Interview with Bob Saunders, Former President of Kaman Music
Date of Interview
3-24-2012
Length of Interview
58:58
Digital Publication Date
2-28-2024
Publisher
National Association of Music Merchants
Language
English
Keywords
NAMM Board of Directors-Interviewed, Latin Percussion, Gretsch Company, Guitars, Kaman Music Corporation
Copyright
This work is archived and distributed under the repository's standard copyright and reuse license, available here. Under this license, end-users may copy, store, and distribute this work without restriction. For questions related to additional reuse of this work, please contact the copyright owner.
Disciplines
Music | Music Business
Recommended Citation
Saunders, Bob, "Interview with Bob Saunders, Former President of Kaman Music" (2012). NAMM Oral Histories. 11.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nammoralhistories/11
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Files
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Notes
From the NAMM Oral History Collection:
Bob Saunders began working in the accounting department for Kaman Corporation. He was asked by the company’s founder, Charlie, to work with his son Bill for the Kaman Music Corporation. After Bill retired, Bob took over as CEO and President of Kaman Music and ran the company for over a decade. During Bob’s time as president, the company acquired the Latin Percussion (LP) brand, which was a complimentary product to the guitars they were manufacturing, and oversaw the acquisition of Musicorp as Kaman was the largest independent distributor of musical instruments and accessories in the United States (Musicorp was number two). Bob also worked out a deal to distribute Gretsch Drums throughout the United States and took over the manufacturing of the drums both off shore as well as within the United States some years later. During it all, Bob enjoyed his career in the industry, which is clear when viewing his 2012 NAMM Oral History interview.