SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - Ernie Ball, a pioneer maker of rock 'n' roll guitar strings used by legions of artists, from the Rolling Stones to Merle Travis, has died. He was 74.
Ball died at his home Thursday after an ongoing illness, the mortuary handling services announced.
His strings and instruments were used by music stars over the past four decades, from B.B. King to Metallica. Beginning with a small music shop in the San Fernando Valley, Ball built a business with annual sales of $40 million and a worldwide reputation. Along the way, he bucked traditional thinking in the music business.
"He changed the way people thought of guitar accessories, and how they sold and marketed them, and to this day the Ernie Ball way is the industry standard," his son, Sterling Ball, said in a statement. "My dad understood how to make tools for musicians, and our family is deeply proud of being part of this creative process."
Born Sherwood Ball, he grew up in Santa Monica and learned how to play the Hawaiian steel guitar from his father when he was 9 years old, according to a history on the Ernie Ball company Web site.
As a teenager, he played at a bar in Los Angeles and later toured the Southwest with the Tommy Duncan band. In the 1950s, he enlisted and played with the U.S. Air Force Band for three years. After his service, he played in Los Angeles clubs and landed a staff band job with "Western Varieties," a popular weekly show on KTLA-TV.
In 1958, Ball opened a shop in Tarzana that, uniquely, sold only guitars.
"Sales reps would come in and say, 'Ern, you've got to sell clarinet reeds, drum sticks, valve oil; blah blah blah,'" Ball recalled. "And I'd tell them 'I just want to sell guitars.'"
In 1962, complaints from customers that they couldn't find lighter-gauge, flexible strings for their rock 'n' roll instruments prompted Ball to create and sell sets of strings he called "Slinkys."
They were a hit. He later branched out into instruments and accessories, buying the Music Man electric guitar company in 1985.
Ball was not a by-the-book businessman, disregarding profit-and-loss statements, according to the company. "If it feels right, I know it will sell," he once said.
Today, Ernie Ball items are sold in more than 5,000 music stores in the United States and exported to more than 70 countries.
In addition to his son, Ball is survived by his wife, Ani; sons Sherwood and David; a daughter, Nova, and eight grandchildren.
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Our condolences to the friends and family of Mr. Ernie Ball. May he Rest in Peace.
Ball died at his home Thursday after an ongoing illness, the mortuary handling services announced.
His strings and instruments were used by music stars over the past four decades, from B.B. King to Metallica. Beginning with a small music shop in the San Fernando Valley, Ball built a business with annual sales of $40 million and a worldwide reputation. Along the way, he bucked traditional thinking in the music business.
"He changed the way people thought of guitar accessories, and how they sold and marketed them, and to this day the Ernie Ball way is the industry standard," his son, Sterling Ball, said in a statement. "My dad understood how to make tools for musicians, and our family is deeply proud of being part of this creative process."
Born Sherwood Ball, he grew up in Santa Monica and learned how to play the Hawaiian steel guitar from his father when he was 9 years old, according to a history on the Ernie Ball company Web site.
As a teenager, he played at a bar in Los Angeles and later toured the Southwest with the Tommy Duncan band. In the 1950s, he enlisted and played with the U.S. Air Force Band for three years. After his service, he played in Los Angeles clubs and landed a staff band job with "Western Varieties," a popular weekly show on KTLA-TV.
In 1958, Ball opened a shop in Tarzana that, uniquely, sold only guitars.
"Sales reps would come in and say, 'Ern, you've got to sell clarinet reeds, drum sticks, valve oil; blah blah blah,'" Ball recalled. "And I'd tell them 'I just want to sell guitars.'"
In 1962, complaints from customers that they couldn't find lighter-gauge, flexible strings for their rock 'n' roll instruments prompted Ball to create and sell sets of strings he called "Slinkys."
They were a hit. He later branched out into instruments and accessories, buying the Music Man electric guitar company in 1985.
Ball was not a by-the-book businessman, disregarding profit-and-loss statements, according to the company. "If it feels right, I know it will sell," he once said.
Today, Ernie Ball items are sold in more than 5,000 music stores in the United States and exported to more than 70 countries.
In addition to his son, Ball is survived by his wife, Ani; sons Sherwood and David; a daughter, Nova, and eight grandchildren.
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Our condolences to the friends and family of Mr. Ernie Ball. May he Rest in Peace.
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