California
Kurt Listug and his friend Bob Taylor bought the small guitar shop they were working in and renamed it Taylor Guitars. Together they built one of the fastest growing companies in the music industry in the latter part of the 20th Century and worked to create innovative products that would bring...
A. A. (Sid) La Grandeur was trained in band instrument repair in Elkhart, Indiana before returning to Santa Barbara, California where he opened his own shop. The repair shop soon became a retail store and La Grandeur Music was born. Sid hired a young man to train on repair, who later became a key...
CK Gottschalk is the president of the music store in Michigan that his parents established in 1936, the same year they married. They expanded their business just before CK was born and later moved the business to central California. CK studied music and taught math while his mother ran the store...
Nick Rail is the president and founder of the retail string of stores in Southern California with his namesake that began in 1986. Nick began his career as a band instrument repairman for La Grandeur Music in 1974. After becoming active in the repair side of the business, Nick decided to open his...
John McCrea was born and raised in Billings, Montana, where he first discovered his passion for music. He played the clarinet and was inspired by his band director to teach music in public schools, which John did for 35 years. By the time he retired from teaching, he and his family were living in...
Edward Marsh, like many jazz pianists, was greatly influenced by the raw power and brilliant ideas of Art Tatum and other musical innovators. Ed took hold of jazz and blended it with his classical training to create his own unique style. After school he began working in piano sales with music...
Fred Walecki grew up in a musical family. His father was an expert on the violin who established a rare instrument dealership in Southern California back in 1946. Fred worked with his father until his passing in 1967, at which point Fred continued in the business. Fred’s focus in the industry was...
Ruth Charles and her husband Dick opened a music store in Glendale, California, called Charles Music. They enjoyed a long life together as music makers and teachers and retailers of musical products. The couple pioneered many products in the southern California area including those of Yamaha and...
Robert Tall is among the most successful and popular organ salesmen in the music industry –historically and presently. He earned his masters and doctorate in music performance and began working in the music industry as salesman for a Southern California retailer in the late 1960s. Over his career,...
John W. Ward began working in the music industry as a piano salesman in the late 1950s, before working for the Sherman Clay store chain in 1961. After earning a position as one of the company’s top salesman, John was asked to help sell home organs, which were just coming into popularity. Years...