Trade Regrets: Danny Rocks

Much beloved industry veteran Danny Rocks has passed away. Rocks was an accomplished music educator, performer, and mentor who also found success in music publishing, working first at G. Schirmer, Inc. and then joining Alfred Publishing in the early '80s and eventually advancing to become vice president of sales for the company. Danny retired from Alfred in 2006 to form The Company Rocks where he worked to help individuals and organizations improve their communication skills. Danny was a tireless advocate for both music education and the music industry and he was a frequent contributor to MMR and our sister publication SBO. Details of his passing remain scarce, but a quick glance at the comments posted to Danny's Facebook page leave no doubt as to the affection and respect so many had for him: https://www.facebook.com/danny.rocks.1

A press release was sent out this morning from NASMD regarding Danny's passing:

The music industry mourns the passing of a true renaissance man, Danny Rocks. Danny studied music at Temple University in his hometown of Philadelphia, and began his career on Broadway as a pianist in pit orchestras for musicals, eventually conducting the matinee performances of "Fiddler on the Roof" starring Zero Mostel. Danny became an independent print music salesman representing dozens of publishers, criss-crossing the country by car and putting his encyclopedia memory to good use. He joined the staff of G. Schirmer and that eventually led to an invitation to become part of the Alfred Publishing family. There he was a tireless advocate for music education and his international reputation grew. RPMDA honored Danny with its highest honor, the Dorothy Award, given for a lifetime of achievement and service to the print music industry, in 2011.

In 2006 Danny founded his own consulting firm, The Company Rocks. A born teacher, he developed and sold DVDs for software like Excel, and was a sought-after facilitator and trainer for some of the country's leading companies. But he never left his beloved music industry. Danny was an integral part of NAMM's education team, and he played a major role in recent years developing classes and playing host for the Idea Center.

But he never arrived for this year's summer show in Nashville, and was found in his home in the Palm Desert by security personnel who were called when he failed to respond to phone calls. While there is no official report of cause of death yet, Danny had been battling high blood pressure the past year, but he never slowed down. He gave 110% to everything he did, and always with enthusiasm and professionalism. Danny was a musician, educator, advocate, retailer, wholesaler, writer, speaker, photographer, mentor and friend. In the days to come we'll be sharing our personal stories about meeting and knowing Danny Rocks with each other. Memorial service arrangements are pending, and we will share that information as soon as we can.

His NAMM Oral History interview is at http://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/danny-rocks. His was the 500th interview, just another milestone in a brilliant career cut short. We'll miss you, Danny.

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