Music Retail
Bill Harvey was between band director jobs in the summer of 1974 when he took a road sales position with Buddy Roger's Music in Cincinnati, Ohio. He felt the sales job would allow him to travel to area schools and line up his next director position for the fall. While on the road, Bill discovered...
Greg Way has had a long and successful career in the Canadian music retail industry and has been a strong advocate for music and music making throughout his career. As an owner of St. John’s Music, Greg developed many programs for his customers and played a key role in the company’s store...
Tom Baker began his career in the industry at Menchey Music outside of York, Pennsylvania, where he developed and managed the sheet music department. After 30 years, Tom is right where he started, with one exception. Today he is one of the most recognized and respected sheet music retailers in the...
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 throughout the music publishing industry for his love of the music and for always having a story to tell. Harold bought...
Robert Rockley took over the music store that his parents had started in Denver, Colorado. Bob, along with his wife Nina, expanded the products they carried while he focused on growing the guitar department. The store remains in the building that his father built and even as a kid Bob contributed...
Marie Jensen was born in Rosebud, Texas as the daughter of a Texas Ranger. She graduated college in Houston with a business degree before meeting Al Jensen on a blind date. The two were married in 1954 and had their only child, a daughter, in 1959. While raising her family, she helped Al in the...
Phil McKinney and his family have a long history in musical retailing in northern Oklahoma. Louie Chenoweth and Russell Green opened their first music store, Chenoweth & Green Music, in Enid, OK in 1926. Not only did they remain in business with each other for over 50 years, they were also...
Al Jensen began his musical career at the age of 13 playing clarinet in a Vaudeville show. That is, he played until his parents found out where he was playing. His band director convinced Al’s parents that if he switched to an oboe, he would never play such music again. As an oboist, Al received a...
David Teeple’s first job in the music industry was working for the large Grinnell Brothers chain in the 1960s, based in Michigan. When he was asked to teach guitar, he had to first learn himself! The experience provided him with the passion for music retail. His store in Port Huron, MI, helped to...
Don Wilson always enjoyed being around music, as a player, teacher, retailer, and as an award-winning baton twirler. He opened his music store in 1956 with the dream of running his business, raising his family, and staying close to the music he loved. In 2006, he reflected that his dreams did come...