Oral History - all
Jody Whyte recalls fondly sitting in the family store as a child watching her grandfather repair pianos and then he would make banana pancakes for her. Those memories took on extra meaning after his passing and when her mother, Wendy Hutchings, asked if Jody would join her in the business and apply... more
Wendy Hutchings, along with her sister, Amanda, and daughter, Jody Whyte, are the owners of Hutchings Piano. The store was established by her father back in 1955 when he started selling pianos to his students. He took Wendy along to visit factories in China in the early 1970s, where he made... more
Glenn Dodson played bass for a band he started with his schoolmates called Purple Haze. The band was high class, right down to their purple shirts! It was a fun experience that provided an entry into the music industry when Glenn took a “real job” at CBS Musical Instruments to supplement his... more
Norm Lurie played the guitar as a teenager and was a big fan of Bob Dylan. After working in the book publishing business in Melbourne for eight years, Norm was given the opportunity to work at Music Sales. The company was stationed in England and run by Bob Wise, who hired Norm as the Managing... more
John Egan was working for Ford Motor Company when his old friend and former colleague, Peter Hayward called him. Peter had formed a music wholesale company, which was expanding by the late 1970s and John joined the company as it brought on several key product lines including Ernie Ball Strings,... more
David O'Loughlin joined his mother in the wholesale company his father had formed to import Fender guitars into Australia. He grew up in the business and recalls with a smile his college years when he and his sister would put together guitar packs in the family's car park. He also recalls attending... more
Margaret O'Loughlin was inducted into the Australian Music Association's Honor Roll in 2017 for her dedication to the music industry. After her husband, Peter, had taken ill and passed away in 1982, Margaret attended the NAMM Show to inform the head of Fender that she could take over her husband’s... more
Sandra Lindsay is the Managing Director of Muso's Corner, a music store located in Newcastle, New South Whales, Australia. She purchased a small piano store and repair shop in 1967 and later renamed it Muso's Corner and expanded to a larger location in 1994. With a focus on lessons and music... more
John Masson was front pumping organs during the great home organ boom of the 1970s. He opened Masson Organ Villa in 1975 demonstrating Baldwin Pianos and Kawai keyboards and organs. He later expanded into a shopping mall before renaming the store Masson Music. Along the way, John has been very... more
Mark Morris and his brother formed Morris Music in Brisbane, Australia in 2001. The tradition of his family's involvement in the music industry goes back to 1967 when his father, John Morris, formed Academy Music. John also was a strong music advocate who created the Queensland School Band Festival... more
Mike Tyler has been involved with music his entire life, and at the age of five he was playing clarinet. He was a rock drummer while in college studying music education and was later a school band director for ten years. Mike then advanced to an administrative role within the Queensland Department... more
Trevor Morrow left his native country Ireland in his 20s to relocate to Australia where he took over the company Peter Hayward established, a music wholesaler called Australis Music. The company expanded to include over 20 brands such as Gator Cases and Line 6. Trevor assisted as the company... more
Ross Cole was inducted into the Australian Music Association's Honor Roll in 2017 for his life long career in music education. In 1978, Ross and his wife Marilyn opened Cove Music and later bought out Dixon's Music as a way of expanding into the school music market. The business expanded into 22... more
Keith Huxtable worked for Rose Music (now Yamaha) in Melbourne for 13 years beginning in the early-1970s. Starting in the service department and moving into product management, he witnessed the rapid development of electronic keyboards, MIDI, and synthesizers during that era. A special memory was a... more
Mark Gibson is the songwriter and composer who wrote a series of method books for the Australian music market. Back in 1997, Mark established the Encore Music school that combined lesson programs with the latest in technology to engage the students. Based on the lessons he created for his students... more
Owen Ray recalls his father buying him a ukulele when he was a kid and his passion for string instruments began! Owen played a vital role in the Australian guitar market when he started repairing guitars as his day job while gigging with his band, the Countdowns, at night. While repairing Fender... more
Graham Hoskins played trombone professionally with the likes of The Bee Gees. When he was off the road he worked in a local music store in Perth, Australia and did so for eight years. In July 1980, at the age of 25, Graham decided to open his own store, Concept Music in West Perth. As his store... more
John Blanch grew up learning all about solid customer service from his father, who owned a grocery store north of Sydney, Australia. Those lessons helped John during his career in the music industry, which began in retail and expanded into wholesaling. His fun stories about selling pianos in the... more
Mark Barratt operates a music store that has been in his family for years. His great grandfather opened a clothing store that later sold pianos and was then expanded by his grandfather to include other instruments when he relocated to Launceston, Tasmania in 1937. Mark's father brought in records... more
John Goldsmith is the owner of Kosmic Music, a retail store in the western Australian city of Perth. He began repairing amps and loud speakers, which led to his involvement with backline gear for concerts. His first company provided the sound for the Rolling Stone's 1973 concert at the Perth... more