Oral History - all
Ned Steinberger is known around the world for his innovative instrument designs. His guitars and basses created without the traditional headstock gained wide popularity in the 1980s rock era and have come to be known simply as Steinbergers. When he formed NS Designs in 1990, Ned focused on electric... more
Anna Sipavich was a real life Rosie the Riveter with ties to the music products industry. She was a factory worker at the Wurlitzer Company in DeKalb, IL, when the Second World War broke out. As talk of lay-offs floated around the company in the early days of the war, a government job soon allowed... more
Lowell Simpson spent his entire life in music. As a child he played music as well as sang and in fact, continued to sing over the decades even after working as a sales manager for several industry manufacturers. From 1965 until 1978 he served as a sales rep for the Wurlitzer Company. He traveled to... more
Lieselotte Sievers is the granddaughter of Mr. Breitkopf of the famous Breitkopf & Hartel music publishing company in Wiesbaden, Germany. The historic publisher is known around the world for composers such as Bach, yet Mrs. Sievers is equally proud of the contemporary composers the company has... more
Birth Date: August 20, 1942
Deceased Date: May 16, 2018
Fredy Shen worked closely with Remo Belli becoming a Vice President in the Remo Corporation. Mr. Shen oversaw the expansion of the company’s manufacturing overseas. The relationships that he helped develop were vital in the company’s global marketing growth for over 30 years. In addition, Mr. Shen... more
Birth Date: June 28, 1927
Deceased Date: June 14, 2016
Hugo Schreiber along with his brother and father formed the W. Schreiber Music Company in Germany in 1946. In very difficult post war years, Hugo oversaw the expansion of the market and guided the company’s import and export business. He served as president of the company when it was taken over by... more
Birth Date: October 10, 1939
Deceased Date: September 9, 2019
Joachim Schneider proudly continues in the family tradition of hand crafted instrument making. His great grandfather was a violin builder as was his grandfather. His grandfather and father also became guitar luthiers. Joachim was taught by his grandfather and specialized in building professional... more
Rudy Schlacher has become of the great businessmen of the music products industry, which is incredible considering his humble beginnings. With an idea of detail, customer service and the budget, Rudy took his small music retail store called the Sound Post in Chicago and expanded the business. He... more
Birth Date: September 12, 1929
Deceased Date: December 8, 2014
Vern Schafer joined the family business of moving pianos as a teenager, but had the dream of running his own piano store. While still running the Schafer Piano Movers Company, Vern set out to learn all he could about the ins and outs of the piano retail business. Soon after opening Colton Pianos,... more
Birth Date: March 7, 1943
Deceased Date: March 3, 2020
John Santuccio was a noted orchestra manager, and also spent time as President of the music publishing company, G. Schirmer. John’s deep passion for classical music was a key factor in his success with the New York Philharmonic as well as the Rochester Symphony. His long association with the... more
Jim Rupp has had a passion for drumming as far back as he can remember. As a percussionist for several traveling groups in the 1970s such as those led by Maynard Ferguson and Woody Herman, Jim recognized the need for a pro drum shop in which the musician customers are addressed on their level. He... more
Dave Rossum and Scott Wedge attended college together and soon developed a few clever ways of combining their engineering training with their passion for music. They began creating sound controllers for the boom of synthesizers hitting the market in the 1970s. While supplying a growing number of... more
Birth Date: May 31, 1940
Deceased Date: March 10, 2018
Bud Ross made his first amplifier for his own band in 1958 to save a little money. Within 5 years he had established Kustom Amps, a leader in product design and innovations. The powerful speakers within the amps were as much a selling point to rock and rollers as the tuck and roll design of the... more
Liane Rockley gained a degree in flute performance in New York before moving to Denver, where she taught music at a local music store. The storeowner, Bob Rockley, who would become her father-in-law, suggested that she work in the band department of the store to better understand the music business... more
Birth Date: February 12, 1926
Deceased Date: August 29, 2003
Jimmy Rivers was known in the world of Western Swing as an innovative guitarist who played a double neck and brought to life a hard driving style known as the Brisbane Bop. Jimmy was a cowboy-type, playing hard and working even harder at his craft as a performer. He was easy-going and low-key,... more
Birth Date: October 5, 1936
Deceased Date: February 28, 2015
Layton V. Rawlins was the founder of Rawlins Piano Company in Southern California and a veteran of the piano industry. Layton witnessed many of the biggest changes within the piano business over his 50 plus year career. He was always proud of the strong friendships within the industry that he... more
Birth Date: May 15, 1939
Deceased Date: March 1, 2020
Peter Pulham had a distinct place in the history of the music products industry, in part because he helped preserve it! As publisher and editor of United Kingdom based Music Business magazine (together with Sandie Smith) in the 1980s and 1990s, Peter reported on the news of the day in the pages of... more
Allen Prather, known throughout the industry as Lowell, became a well-respected sales rep for the Kaman Corporation. He stayed with the company for over thirty years and helped move the company into markets such as Arizona. Lowell has developed friendships among his dealers over his long career,... more
Birth Date: September 11, 1924
Deceased Date: June 20, 2015
Gordon Pfund spent his life in the music industry that he loved. At an early age he began working for Werlein For Music in Louisiana and became enamored with the piano and organ market. He was an honorable salesman who put family and music education as key priorities in the way he addressed his... more
Vicki Pedrini grew up in the family’s music retail store in Southern California. She worked in the store on weekends and summer vacations as well as the holiday season, which brought fun times when the family all worked together. The store had a strong band and orchestra department, as it was... more