Music Retail
Norman Goldberg studied music from an early age and became a band director early in his life. Seeing the needs of music educators, Norman opened his own store called Baton Music in 1948, in St. Louis, MO. A year later he began working with German composer Carl Orff (1895-1982) and Orff’s unique and...
Billy Shaw and his wife Donna opened Desert Piano in Palm Springs after working in a series of piano sales jobs, including one at Colton Piano where the couple met. Billy is well known in the industry as a creative salesman and the inventor of the Piano Bar, which was introduced in the 1980s. He...
Billy Shaw and his wife Donna opened Desert Piano in Palm Springs after working in a series of piano sales jobs, including one at Colton Piano where the couple met. Billy is well known in the industry as a creative salesman and the inventor of the Piano Bar, which was introduced in the 1980s. He...
Henry Adler helped define the percussion industry with his music publishing company, drum shop and method books. His amazing life in music began as a drummer during the big band era. His many gigs and one nighters gained the attention of a friend who encouraged Henry to open a drum studio and...
Dick Rumore has done it all in the music products industry. He has been a retailer for over 40 years, forming Paragon Music in Tampa, FL. He has been a wholesaler, inventor (he holds two patents for the saxophone), promoter and founder of the Rock School program to encourage young musicians. Dick...
Johnny Thompson had the distinction of being the very first music student of a young steel guitar player named Ernie ball. Back in the early 1950s, before he established a string company, Ernie was a well-known country player in and around the Los Angeles area and taught a few students for extra...
Warren Price’s father started a small Canadian music retail store when Warren was just 17 years old. Soon after Warren purchased his first drum kit and discovered he wanted to join his father in the music business. A few years later, with his father’s blessing, Warren started a drum shop and a...
Hugh Goldsmith was hired by the Mason-Risch Piano Company of Canada when he was still a teenager in 1937. Times were difficult during the depression era and into the war years when Hugh enlisted into the Canadian Air Force. After the war he returned to the industry and worked as a traveling sales...
Fred Theriault recalls the first time he set foot in Long & McQuade’s Music Store. He was still a teen and bought a snare drum from Jack McQuade; ironically Fred later was hired and has spent nearly 50 years with the company. Jack Long hired Fred in the store and soon put him in charge of the...
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 that he always allowed a budget for advertising. Over the years his newspaper and TV ads have not only helped...