Pianos
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...
Morley Thompson’s financial background was a key element in the expansion of the Baldwin Piano Company during the 1980s. Morley created a credit company and finance programs under the Baldwin name to branch off from the company’s core technology and invest on a larger scale. The changes came in the...
Mickey Jent opened a small music store in Lubbock, Texas after World War II with her husband, Ray, after his return from military service. The store became a hub for local musicians including Buddy Holly. Strong supporters of the industry, the Jent's participated in Scull Groups, the early days of...
Charles Hale had an idea to hire a monkey to show how an easy-play organ could be operated by anyone. The hysterically funny ads were one of a million clever ideas Hale used in selling keyboard instruments. As the founder of Hale’s Piano and Organ Company in Florida, he established himself as a...
Bitsie Werlein was the last president of the famed Werlein’s For Music in New Orleans. When its doors closed in 2003 it was the nation’s oldest operating music retailer. The company was established in 1862 during the Civil War when the Union Navy blockaded New Orleans harbor. During her years as...
Parham Werlein followed in the footsteps of his father, grandfather and great-grandfather as president of Werlein’s For Music in New Orleans, Louisiana. Like his predecessors, Parham also served on the NAMM Board and was a great supporter of the American Music Conference (AMC). Parham’s interview...
French Forbes II is the grandson of the founder of the Forbes Piano and Organ Company. E. E. Forbes (Ernest Erastus) formed the company in 1889 by selling pianos from the back of his horse-drawn carriage. His son oversaw the Birmingham, Alabama, based company during the Great Depression and French...
Henry Wickham knew the secret of a good sounding piano, the cast iron plates. For decades Henry was the president of the Wickham Piano Company in Ohio, where many of the plates for Steinway and other companies were created. It was Henry Z. Steinway who strongly suggested to the NAMM staff that Mr....
Lloyd Meyer was the president of Renner US, the world-renowned provider of piano keyboard actions. His long and productive career began with retail experience in Minnesota at the large Dayton Company. When the Dayton chain began carrying organs and pianos, Lloyd took a great interest in the...
Jeannie Cheatham played roots music before anyone was calling it that. She grew up on church music, and progressed to the blues in a time and place where black women were encouraged to express their emotions through music. Jeannie was there when rhythm and blues became popular and played her own...