Music Man

Ok, where was I? Tokyo, Fort Worth, San Luis Obispo and back to the California Desert. Oh, Yeah history…

The great thing about those times is that the lines were blurred. I was helping Leo, beta-testing amps for Tommy, getting them artists. I remember Tommy askng my Dad if he could hire me. My Dad said it was my choice. Talk about conflicted. I could be on the ground floor with my godfather and Leo Fender or I could stay in the family business. I chose Ernie Ball. I really didn’t have a choice as I have mentioned it is what I felt preordained to do.

So he has moved the family kicking and screaming to Newport Beach in 1967. I look back on the kickng and screaming part….lets see Newport Beach…Boats, beaches and babes…The San Fernando Valley…

We are settling in and things are going well. My Dad is Salesman/Graphic Artist/Product Designer/Back up shipper /and chief bottle washer. The kids are still showing up after work to stuff labels into strings and I got the pleasure of filing invoices. Back then there were just two other employees, Marie Farley the pick printing lady and a guy who I wont mention his name as he started as a 12 year old student and worked for my dad and handled all the shipping into his adulthood.

So know it’s 1962 and my Dad’s store is just down the block from the house and we were all out terrorizing the neighbors and my dad shows up and wants the kids to choose the packages for the new strings….I remember this vividly, ( Kind of weird because I was seven) and he stuck his right hand out and showed us this wacky string package that was in black and white….then he pulled his left hand out and there was a hot pink day glo version of the same artwork…..It was unanimous the day glo won……He called them Slinky’s.

So now we know that Sherwood became Ernie. From there my dad got married to a singer from Oklahoma. They had a son Sherwood and then the Korean war broke out. My grandpa had a pal at the draft board who told him that Ernie was pretty much next. My grandpa had another pal in the union who told him that there was an opening in the Air Force Marching Band in Chandler, Arizona for a bass drum player. PERFECT! Steel guitar/Bass drum, no problem.