Ernie Ball (born Roland Sherwood Ball; August 30, 1930 – September 9, 2004) was an American

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

and musician who developed

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

-related products. Ball began as a club and local television musician and entrepreneur, building an international business in guitars and accessories. Ernie Ball Inc. is the eponymous corporation Ball started to market guitar accessories.

Early life

Ball was born Roland Sherwood Ball in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, and grew up in a musical family, the son of Frances (née Shankland) and Roland Adelbert Ball. His paternal grandfather, Ernest Ball, wrote the standard " When Irish Eyes Are Smiling"Music Trades, No. 9, Vol. 152; Pg. 177; : Ernie Ball; Deaths; October 1, 2004 and his father was a car salesman who taught Hawaiian steel guitar on the side. Although Ball began to play steel guitar at age nine to please his father, he lost interest for several years. In his early teens he took a renewed interest in the instrument, practicing as many as three hours a day. Within a year he was a member of the Musicians Union.

Career

Professional musician

While still in his early teens, Ball began playing professionally in South Central Los Angeles beer bars. By age 19 he joined the Tommy Duncan Band playing pedal steel guitar. Duncan, the former lead singer with Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, took the band on tour through the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

. During the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, he did a tour of duty in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

Band, playing guitar and bass drum. After the military, he returned to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and continued playing in barrooms and lounges, until landing a job on the 1950s "Western Varieties" program at KTLA

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

. The position soon gained him wider recognition in the

music scene and led to studio work and teaching jobs.

Entrepreneurship

Ernie Ball Pure Nickel Wrap Guitar String Set

Sometime in 1957 or 1958, Ball opened a music store in Tarzana, California. He claimed it was the first shop in the United States to sell guitars exclusively. When music sales representatives criticized him for refusing to sell drumsticks and other musical equipment, Ball replied, "I just want to sell guitars." Within the next two years he opened additional stores in Canoga Park and Thousand Oaks. In the 1960s, Ball began manufacturing custom guitar strings. By the early 1970s, Ball established brand distributors in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. Eventually, the products spawned from his company would sell in more than 5,500 stores and be exported to more than 70 countries of the world. Ball, along with former Fender employee George Fullerton, was instrumental in the development of the first modern

acoustic bass guitar The acoustic bass guitar (sometimes shortened to acoustic bass or initialized ABG) is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually larger than, a steel-string acoustic guitar. Like the traditional electric bass guitar ...

, introduced under the Earthwood brand in 1972. Although unsuccessful, surviving models are highly collectable. In the early eighties, Ball bought the Music Man Company, further expanding into the production of

s, basses, and

amplifier An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It is a two-port electronic circuit that uses electric power from a power su ...

s. In 1985, the company was moved to a new facility in

San Luis Obispo ; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...

and remained there with all of its operations until early 2003, when the company relocated its string manufacturing to Coachella in Southern California’s Riverside County. Under Ball's leadership, it grossed more than $40 million per annum.

Personal life and death

Ball had diverse interests including collecting cars,

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

and flying airplanes. He also authored a series of books and manuals on guitar playing. He was married to Nova Gail (Conley), and had four children: Sherwood Ball, the ex-husband of actress Susan Anspach, David Ball, Sterling Ball, and Nova Ball (former actress). His granddaughter is actress Hannah Marks (daughter of Nova Ball). Ball remained active in his company until his death 42 years after its founding. He died from an ongoing, undisclosed illness on September 9, 2004, leaving the business to his sons and other family members. He was buried near his home at San Luis Cemetery in

San Luis Obispo, California ; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...

References

External links

Ernie Ball/Music Man Company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Ernie 1930 births 2004 deaths American classical guitarists American male guitarists Ernie Ball Pedal steel guitarists Businesspeople from Santa Monica, California 20th-century American classical musicians 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American businesspeople