steinway Lifetime Achievement Award, which was given to him in 2012. Al never worked for the piano manufacturer nor did he work for an...
Kevin Rindlisbacher is a passionate music maker who has enjoyed his role in music retail providing musical instruments to bring music into the lives of others. He was a kid when his fath...
Art Risavy Jr. studied business in college and initially worked in a bank before returning to the family business, Swing City Music, which his father had founded just a few years before A...
Art Risavy Sr. has always been deeply fascinated with music. In 1964, he had the visionary idea of converting an old, abandoned bowling alley into a thriving music store in southern Illin...
Jimmy Risdal found himself in Grass Valley, California, where he crossed paths with Mary Ellen Sorci, the owner of Foggy Mountain Music. With a background in construction, Jimmy quickly n...
Bob Riskin started working for McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica just a few years after it opened in 1958. Before long the shop was abuzz with the folk music boom and later played an ...
Dave Rivard has thoroughly enjoyed his role at Roland Corporation as a sales rep. He has grown the role over the years and covered nearly every state, making connections, introducing new ...
Glenn Roberts is the president of Best Music in Oakland, California, which was first established in 1934. The store was established by Art Best during the Great Depression and soon became...
Robbie Robertson was a member of the rock group The Band, which backed Bob Dylan and went on to record a string of hit songs, many of which Robbie wrote. During his NAMM Oral History inte...
Tommy Robertson was born in Austin, Texas, a feat he calls “as rare as a unicorn these days.” Tommy played drums throughout his teen years before he decided to open his first drum shop. T...
