Forbes Piano Company

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Forbes Piano Company (formerly E. E. Forbes & Sons Piano Company) was a piano and organ dealer and music retailer founded in 1889 by E. E. Forbes. The store, which was Birmingham's only Steinway & Sons dealer, liquidated its stock and closed in June 2009.

Forbes founded his business after a few years as an employee and junior partner of music dealer Gilbert Carter. Forbes treated the business as a calling, often sacrificing profits to get more instruments in the hands of young musicians. His newspaper advertisements repeated his belief that cultivating an interest in music would reduce crime. Forbes became a favored dealer for many area churches and offered space in their large downtown showroom for local piano instructors to stage recitals.

Already the city's primary dealer for sheet music, the store stocked a large variety of vinyl recordings as they became available. Forbes was the city's exclusive dealer for popular Paramount recordings.

In the late 1930s Forbes was one of the few stores which welcomed both black and white customers to try out instruments and listen to recordings. It was there that a young Sonny Blount (Sun Ra) wiled away numerous afternoons playing for clerks and customers and copying sheet music into notebooks. He was loaned a celeste and later purchased a Hammond Solovox from Forbes.

After Forbes died in 1958 the store was managed by his son French Forbes and later by grandson French Forbes, Jr as President and CEO and French Forbes III as Vice-President and general manager.

In 2005 the store boasted five locations in Alabama. After the retail store closed the family continued to act as local dealer for the Allen Organ Company.

Locations

References

  • Szwed, John F. (1998) Space is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra. New York, New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0306808552
  • Diel, Stan (June 1, 2009) "Birmingham music retailer Forbes Piano closing shop." Birmingham News
  • Cooper, Lauren B. (June 1, 2009) "Homewood's Forbes Piano to close after 120 years." Birmingham Business Journal

External link

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