On the morning of February 6, we received the following message from Sammy Ash of Sam Ash Music:
It is with inexplicable sorrow that the Ash Family has to announce that Paul Ash, President of our Company he loved so much passed in the night from complications of a massive heart attack… He is gone but the man and his accomplishments will never be forgotten.
Paul Ash had worked alongside his father – the company's founder – before taking over operation of the business with his older brother Jerry after Sam passed in the mid-'50s.
Former MMR publisher Sidney Davis offered the following in response to the news:
I was saddened to learn of the passing of Paul Ash. Although we had few personal encounters over the years, my vision was of a man of great integrity who loved the music business and took great pride in the accomplishments of the company and the Ash family. On 9/11 Don Johnson and I were scheduled to interview the Ash family. We were asked to arrive at 11 am, so that the family could hold their daily meetings and Paul would have time to "check the mail." When we arrived the gravity of the situation started to unfold and we witnessed the Ash family's quick reaction. Paul was among the first to man the phones, calling the Sam Ash stores in the tri-state area to determine that all employees were safe and to instruct them to go home to their families. An apartment in Manhattan was offered to any employee who could not get home. The interview was postponed, however we did have a quick lunch and Paul sat beside us eating a tuna fish sandwich he had prepared at home. As he related to me, "We never wanted to be the biggest, but we always wanted to be the best." Humble, hard workin,g and honest – this was the measure of the man.
