Harry Sparks is the founder of the Famous Old Time Music Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. Harry grew up in the folk and bluegrass era of the 1960s and joined a band at a young age. Over the y...

Jerry Hauer grew up in a very musical home. His father was a big band leader with a noted radio show, Michael Hauer and His Band of the Hour! When Michael was off the road with his band, ...

Jim Hauer has many fond memories of his grandfather, Michael Hauer, a noted big band leader who opened their family’s music store in 1937. Jim recalls his grandfather providing music less...

Jim Kincaid has fond memories of his father singing and playing his guitar. Jim’s father was the folk singer and publisher, Bradley Kincaid, who helped pioneer folk music on the radio in ...

Russell Hill first met Ziggy Coyle in 1957 when the famed retailer hired Russ to help with the business side of the company.  Ziggy and Russ made a wonderful team as Russ minded the numbe...

John Trakas was hired by Ziggy Coyle to serve in the store's accounting department.  John grew in the company over the years as did the store, which had multiple locations throughout the ...

John Stavish and his sister took over the music company their parents established in the early 1950s.  John recalls the first milestone of the business was when it moved out of the family...

John Stebal owns the Stebal Drum shop outside of Cleveland, Ohio.  The store was originally called Stebal Music when his father opened it.  When John took over the store he decided to foc...

Rick Roth will greet you with a warm smile when you enter Stebal Drum Shop outside of Cleveland, Ohio.  As a drummer, Rick loves talking about the gear and has had years of experiences in...

Lauren Haas Amanfoh started answering phones at age three and began writing rental contracts at age 10. She grew up in a music store, and went on to receive her degree from Ohio State Uni...

Frank Seta began his career in the music industry working for Baldwin Pianos before working for Gibson and then establishing his own retail store. Frank has built lasting friendships with...

Paul Graves began delivering pianos in 1957 up in Minnesota before moving to Alabama where he continued to deliver.  He soon discovered that he would make more money if he sold the pianos...

Fred Davis began playing saxophone as a boy and started his own band, the Freddy Davis Orchestra, which played around Ohio during World War II. He was well equipped with reeds for his gig...

Dave Miller was just 14 years old when he cut grass for a summer to pay off a neighbor for their old guitar.  He and his friends would hang out at the local music store, which was Western...

Ida Eleck worked alongside her husband who was a big band musician and band director who had the idea of opening a music store.  Ida was thrilled with the idea as it gave her more time to...

Kevin Cranley grew up in the music industry and has a passion for all elements of the music business, as if it were in his blood.  As a young man he completed odd jobs around the Willis M...

Jack Shallat was a professional violin player who landed several gigs with traveling bands in the 1930s and 40s.  During that time he met Buddy Rogers and both men opened separate music s...

Dan Herbert played trumpet as a kid and later switched to drums to form a rock band in the days following the Beatle’s popularity in the early 1960s.  During the summers, he would work pa...

Janet Gratsch began working at Willis Music when she was 17 years old in the Choral Department.  She remained with the store until she retired and even after her retirement she would be c...

John Creachbaum began his career in the music industry with Coffman Music in Ohio before he joined the Selmer Company in Elkhart, Indiana in 1984.  He studied music education in college a...

Kenny O’Brien is the president of Music & Arts, a retail store chain that his father, Ken O’Brian, established. Kenny oversees the stores, which focuses on school music and print and ...

Bill Cooper was an independent sales representative whose background included a great many experiences that helped Bill best serve his dealers. Bill, who played French Horn in school, tau...

Jerry Pellegrino wanted to own a business ever since he was a kid, so when the opportunity arose to start his own music store, he jumped at the chance. With a small loan and the help of s...

Larry Moody began his career in the music industry as a retailer working for Ziggy Coyle in Ohio. The store was owned by Ziggy, a past president of the NAMM Board of Directors, and Russel...

Jim Rupp has had a passion for drumming as far back as he can remember. As a percussionist for several traveling groups in the 1970s such as those led by Maynard Ferguson and Woody Herman...

Dan Vedda grew up playing music. As an arranger and trumpeter he gained a respected reputation in the Westlake area of Ohio. After working for a music retailer in town he was encouraged b...

Tom Ostrander was the founder of Colonial Music in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. Now a string of stores, the retail company began with the simple idea of providing top quality instruments to the area...

Bill Harvey was between band director jobs in the summer of 1974 when he took a road sales position with Buddy Roger's Music in Cincinnati, Ohio. He felt the sales job would allow him to ...

Larry Fresch Sr. exuded the passion and the love of music that is so much a part of this industry. His four Fresch Music stores in Ohio not only became part of their communities, they enc...

Jim Strouse is the president of Stranton’s Sheet Music in Columbus, Ohio, and a founding member of the Retail Print Music Dealers Association (RPMDA). Over the years the organization has ...