Industry veteran Dennis Houlihan passed away at his home in Long Beach, CA on September 5. He was 74.
Born March 28, 1950 in Davenport, OH, Houlihan grew up in a musical environment and took up playing the organ at age nine, after his family relocated to Fresno, CA. While in high school, Houlihan worked part-time at Don Smith’s Gospel Music & Supply Company in Fresno (then one of the largest music retailers in California), becoming quite proficient at demonstrating and selling Lowrey organs.
His income from music retailing financed his college studies at California State University, Fresno, where he earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in marketing and business administration.
Houlihan is perhaps best known for his long 19-year association with Roland Corporation U.S., where he held a variety of executive roles, eventually becoming CEO / president of the U.S. division and was the first American on the board of directors of Roland Japan. Prior to working at Roland, he was the general manager of
Technics Musical Instruments. In the 1990s, he also served on the NAMM Board for a decade, and was the first manufacturer representative to also be elected as chairman and CEO of NAMM.
Beloved by all who knew him, Houlihan will be remembered for his decades-long impact in the music products industry and perhaps, more importantly, for the deep friendships he developed around the world.
Details about a celebration of life will be forthcoming in the days ahead. In the meantime, his family has asked that those interested in honoring his memory please consider a gift to The NAMM Foundation, (www.nammfoundation.org) whose mission he passionately continued to champion.
