Dolores Crooks

Dolores Crooks remembered her husband working in the garage at all hours of the night on a new sound he was after.  He tooled his own guitar amplifier and took it down to country dances to show it off to the musicians.  Before long performers such as Chet Atkins and Speedy West were not only buying one of his amps, but insisting on using the amp on all of their gigs and recordings.  When her husband, Bob Crooks, outgrew the garage, they moved the company, now called Standel, into a new building.  While the company only produced amps for a few years, the name continues to excite collectors around the world.  Bob passed away in 1999.  In 2012, Dolores was interviewed for the NAMM Oral History collection and was proud to help document the history of the company she formed with her husband. She passed in May 2014 just a few days after her 90th birthday.