Russell Lindquist joined his uncle’s piano store in Iowa in his early 20s, and soon discovered his love of the business. He especially loved selling. Russell opened a Hammond Organ dealer...
Kimberly Lewis grew up in the industry, first with her father’s ShoBud retail store in Nashville and later with his cable and accessories business known the world over as George L’s. Kimb...
Jim Leonard was first and foremost a band director. It was the job he always dreamed of as a child and the job for which he gained the love and respect from tens of thousands of students....
Jean Larrivee fell in love with the guitar as a young boy growing up in Canada during the folk craze of the 1960s. He imagined a unique sound for an acoustic guitar and set out to create ...
Dick Knaub served as president of the Rico Reed Corp. during the 1970s. He oversaw the reed manufacturer’s expansion into magazine advertisements and the company’s return to industry even...
Jim Kidder had already worked in music retail for several years when he was given the chance to take over the band instrument division and form his own business. Since then, Kidder Music ...
Ziggy Kanstul knew more about brass instruments than most people. As an important part of the manufacturing end of the FE Olds Company, Ziggy became an expert on model designs, the specif...
Nancy Higgins and her husband opened a small music shop in 1965. It was a very good year to start. The Beatles had invaded the United States and nearly every child you met wanted to play ...
Bill Higgins enjoyed the country and hillbilly music he heard growing up. He surrounded himself with music his entire life. In 1965, Bill and his wife Nancy, opened Bill Higgins Music jus...
Carl Henderson opened his first piano store in Covington, KY in 1963, after nearly 20 years in the finance business. In the early days he struggled to increase his inventory but ensured t...
Bob Hale had a long and successful career as an engineer and was able to devote his retirement time to his passion for music as a docent at the NAMM Foundation’s Museum of Making Music in...
Harold Gore was a proud “march nut” as he often proclaimed. A former band director with a passion for the music of John Phillip Sousa and of other composers, Harold was well known through...
Pete Gamber, the president of Alta Loma Music in Southern California, has been one of the leaders in educating music retailers to provide successful and profitable lesson programs in thei...
Don Freeman’s father established the Freeman Decorating Company in 1927. By the 1960s, when Don became president, there were several other service companies under the title of Freeman, so...
Richard Floyd, whose school bands have performed all over the country including at the Midwest Band Clinic, is among the best known Texas bandmasters. He has developed programs and materi...
Robert Fletcher served as the chairman of the NAMM Board of Directors the first time the position title was changed from president to chairman. As an industry leader Bob developed the Fle...
Phyllis Fender was married to Leo Fender, the great pioneer of the solid body electric guitar. After reading several publications on his life’s work, it was a refreshing treat to hear abo...
Joan Ellman and her husband, Gil, established Ellman’s Music Center in 1958. Five years later the store moved to Naperville, Illinois, where it is located today. Joan kept the books and i...
Gil Ellman grew up in the big band era, loving the sounds of large orchestras. He was motivated to create as many opportunities for students to make music as possible. He studied band ins...
Sidney Davis took over the Musical Merchandise Review (MMR) trade magazine in the 1980s. Originally the magazine began reporting on the industry in the 1880s and became an important resou...
Ed Cranley was surrounded by his devoted family when he was interviewed in July 2005. He spoke with pride of his role in expanding the Willis Music Company and the fact that his son now r...
Hayden Connor is very proud of his family’s long association with the Carl Fischer music publishing company in New York. His father and late brother were among the strong company leaders...
Jack Coffey is the founder of Coffey Music in Massachusetts. Coffey Music was a one-store operation that later grew to a chain of retail stores noted for their music lessons and attention...
Brian Chung grew up surrounded by music and played piano at an early age. He earned an MBA and worked at ATT before returning to music. Brian wrote film scores using MIDI in the early 198...
John Cavanaugh and his father bought the Super-Sensitive Musical String Company in 1967 and worked long and hard to bring the products into new and international markets. John created the...
Ellen Cavanaugh brought her innovative business ideas and skillful communication and marketing concepts to expand the historic brands that make up the Super-Sensitive Musical String Compa...
Curt Carter was in the right place at the right time. As a piano dealer, he watched the boom of the home market explode during the late 1960s and 70s. He pooled his resources, teamed with...
Richard Carlson spoke in a soft and sincere tone when he described the family feeling working at Wurlitzer in DeKalb, Illinois. Dick joined the company that proclaimed “Wurlitzer Means Mu...
Sal Cardello has had a colorful career in music. As a musician he has played in dance bands, orchestras, and for years, in the Theater in the Round pit band. At the theater, he supplied m...
James Burton is a legendary guitarist in the world of rock music! In the early days of his career, James played influential licks on such 50’s hits as “Hello Mary Lou” with Ricky Nelson. ...
