Edward Garbett
Video
Oral History Information
Interview Date
Birth Date
Deceased Date
Job Title
Progressive Music, Founder
Company Name
Yamaha, Progressive Music
Edward Garbett was the founder of the Progressive Music store in McKeesport Pennsylvania in the years following World War II. He worked for Gretsch as Educational Director and a decade later was hired by Yamaha and oversaw the company’s growing school band programs throughout the 1960s and 70s. One of his first employees at Progressive Music was the instrument repairman William Schultz, who got his start in the industry thanks to Ed. When Mr. Schultz became the CEO of Fender Musical Instruments and moved the company from California to Arizona, Ed moved too. The two remained lifelong friends until Mr. Schultz passed in 2006.