Gibson Guitar Corp.

Arnold Berlin was a one-time president of Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI) and co-founder of Norlin Music Corp. He is also Mr. M.H. Berlin’s son, one of the true icons of the industry. Arnie spoke of how his father got started in the industry as well as how he was able to grow the company into one of the major players within the music products industry. Arnie also spoke of his own career, which began in the late 1950s.

Bruce Bolen has had a long and colorful career in the music industry spanning nearly 50 years and with two of the best-known guitar makers in the world. Mr. M.H. Berlin, the president of Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI), first hired Bruce into the industry. At the time, CMI owned Gibson Guitars and Bruce worked in marketing their products. In the 1980s, after Fender was bought from CBS, Bruce was hired to run the artist relations department, which he had also done for a while at Gibson. Over the years he has worked with nearly all of the major guitars in rock, pop, blues and country and has enjoyed the ride. 

Walter Carter wrote the book on the Gibson Guitar Company’s history. Along the way, he developed friendships with many of the old timers who worked the assembly line before “assembly line” was even a popular term. He spent months researching what was thought to be true to confirm it. Along the way, he fought to showcase those efforts of innovators and engineers whose work would otherwise be lost and unnoted. Walter became the first historian for Gibson and worked hard to do what is so important in our industry--preserve it.
 

Susan M. Davis has fond memories of Les Paul and Mary Ford coming over to her house for dinner when she was a little girl. Her father was Gibson Guitar president Ted McCarty who signed Les Paul to a company contract and who introduced a line of electric guitars with Les Paul’s name on it. Susan also recounts how hard her father worked for the company in building up the product line and promoting their new innovations and yet she recalls that he always made it home for the family dinner each night.  

James Deurloo walked through the old Gibson workshop, which is now the home of his company, the Heritage Guitar Company.  Pointing proudly to a workstation in the middle of the old building, “that was my first workbench.  I learned every skill on the line and had wonderful teachers.  The old men on the line when I was a kid were happy to share what they knew, and I still use all those skills.  That is why the name ‘heritage’ was the perfect name of our company.”  

Duane Eddy has been a strong influence on generations of guitarists and played a key role in making instrumental songs viable as hit makers in popular music. Duane recorded several hit records beginning in the late 1950s, which continued into the 1960s including “Rebel Rouser” and “Boss Guitar.” His driving bass line turned many players on to the guitar in the heyday of rock and roll including John Lennon and Jimmy Page. Duane became a much-recorded studio musician and continues to record and perform. 

Ren Ferguson is among the most noted master luthiers in the United States and has been since the 1970s. Many luthiers who wish to follow his style of building have studied his approach to guitar design and building. After having his own shop for some time Ren was hired by the Gibson Guitar Company to run their factory in Nashville. That plant was later moved to Montana, where Ren also designed the facilities and hired the staff. Ren has also been a supporter of the NAMM Oral History program and it was an honor for us to finally complete his interview at the Nashville NAMM Show in 2011!

Wilbur Fuller took to woodwork at a young age.  When he was 16, from the instructions in a magazine, he made a desk, which still stands in the corner of his small farmhouse in western Michigan.  In 1954, his cousin Walter, who engineered the Gibson amplifier in nearby Kalamazoo, told Wilbur of an opening in the company’s wood shop.

Henry Juszkiewicz, Gibson Guitar Corporation’s CEO, attended the Rainforest Alliance’s annual gala concert in 1994, where he first heard about the SmartWood program. He realized by teaming with environmentally friendly operations, Gibson could sustain its wood supply for a longer period of time. Just four years later the company revealed the Les Paul SmartWood Exotic series, which included among its features environmentally friendly harvested tropical woods. A portion of all of these guitars is donated to the Rainforest Alliance. 

B.B. King spoke of his great love of music making and provided sound advice for those who want to play an instrument. He smiled as he recalled buying his first guitar amplifier and spoke with a warm voice when reflecting on his greatest musical influences. We ended the interview with his statement, "Hi, I'm B.B. King and I believe in music."