Rick Thompson worked in a metal stamping company before learning of the opening at Ken-tron Mfg., Inc. in Owensboro, Kentucky. The company has two divisions, the metal stamping side and t...
Wayne Thompson has always felt lucky that he had a musical mentor in high school and attributes that leadership and inspiration for his long career in the music industry. Dee Wiggins was ...
Kris Tokarski is a skilled jazz pianist who has helped prolong the legacies of several early musical pioneers by not only playing their compositions, but by embracing their techniques and...
Ryoichi Totsuka began his notable career in the music industry right after college as a salesman for Kawai Pianos in Japan. The experience inspired Ryoichi-san as he sought other opportun...
Leanne Trevalyan was just twelve years old when she taught herself how to play the guitar using the Mel Bay method book on a no-name instrument her mother picked up at Montgomery Wards. L...
James Tsaptsinos recalls the Muppet themed drum kit his uncle purchased for him when he was just five years old. He was surrounded by music during his childhood and in high school formed ...
Chris Tso is a perfect example of the benefits the music products industry receives when a musician enters it's world. Chris grew up blocks away from the Apollo Theater and the Cotton Clu...
Sylvia Tyson wrote songs that a generation sang, and she also recorded songs by other songwriters which helped define the Folk Music revival of the 1960s. In 1962 she wrote “You Were On M...
Māhealani Uchiyama felt a passion for music and dance from a very young age and could see the importance of expressing yourself through the forms and how it often touches a part of your s...
Donna Ulisse has fond memories of her grandmother teaching her to sing at a young age. And that is all Donna wanted to do! As her career developed, she was encouraged by many in the music...
Mike Vaccaro is a true piano salesman veteran! Having worked in the piano business for over 40 years, selling for several retail stores and running his own dealership for over 20 years, M...
Waddy Wachtel is the noted studio musician and songwriter who can be heard on hit records with the likes of Linda Ronstadt, Keith Richards, Jackson Browne and James Taylor, among others. ...
Ryan West shared many of his memories of traveling abroad with his father, Steve, to understand and appreciate how the business great and diversified including their early distribution of...
Larry Wexer was the first member of his family to be born in America and was always encouraged to learn music by his grandparents. After growing up during the folk movement in New York, h...
Dorsey Wheeler attributes some of the success of his music store to the training and ongoing support he has received from companies such as Peavey Electronics and Cannonball Musical Instr...
Kelly Wheeler and her husband Dorsey run a music retail business in Idaho with several locations. Dorsey Music was established in 1969 and just three years later Kelly walked through the ...
Chris White is the president of White House of Music, with multiple locations in Wisconsin. The full line store has a very strong band and orchestra element as they call on many local sc...
Barbara Wight smiled when she recalled being crowned the accordion princess of the Western States as a child. While she later had a long career as an executive in the agricultural industr...
Gordy Wilcher believes that with the right mixture of passion and knowledge, the independent music retailer has the strength to bring music to young students, build new brands within thei...
Mark Wills grew up in Blueridge, Georgia, with a passion for music. His local music store was Ken Stanton Music, where he often went for accessories for the Gibson archtop he was given as...
Jim Wilson incorporates his experiences as a gigging musician (he formed a duo in college and later played a Fender P-Bass in several rock bands) into the work he does as a piano technici...
Johnnie Wilson has been involved with music in his church his entire life. He has performed at weddings and church services for many years. So, it seemed like a natural progression to ope...
Robert Yates is known as Uncle Uke for a very good reason - he plays, builds, and sells ukuleles. Robert opened his own store, HUG Ukulele, on the big island of Hawaii with his wife Patri...
Fred Zeagler was always in band growing up and aspired to be the greatest Band Director of all time. He comes from a very musical family and grew up with his brother Grayson in the music ...
Armin Zertor was born in Germany and moved to the United States at a young age with his family. While living in Chicago in 1975, Armin landed his first job working for a trade show in the...
