Music Retail
Cecil Ramirez started in the music industry in retail, at the Music Box in Lodi, California. He created a keyboard studio feel within the store in1983, which was an exciting time of technological advances in electronic instrumentation. Cecil remembered the early days of MIDI and the synthesizer...
Steve Judge is the president of Griggs Music in Davenport, one of the oldest music retailers in the country. Formed in 1903, the company has gained a reputation for staying power, which Steve points out, is based on several elements, including their customers and the ability and willingness to...
Ron Lorenz has enjoyed a long career in the music business beginning in the early 1960s. Ron worked in retail, as a road rep, owned his own music retail store, and was the founder of Rapco, a leading cable company. Ron played professionally once out of school, which served him well when he opened...
Jeff Mozingo cannot recall a time when he did not have music in his life! His father was a band director who opened Mozingo Music in the St. Louis area. Growing up, Jeff's love and sincere passion for music developed first, in the area of playing, then teaching and band instrument repair. Today...
Carma Lou Beck was an active musician and teacher when she began working in music retail in Iowa in the 1960s. She opened her own store in Cedar Rapids in 1967, after working for a few other stores, including one owned and operated by the Wurlitzer Company. By the time Carma Lou's House of Music...
Don Mozingo was a teacher in a small schoolhouse for over 20 years and among the topics he taught was music. His love and passion for music can be traced to his parents and, as a child, Don began teaching himself to play every musical instrument. While teaching, he began repairing instruments for...
Jim Foster had worked for a few piano stores before opening his own store, with his wife Marilyn, in Bettendorf, Iowa. Foster Family Music focuses on piano and sheet music for pianos and has come to be known throughout the area as a center for musical events, recitals and a strong supporter of...
Marilyn Foster supported her husband's idea to open a music store in her home state of Iowa. From the beginning, she looked after all of the books and accounting for the store. She enjoyed the work and especially enjoyed getting to work with her husband and now, daughter Christi, on a regular...
Christi Foster-Nunnally grew up in her parent's Iowa piano store and recalls with fondness getting paid a nickel to dust each piano. She became a buyer for a local chain department store and traveled frquently to New York for a few years until she decided she missed the music business. Christi...
Bob Gand opened a music shop in Deerfield, IL in the early 1960s, which was an influence not only to the community but to his son Gary. Gary went on to open his own successful retail business. Bob fell in love with folk music in the 1960s and formed the Gand Family Singers, which included his...