Stanley Werbin opened a small guitar shop he named Elderly Instruments on July 5, 1972. The original location was in East Lansing, Michigan and focused on "used instruments". Within a fe...
Parham Werlein followed in the footsteps of his father, grandfather and great-grandfather as president of Werlein’s For Music in New Orleans, Louisiana. Like his predecessors, Parham also...
Bitsie Werlein was the last president of the famed Werlein’s For Music in New Orleans. When its doors closed in 2003 it was the nation’s oldest operating music retailer. The company was e...
Lars Wern is the Vice President of Em Nordic AB in Stockholm, Sweden, working alongside the company’s founder, Benny Englund. In fact, during the 2013 NAMM Show in Anaheim, Lars and Benn...
Elliott Wessel likes to point out the fact that he has had five different positions at Schmitt Music at five different times during his career. He also conveys, as many others have, that ...
Eleanor West and her husband Pearl established a music store in Iowa City just a year after getting married in 1940. Eleanor was the bookkeeper in the early years of West Music Company an...
Steve West took over his father’s store and went on to become an industry leader who served as president of the NAMM Board. Steve recalls the days as a boy running around West Music as hi...
Harry West was the founder of Fine Musical Instruments located in Statesville, North Carolina. The store was an early pioneer in vintage stringed instrument sales and in fact, Stanley Ja...
George Westjohn was hired by Lowell Samuel to oversee the expansion of Mr. Samuel’s interests in the wholesale music business. Mr. Samuel, a former band director, started a music store in...
Dorsey Wheeler attributes some of the success of his music store to the training and ongoing support he has received from companies such as Peavey Electronics and Cannonball Musical Instr...
Kelly Wheeler and her husband Dorsey run a music retail business in Idaho with several locations. Dorsey Music was established in 1969 and just three years later Kelly walked through the ...
Dusty Wheeler served as a medic in the US Air Force during the Vietnam War. After the war he attended college all the while playing guitar and giving lessons. In 1979 he opened Dusty’s Gu...
Lynn Wheelwright has always been fascinated with the guitar, especially the craft of building the instrument. After performing as a teenager, he developed many of his luthier skills from...
Chris White is the president of White House of Music, with multiple locations in Wisconsin. The full line store has a very strong band and orchestra element as they call on many local sc...
Wil White worked for Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center for nearly 30 years! It all began on October 6, 1987 when he was looking for a job and answered an ad for a cashier. He was hi...
Jerry White and his brothers all played musical instruments growing up on their family farm in Wisconsin. Their father was a professional musician who played in popular dance bands. Jerry...
Lynn White may downplay the role she has played within their family’s music store business, but for all those who have been to White House of Music, her spark and passion for music are ve...
Ellen White did not work in the music store her husband Jerry operated for many years and yet her supportive role helped that little retail business grow into the White House of Music cha...
Mike White grew up in the Boston area where he was inspired by his band directors. While studying music in college in New Mexico, Mike was focused on becoming a band director himself. He ...
Joan White began her career with Muncie Music Center in 1944, just three years after the store opened. She remained with the store until her retirement in 2016. Although she started by o...
Roger White’s cousin opened a small music store in Waukesha, Wisconsin, in 1955. His brother, Jerry, ran the store beginning in 1961 and changed the name to the White House of Music. Rog...
Ron Whittaker was just eleven years old when his father started a music retail store in Long Beach, California. Whittaker Music opened in 1946, just after World War II and Ron still remem...
Jody Whyte recalls fondly sitting in the family store as a child watching her grandfather repair pianos and then he would make banana pancakes for her. Those memories took on extra meanin...
Jim Widner was given a very special opportunity to join his grade school’s orchestra, which provided him an instrument to play. His love of music was fostered years later when he became a...
Carol Wilbur worked closely with Richard Rejino during her career in the print music side of the music industry. She worked at Brook Mays Print Music before being hired by Richard Gore at...
Gordy Wilcher believes that with the right mixture of passion and knowledge, the independent music retailer has the strength to bring music to young students, build new brands within thei...
Bob Willcutt still loves repairing guitars. The nice view of downtown Lexington from his repair bench doesn't hurt. Initially working as a social worker, Bob repaired and rebuilt vinta...
Bob Williamson was 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 ha...
Hartmut Willms is the President of Piano Willms, a firm established by his grandfather and his two brothers back in 1912. Hartmut’s grandfather enjoyed building pianos and created the Wi...
Roger Willson takes great pride in his long association with the Bluthner Piano Company. The association extends to the Bluthner family who entrusted Roger with the position of Managing D...
Shelley Wilson and her husband, Greg Murdaugh, opened the Piano Craft store in 1999. The store, which is located in Springfield MO, has a family feel whenever you visit, which may be due ...
Don Wilson always enjoyed being around music, as a player, teacher, retailer, and as an award-winning baton twirler. He opened his music store in 1956 with the dream of running his busine...
