O'Lyn Callahan

Oral History Information

Interview Date
Job Title
Co-Founder
Company Name
O'Lyn Callahan's Piano & Organ Center
Tags
Women in the Music Industry, Virtual Interview, NAMM Board of Directors-Interviewed, Dennis Houlihan, Yamaha Corporation of America, Home Organ Boom, Music Retail, Florida, Technics Audio, Hector Olivera, Roland Corporation, Organs

O’Lyn Callahan has played the piano since she was eight years old and started on organ at age twelve after receiving a Hammond B3 from her father. She came in third place at a Yamaha organ competition in 1973 (which took place at a NAMM Show) which resulted in her getting a job as a touring organ artist for Yamaha. After her long career playing organ, O’Lyn and her husband opened O’Lyn Callahan’s Piano & Organ Center in Sarasota, Florida. After a fifteen-year run with her own store and experience serving on the NAMM Board of Directors, O’Lyn started working as a touring artist for Technics and then later Roland. Looking back on her remarkable career, O’Lyn is extremely proud to have been a part of the organ business during its height in the music industry.