Connie Smith is the Vice President of Ward-Brodt Music in Madison, Wisconsin. She grew up in music and enjoyed playing music as a young girl, going on to study music in college. While in...
Kenny Smith serves as the Managing Director of the Peavey Hollywood store on Sunset Boulevard. However, this is only part of what he does in the shop. Kenny is a born salesman and enjoys...
Dan Smith was inducted into Fender’s Hall of Fame for good reason. Dan designed the re-launching of the famous guitar company after it was sold by CBS. Dan’s vision was to bring the produ...
John W. Smith was playing orchestral guitar music when he thought it might be fun to begin playing the cello. He walked into his local string shop, Keller Strings in Kansas and …. met his...
Beth Smith was in her school’s band room when she overheard her director mention getting paid for a job involving music. She inquired and learned there was an opening at the local music s...
Johnny Smith! What can you say about meeting not only your personal hero but also a hero to thousands in our own industry! Johnny Smith was in person what he has been on recordings, warm,...
Craig Smith began piano lessons at the age seven and by the time he was twelve, was fascinated with the sounds of the home organ. He started demonstrating organs for Karnes Music at thirt...
Sue Smith met her future husband, Craig, when they were both teenagers, working part-time demonstrating Wurlitzer organs at Karnes Music in the Chicago area. Craig was the senior member ...
Phyllis Snedeker worked for Stanton's Sheet Music Service since the 1960s and was still at work several days a week in 2016 when she was interviewed for the NAMM Oral History program. Wh...
Scott Snyder appreciated the experience of participating in his school band program. He enjoyed the camaraderie amongst his bandmates and getting to know about various instruments. During...
Steve Soest played in several local rock bands and studied hard on the makes of electric guitars and amps, an expertise that came in handy around 1972 when he began repairing musical inst...
Sondra Blanchard comes to music through theatre. She has worked in regional theatre and internationally as an actor, coach, writer, and director. Over the past 10 years, she has specializ...
Ralph Sordyl believed in music! Having started a music repair business in his living room while teaching music, Ralph grew the company, Sordyl’s House of Music, to one of the best known i...
Joe Spann joined the Gruhn Guitars crew in Nashville, TN to assist in writing appraisals. Appraising musical instruments is an important part of the retail store's business, and has been ...
Harry Sparks is the founder of the Famous Old Time Music Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Harry grew up in the folk and bluegrass era of the 1960s and joined a band at a young age. Over the y...
Diane Sparks and her brother, Donnie, formed a successful singing group in the 1960s. Donnie & Diane performed and recorded a string of hits, most written by Donnie. Diane's husband, ...
Roger Sparks started teaching guitar lessons in the wake of the Beatles boom in 1964. Just four years later he and his wife, Diane, opened Sparks Music in Arkansas City, Kansas. In 1974, ...
Darren Speir often reflects back on the Texas music store his uncle and his father opened. His father was a piano technician and helped build the store's customer list based on his atten...
Denver Spence joined the music industry in 1968 after having been involved with his school marching bands and school band programs since he was in elementary school. He worked as a schoo...
Tim Spicer studied special education in college and has applied his passion of helping others and his love of music when he opened a music store in 2012. Spicer's Music focuses on offerin...
David St John began his career in music retail in 1967 and since that time he has devoted his career to bringing music and music lessons to the lives of his customers. David worked for a...
Jason Stanfield has always enjoyed finding new and funny sounds, which means he really enjoyed the synthesizer developments of the 1990s! He worked for Mississippi Music in Hattiesburg, M...
Phillip Stanger began playing drums at an early age and took lessons from the famed percussionist, Roy Knapp. Phil remembers with great joy the first time he walked into Frank’s Drum Shop...
Jane Stanton worked for the war effort during World War II, which was before she met Ken Stanton, who was a band director, wishing to open a music store. Jane played a vital role in the s...
Dee Starkey recalls the days when his father, Jim, had a well known dance band in Wichita and played at night while teaching music during the day. In 1954 he opened Jim Starkey Music wit...
John Stavish and his sister took over the music company their parents established in the early 1950s. John recalls the first milestone of the business was when it moved out of the family...
Marcia Stearns is a regular attendee at the annual RPMDA conventions and can often be found volunteering to introduce a speaker or tallying the session surveys. Her passion for the busin...
John Stebal owns the Stebal Drum shop outside of Cleveland, Ohio. The store was originally called Stebal Music when his father opened it. When John took over the store he decided to foc...
Colin Steel is the founder of Keyboard Corner and KC's Rock Shop, both located in Melbourne, Australia. Colin began his career in music retail at Brash's Music in 1968 during the great ho...
Tom Steuckert is a veteran of the music industry having served as store manager at Union Grove Music in Santa Cruz, a road rep and sales manager. His career began when he helped assemble...
Ellie Stevens has a smile that lights up the room. And when that room is the lobby of Ted Brown Music in Tacoma, people seem to feel right at home right when they walk in the door! As a k...
David Stewart remembers making a choice to go from playing music professionally to the technological side of touring and working as a sound engineer. He toured during the 1980s, working l...
