Music Retail
Bob Popyk knows enough about the music industry to write about it! Bob had several music retail stores before selling them in 1979 to form a sales and marketing strategies business. Since that time he has been active writing columns for Music Trades magazine and providing sessions at several NAMM...
David Cooper recalled, with a warm smile, when his father took him to his first NAMM Show. The Cooper Piano and Organ Store in Georgia began in 1905; therefore, David did not just grow up in the business--his life was always involved in music. The store enjoyed great success over the years due to...
Curtis Pearson served proudly during World War II and, upon returning to the United States, was told of a sales job at the Poole Music Company. After several successful years and getting the bug to sell, Curtis formed the first of seven music stores in North Carolina called Pearson's Music. The...
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 Music to Millions” as a sales representative in 1955. He traveled to music retail stores to fulfill their products...
Charles Gorby was a true visionary for the music products industry and the founder of Gorby Music in West Virginia. As a lone store retailer, Charlie was a regular attendee at the NAMM shows beginning in the 1940s when the industry was trying to get back in swing after World War II. He spoke at a...
Jerry Gorby followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming a passionate advocate for music and music making. Jerry worked in the family music store, Gorby Music, in West Virginia, later becoming president of the store. Along the way, he was noted for his keen interest in preserving history and...
William Metcalfe’s father began working for A. P. (Pops) Schuttler in a little music store in Evansville, Indiana, back in 1930. When his father bought the store in a ten-year deal beginning in 1949, the store sold string instruments and accessories until his father brought in records. After...
Billy Everitt grew up in the music industry beginning with weekend jobs at his father’s retail business in Dallas. Billy attended his first TMEA (Texas Music Educators Association) annual meeting in 1969 and ever one since. He became president of Brook Mays, the music retail chain formed in 1901....
Gerson Rosenbloom grew up in the music industry! His father, Harry, formed Medley Music for which Gerson would later become president. Gerson took pride in being a member of the industry and was involved with many organizations including AMC. He also served on the NAMM Board for over a decade,...
Jimmie D. Webb operated a small music shop in Antioch, California, which was also the headquarters for his amplifier business. The Webb Amps were widely used by electric blues and rock bands, mostly in San Francisco beginning in the early 1970s. Although he never developed a production line or...