Dee Hoyt

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 rock and roll in the early 1960s.  While playing at night, Dee got a job at Hayes Music as a salesman by day.  He found that he really enjoyed selling.  He sold to school band directors and later took on piano lines.  Dee contributed greatly to the Gibson line when he worked for the Chicago Musical Instrument Company.  When the NAMM Oral History program was underway, it was clear what Dee meant to others within the industry when over a dozen friends and coworkers recommended he be interviewed.  Dee passed away at the age of 71 in 2015.