Organs
David Leed was born in 1937 in the United Kingdom and spent the war years and most of his childhood in Australia. His love of music started when he was a young boy learning to play the cornet in his local Salvation Army. After returning to London and finishing school David played the cornet in...
Jimmy Gibbs opened the very first crate containing a Hammond B-3 in the United Kingdom in the 1950s. Several years later, at the height of the Cold War, Jimmy brought the famous organ to Moscow, the first person to do so in history. He found that “music can speak every language and that no one ever...
Eric Schwartz is the Chairman of Sherman Clay, the historic chain of piano stores. The stores are located in the northern half of California and have played a big role in the growth of the piano market in the region. Eric joined the company in the footsteps of his father, working in all positions...
Gerald “Wig” Wiggins was a world renowned composer, arranger and jazz keyboardist. As an early pioneer in playing jazz on the Hammond B-3 organ, Wig had a strong interest in new and inventive sounds. His creatively can be heard in hundreds of recordings and motion pictures beginning in the 1930s....
Roy Fawcett was very successful when it came to thinking outside of the box. Unlike most retailers, Roy has not advertised his products and services in the yellow pages or in the newspaper. In fact, Roy didn't even have a sign outside of his store. Roy built his entire business on the...
Bruce Mitchell is a veteran of the Canadian piano and organ industry dating back to 1966 when he was hired as the Hammond Organ sales rep for Canada. Bruce has since been deeply involved with Kurzweil Music and Young Chang as well as the Musical Instrument Association of Canada (MIAC). During his...
Glenn Derringer is one of the icons of the music products industry. As a small child, Glenn gained national fame as a whiz on the piano and organ. In fact, Elvis Presley opened for Glenn when the soon-to-be crowned King of Rock made his TV debut on the Dorsey Brothers Stage Show in 1955. With great...
Russell Lindquist joined his uncle’s piano store in Iowa in his early 20s, and soon discovered his love of the business. He especially loved selling. Russell opened a Hammond Organ dealership in Houston, Texas, during the boom of the B-3 and the home organ era. Over the years he created several...
Michael Nugent was the former president of Norlin Corporation. He joined the company when it was still Chicago Musical Instrument Corporation (CMI). M.H. Berlin, CMI’s founder, had purchased a few instrument lines to expand the company’s keyboard products department. Mr. Berlin’s son, Arnie, hired...
Peter Heid enjoyed his career playing with many of the dance bands of the 1930s and 1940s in his hometown of Appleton, Wisconsin. After the war, he used his love of music to open a small store, Heid Music, in the heart of downtown Appleton. The store continued to grow over the years as Peter found...