Trade Regrets: Harry Gillum

On March 4, NAMM‘s Dan Del Fiorentino shared the following sad news:

Our pal Harry Gillum passed away late last month after a courageous battle with cancer. He was 67 years old.

Harry was interviewed for the NAMM Oral History program during the Stay-At-Home Orders for Covid-19 in June 2020. His interview was recorded on Zoom and captured his remarkable career in music retail and his contributions to our industry. Harry was just 16 years old in 1971 when he began working at a local music store. About a year and a half later he began to sell instruments for the store and after his first grand piano sale he was hooked. Harry dedicated his career to music retail ever since. In 1991 he had the opportunity to open his own store, Showtime Music in Bridgeport, West Virginia, which continues to this day. Along the way he mentored others as well as formed a group of music retailers to provide services and resources for each other. The Independent Music Retailers Association (IMRA) was formed in the early 2000s and later merged with another like-minded group, the Music Store Owners (MSO) to form the Independent Music Store Owners (IMSO), which provides tools for its members including an online forum to share ideas and stay connected with each other.