On November 14th, we received sad news from NAMM’s Dan Del Fiorentino:
Crane Bodine passed away last night, ending a full life dedicated to music and music making!
His father, Elmer, was a piano man who formed a retail store in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1933. When Crane was 17 years old, he began working in the store. In 1962, he took over as president shortly after his father’s passing. Crane became a pioneer in the organ business, both as a dealer for the Hammond and Yamaha lines, and as a promoter of music making in the form of the Amateur Organists Association (AOA), which he established in 1971. The organization became important for several reasons, including their widely read journal and their annual meetings. By 1974, a quarter of all musical instrument sales in the United States was the organ. The AOA became the voice of the organ movement. Crane also served on the NAMM Board for three years, beginning in 1972.
On a personal note, I was proud to know Crane. We met four years before his NAMM interview and I learned a lot from him. I think the sadness of his son Eric’s early death affected him even more than any of us realized. Yet, each time we spoke or saw each other, I was enlighten on the successes and struggles of music retailing during the 60s and 70s in particular. It was always clear that the industry was in his blood. I’ve copied my mother on this email as she was a customer of Crane’s store in Bloomington, MN. I remember going into the store with her when I was seven years old.
Crane was proud of the role he played in our industry including his time on the NAMM Board of Directors and as editor/publisher of the Hurdy Gurty, Magazine which was printed to encourage music making through their monthly sheet music and articles as well as helping to organize organ clubs. As I once told Crane, our industry was lucky to have him!
Here is a clip from his NAMM Oral History interview.
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