John W. Ward

John W. Ward began working in the music industry as a piano salesman in the late 1950s, before working for the Sherman Clay store chain in 1961. After earning a position as one of the company’s top salesman, John was asked to help sell home organs, which were just coming into popularity. Years later, in the early 1970s, John opened his own music stores in the Sacramento, California, area called American Sound. Two of his three stores were located in the newly established malls and the third was downtown. He focused on customer service and lessons to grow the business. John closed the store in 1983 to retire, but continued to tune and service the pianos of his customers for another 20 plus years.