When you walked into Bill’s Music in the 1960s, one of the first things you’d see is owner, Bill Higgins, greeting you.
When you walk into Bill’s Music today, 50 years later, you will still see Bill Higgins, except those customers over the years have become friends. “Bill’s Music is known for a family atmosphere but with a huge selection of both the latest technology and the classics,” explains Higgins. “Bill’s doesn’t just sell musical instruments, it caters to all the needs of musicians by offering a variety of services including repairs, lessons, practice rooms, mobile bandstand, and much more.”
Bill’s Music started its musical journey as an 8×8 rented room behind a coin shop on Frederick Road in Catonsville, Maryland. There, Bill started teaching music lessons. Higgins’ initial interest in music was born of his introduction to Rock n’ Roll in the 1950s – specifically Elvis, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones. He taught himself to play their songs on his guitar and then started going to people’s homes and giving guitar lessons. Eventually, Higgins and his wife, Nancy, branched out and took over more space, selling accessories and a few instruments. The 1990s brought the addition of BillsMusic.com and an eBay storefront, which allowed Bill’s to continue to grow, selling instruments and equipment all over the world.
Over the years, Bill’s Music has blossomed into one of the largest musical instrument retailers on the East Coast. 2015 marks half a century in business. “2015 marks the 50th year in business for us and we recognized the occasion with a major celebration dedicated to the staff, musicians, and friends who have supported us over the years,” says Bill. “Live bands, the Baltimore Marching Ravens Pep Band, Gibson Guitar Bus, KidZone, trivia contests, food stands, local vendors, and a huge anniversary sale were among the festivities. We had door prizes and gave away a ton of stuff to our customers that day – a Martin Backpacker, Peavey Powerslide, Fender Strat, hundreds of T-shirts, and logo apparel. We are so grateful to all the manufacture reps that contributed giveaway items and came to the event to support us as well as hundreds of family, friends, and customers who came out to enjoy the celebration.”
Bill acknowledges that there were a few people who were integral to the success of Bill’s Music. “First and foremost I would say my wife Nancy… she has worked alongside me for 50 years and without her we wouldn’t be where we are today,” Higgins says. “Next, my three long-time friends and store managers who have been with me since the very early years – Ron Cook, Jim Mays, and Lou Campagnoli. Ron manages our guitar and electronics repair shop, and Jim is a store manager. Lou, who just retired this past spring, managed the store and provided comic relief for over 41 years. Not only have these guys contributed greatly to the success of the store, but they have also made it a pleasure to come to work every day.”
Bill’s Music prides itself on offering a family atmosphere. “It’s our goal,” Bill says, “not just to be a retail store, but also to be an experience when you come to our store. We realize that there are many avenues a consumer can take to buy the products we sell, so we strive to offer any and all services the musician may need. To us, offering our customers a variety of services is vital to our continued success and growth.”
As far as what’s next for Bill’s, Higgins says that as the industry continues to evolve, they intend to focus their efforts toward the expansion of their online presence. “We’ve already begun to make a concerted effort to ramp up our Web presence, completing a major overhaul of our Web site—billsmusic.com—and continuing to develop and fine tune the site,” Higgins explains. “We feel it is laid out as well as any and that it’s packed full of information and products, many of which are hard to find anywhere else. Bill’s is also a power seller on the eBay storefront run by my son-in-law, Leni. One of our goals for 2016 is to be more involved in social media and take advantage of all of the opportunities that exist to keep the relationship between our staff and our customers strong and fresh. As far as we can see, the sky’s the limit for Bill’s Music.”
A Look Inside and Out
“We have always tried to maintain a high artistic & creative standard when it comes to how we present Bill’s Music aesthetically, both inside and out,” says Higgins. “When people are driving down Frederick Rd., we hope they will take one look at our store and think, ‘I’ve just gotta stop and see what’s inside that place’ Our slogan ‘We Believe in Music’ frames the main doorway in big red letters and at your feet is the likeness of a piano keyboard. That, along with our electric guitar shaped door handles lets visitors know upon arrival that when you come to Bill’s Music you are in for a full musical experience.”
On the front of the store is the Bill’s Music logo, taken from a caricature drawing of Bill’s face done by a local artist back in the late 1960s when they first opened. Next to that is an over-sized replica of a Gibson Explorer that lights up after dusk. On the sides of the building are the 12 ft. tall Fender Stratocaster and Gibson ES335 replica guitars Bill’s had custom-made approximately 16 years ago. They are detailed right down to their knobs and pickups and are also outlined in neon lighting.
The retail sales floor is broken up into departments including guitars & amps, drums & percussion, keyboards & electronics, mics, acoustics & bluegrass, and brass & woodwind. “We have a large acoustic room when you first walk in that houses over 200 acoustic guitars, basses, mandolins, ukes & banjos,” Higgins explains. “Down the main aisle you’ll see hundreds of guitars, basses & amps, which customers can plug into at any time. Drum kits line the walls of our vast showroom. We have our Pro Sound and Recording rooms partitioned and they are dimly lit so patrons can get a feel for the sound and lighting as it might translate into a nightclub or stage… Though we are a full line music store, I would say our biggest sellers continue to be guitars and amps. Some of the brands that move the most are Rickenbacker, PRS, Yamaha, Gibson, Fender and Alvarez… In the back of the store we have our repair shops and about a dozen private lesson rooms where students & teachers bustle in and out starting in the late afternoon. Bill’s private collection of vinyl records are hung with pride along with pictures of friends, customers and a collection of the famous faces who have passed through the doors of Bill’s Music.”
