Steinway & Sons

Mr. Peter Suzuki, whose career spans important and extensive roles with Steinway and Yamaha, has donated his published writings on the piano industry. After extensive research and drawing from formidable personal experience, Mr. Suzuki published 12 monthly feature articles in Japan Music Trades Magazine describing and evaluating all aspects of the piano industry in the modern era. His writings have now been incorporated in the NAMM industry archives as the "Peter Suzuki Papers," adding poignant insight on this rich and storied segment of our industry.

Lyle Bird grew up in a musical family with his mother playing the piano daily. As a teenager he played trumpet in several swing bands during the big band era including with such leaders as Henry Busse. He played in a band during his navy service during World War II and again played in several small bands after the war before being hired by the Sherman Clay Company. Lyle sold saxophones for a short time, long enough he would say in order to realize he wanted to sell pianos. He managed a Sherman Clay location in Walnut Creek, CA and trained on selling organs direct to the customers in their homes and was the first to bring stand-up organ players to the front of mall stores as a drive for customers.

Bob Bull held many positions throughout the music products industry over his long career. However, he is perhaps best known as the president of the Steinway & Sons piano company during the early 1970s. At the time, Steinway was owned by CBS Musical Instruments. Bob, as the president of Steinway, reported to Bob Campbell, the president of CBS Musical, a division of the broadcasting company.  

Ted Chapin has many stories about the music industry, making his June 2010 interview fascinating. As president of Rodgers & Hammerstein Music since 1985 he spoke of the growth and development of Broadway publishing. As the son of a Steinway (his mother was a Steinway and her famous brothers included John, Ted and Henry Z) Ted discussed his own experience working in the Steinway factory along with his twin brother. Ted’s love of musicals also makes him a wonderful source for the history of Broadway and related music publishing. 

Joy Collins has had a successful career selling piano and organs! In fact she may very well be the person who has sold the most Allen Organs, ever. Joy was hired by Glenn Davis, who owned a piano and organ store in Chicago, as a secretary but soon discovered selling was in her blood. She would take home her tasks as a secretary, such as letters and reports, and completed then over the weekend so she had time to sell instruments during the week days. She soon became a top salesperson for Mr. Davis. The company changed its name to The Beautiful Sound in 1978 when Mr. Davis passed away and Joy purchased the company. Under Joy’s direction the company became the Steinway dealer for Chicago in the 1980s.

Hal Cowan studied business administration while playing music all through school. He loved playing organ and found himself in the company of fellow organ buffs as well as employees of organ stores and manufacturers. Hal worked for the Jenkins Hammond Organ Studios as president under Paul Jenkins who was a family member of the Jenkins Music Company. Hal took over the Hammond Studios as owner when Paul Jenkins left in 1977 and changed the name of the store to Jenkins Music Company (he licensed the name from J. W. Jenkins, Paul's brother).  Hal owned the store along with his wife and offered some of the most innovative products during the great home organ boom of the 1960s and 70s.
 

Skip Daynes is proud of his heritage and the fact that he operates the oldest family- owned music store in the United States. Daynes Music in Salt Lake was also one of the first Steinway Piano dealers west of the Mississippi River. The store remains a vital part of the industry with pioneering music lesson programs and their early development of their Internet web site. 

Robert Dove joined Steinway & Sons at a time of global change and development. He helped establish the Far East division of the piano company and for many years assisted with the company’s growth in the US and in Asia. He helped to develop the company’s two OEM brands, Boston and Essex and worked on creating sales and marketing programs for the Steinway dealers, worldwide.

Gary Grimes played a very vital role in the early part of his career, working in the music education department at Wurlitzer. Gary wrote many of the training programs for Wurlitzer as well as music education materials that were provided to customers. He served as Vice President of Marketing with Wurlitzer, Executive Vice President for the Baldwin Piano Company, President of Lowrey Organs and President of the National Piano Manufacturers Association. Gary enjoyed the piano industry so much that he set off to establish his own retail store.

Frank Mazurco spent 33 years working in the Steinway & Sons piano business, the last stretch as executive vice president. Frank helped lead the company during a time of growth within the global market as well as the technologic advances such as the Internet. Frank took a great deal of interest in promoting music education and worked alongside several organizations (including NAMM and AMC) to promote the benefits of music and music making around the world.