The Man Who Started It All: Richard King

Born: 1923

Favorite Composers: Beethoven, Brahms, Bach, French composers, Ravel

 

 

Richard King, founder of King's Keyboard House, was born in 1923 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, near Claremore . The youngest of six children, he was just nine years old when he first became interested in music. His uncle, a violinist and piano tuner (the only member of his family with musical talent) bought him an old, upright piano. After getting a few lessons from his uncle, he began taking lessons from a private teacher.

A few years later, Mr. King's musical interests shifted as he picked up the saxophone and the clarinet at age eleven. He played in the school band throughout high school, and took private lessons in both instruments.

After graduating from high school around 1940, Mr. King left Tahlequah to attend the University of Oklahoma. He enrolled in the band program (thinking he wanted to be a band teacher) and learned how to play every instrument in the band at a basic level. He also played in the dance band at OU, and they once played with Dinah Shore.

About half way through his college experience, Mr. King was drafted into the U.S. army during World War II. Instead of enlisting in the infantry, however, Mr. King joined the Rainbow Division Band, where he played the clarinet and saxophone in addition to arranging music. The 56-piece band played show tunes with celebrities when they were in the Oklahoma area, urging people to buy war bonds and raising money for the war cause. They also played in Europe, mostly in Germany before the U.S. entered.

During the war, Mr. King took furlough to visit his sister in Ann Arbor. He was set up on a blind date, where he met his future wife, Patricia. After three more years in the army and fifteen months abroad, Mr. King returned to the United States. In 1946 he and Patricia were married in Ann Arbor, where he attended the University of Michigan. His plans were to compose or arrange.

At U of M, Mr. King finished his bachelor's degree in music theory, and went on to obtain his masters degree, also in music theory. He finished his schooling in 1949, and taught piano lessons privately from his home, then in Ypsilanti. He was also a teacher's assistant at the University of Michigan.

In 1951 Mr. King was offered a teaching position at Grinnell's (no longer in business), and before long he was selling pianos. He worked at Grinnell's for ten years, as a salesman for five years and as a manager for another five.

After a decade at Grinnell's, Mr. King decided that he could do better. After receiving an inheritance, he quit Grinnell's and opened up King's Keyboard House on Liberty Street (now Afternoon Delight, see map). At first, Mr. King recalls, things were hard. He didn't have a lot of business or accounting skills, and while he had a decade of experience from Grinnell's, "not everything I learned was good." He started out with just three pianos and three electric organs, and business was slow until Baldwin pianos were offered. Because it was a big name, Mr. King says, carrying Baldwins helped boost sales; it was familiar to a lot of people. Before carrying Baldwins, Mr. King had sold Cable pianos, in addition to organs (which were much more popular at that time) and a small selection of music.

For Mr. King, contributing to the music community was the most rewarding part of opening up his own business. "I had a good relationship with most of the teachers, and I felt that that was pretty important--a necessity, actually--and that's something that Grinnell's could care less about. And that's one thing I learned from them: teachers are your best friends, if you let them be." He was also certain to establish relationships with educational institutions such as the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, and Washtenaw Community College. In addition, he has worked closely with professors, musicians, and notable composers in the area, including William Bolcom.

When Mr. King opened up the store, he and Patricia had six children: Russ, Charlotte, Martha, Jim, Rob, and Julie (Jeff was born two years later). The Kings wanted all of their children to take piano lessons, but knew that kids couldn't be forced to do something unless they were interested. As it turned out, everyone was interested. All seven children took piano lessons at one point or another, and a few of them even continued their music throughout high school and even professionally. Rob went on to be a drummer in a band called Destroy All Monsters, Jim played the keyboard professionally for over twenty years (and took over the family business), Charlotte took piano lessons and played quite well, Martha sang in the choir in high school with an outstanding voice, and Julie took piano lessons throughout high school, opening her own sheet music store in 2006. Rob also had a clarinet at one point, but his interest in it faded after one year.

In 2006, Patricia and King celebrated sixty years of marriage. Mr. King retired, leaving the business to Jim and Julie. Julie, taking after her father's entrepreneurial tendencies, opened up Julie's Music that same year. With Jim running the piano store he started over fifty years ago, and Julie running her own music store, Richard is happily retired, living in Ann Arbor not far from his beloved business and children. Top