OH Taxonomy
Ed Hamrick enjoyed playing the drums ever since he saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. From that moment on, he played drums and in the early 1970s established his own drum shop outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Over the years the Atlanta Pro Percussion Shop has become one of the strongest...
Johnny Clark was a sales rep for the Slingerland Drum Company his entire career. He began working for the company when the founder’s son, Bud, was president and served under every president of the company until Slingerland was sold to Gretsch in 1994. Johnny played a vital role in expanding the new...
Richard Fruhauf is the vice president of the company his grandfather established in Wichita, Kansas in 1910. Fruhauf Uniforms has become one of the long time suppliers of marching band uniforms in the world. His grandfather, Lou, became a well-known designer of uniforms that have been worn by...
Dee Starkey recalls the days when his father, Jim, had a well known dance band in Wichita and played at night while teaching music during the day. In 1954 he opened Jim Starkey Music with a strong focus on lesson programs and hiring the best teachers in the area. His wife, Sally, who he met in...
Jacquelyn Dillon-Krass was a pioneering woman in the music products industry. As a music educator she first connected with the industry when hired by Scherl & Roth in 1970 to head up their efforts to promote their string products by creating string orchestras in the public school system. She...
Glenn Axelton managed a few stores for the famed Jenkins Music Company in and around Kansas City before opening his own store in Manhattan, Kansas. Glenn’s Music soon became a music center for the town and surrounding areas and led to one of the largest music lesson programs in the area. As a...
Honoring George Gruhn for his invaluable service in assisting the NAMM Resource Center in obtaining fantastic interview contributions to the NAMM Oral History Program.
This video contains some of the highlight interviews that George helped us gather over the years. Thanks George!
Kenny Fruhauf recalls with a smile the years he spent working with his grandfather, Lou, the founder of Fruhauf Uniforms in Wichita, Kansas. Lou built the business on creative designs, customer service and high quality of products and craftsmanship. The ideals of Lou continued to his son, Ken,...
Bob Williamson has been involved in the piano and organ business since he was a boy. His father sold Baldwin Pianos out of his barn in Southwest Nebraska. The Williamson Baldwin store never had a store front but called on farms and local families directly. For over 50 years Bob and his father...
JW Jenkins was president of the large music store chain in and around Kansas City that his great grand father first opened in 1878. His father, Paul W. Jenkins, kept the company running during the Great Depression and provided a great example to JW who expanded the store locations after World War...