Salaries then and now

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 19 Dec 2002 3:41 am

Hey Jody..keep the $47, I really want you to have it for all the hard work you have done for the musician community, it's the least I can do.

I never really knew Henry more than just from store visits , although I feel he knew or at least recognized us as we would see him regulary for many years back then. He was really a very fun guy to talk to. I am not sure if I ever spoke to his wife but if she was at the counter taking the green stuff then I would say that I did. I bought a lot of stuff from that store thru the years and like you stated, when I go back there, you can feel the history. It's not anywhere near the same , not even comparable , but there are some moments of reflection in the area. Rudy's is nothing more than a showromm with glass cases with Sadowsky Basses in it. Sam Ash is just like a typical Guitar Center and the last time I was in Manny's, about 6 or 7 years ago , it still had all the photo's on the walls but the store was laid out like a new Guitar Center store as well. I'm afraid if you asked about a Steel Guitar they would freak out and their earrings would fall out of their noses and tongues with the the thought of even acknowledging the existance of such a Jeff Foxworthy "You might be a Redneck" Instrument.

What was the arrangement with all those stores before 1965 ?, they all had Tele's and Strats and such hanging in the windows .
What was the mode of business for them with Fender, just sell em' and order more ? Who represented Fender to all those stores back then ?

What ever happened to the guy across the street from Manny's who basically started the used Instrument business it seems and collected hundreds of Strats and Tele's? I actually sold him one of my 54 Strats back in the mid 80's, I got a lot of cash and a used 335 to boot. He probably sold it to some foreign guy for 10 grand.

For those that don't recall those times or maybe were not around yet, there were basically just a few brands of Electrics available. Fender ,Gibson and Gretsch were the most common. Guild didn't really have strentgh in the electric market yet at that time. It's hard to beleive that if you couldn't afford a Fender Tele or Strat, at around at $150, you went home with a Harmony for around $100. Geeze..What were we thinking ! My very first Electric was a Gibson Melody Maker, single cutaway from Eddie Bells Guitar shop somewhere in that area. My family bought it for me along with a small Gibson amp when I was 13. That would be 1961. Then George Harrison played the Burgundy Gretsch Tennessean..so I needed one of those and bought one from Henry..from there it's been all Fenders and a few Gibsons mixed in for the rest of the ride to present.

Jody..you need to write a book my friend...

tp
[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 19 December 2002 at 03:42 AM.]

Warren Davis · Post by **Warren Davis** » 20 Dec 2002 5:55 pm

Roy,
When I was going to college in Missouri back in 1952, I got $35 per week for doing a half hour daily live radio show and a big dance on Saturday night. That was pretty good money then and gave me a comfortable living while in school. From then on, it varied from $20 to $40 per gig through the years. I got $100 per show on the Wagon Wheel Opry in Illinois in the 70's. Here in Arizona it is now running from $70 to $100 per gig.

Warren Davis

Bill Hamner · Post by **Bill Hamner** » 20 Dec 2002 11:06 pm

Wow!!! This makes me appreciate the decision I made slightly over 40 yrs. ago to pack my steel away and get real job. You danged tootin, I missed the heck out of it but I subscribe to the theory that you best not look back something might be gaining on you!
Watching "The Wild Child" Emmons had already convinced me I probably should go a different direction and now that doggone Jerry Brightman has come along and put out the bait.Makes it look easy to return after being away most of your life!

Bill

Doyle Weigold · Post by **Doyle Weigold** » 25 Dec 2002 9:54 am

Jody, did you work at Mannys in 59

Jody Carver · Post by **Jody Carver** » 25 Dec 2002 11:25 am

Doyle
I never worked at Mannys,but I repped Fender and opened Mannys as a Fender dealer back in 65.

Tony amen,,thats how I feel about West 48th street,all that is left are memories.

Michael Yes I did work for Leo at MusicMan after I resigned from Fender.I did rep for Leo at G&L as well. All of this is in my memories and will be published in my book if I live that long,

Tony I was the rep since 1952 and then left to go back to playing full time,and then returned in 1958. When I saw the handwriting
on the wall which said,YOU PLAY LOUSY,GO BACK TO SELLING FENDERS NOT PLAYING THEM so I did

The used instrument store you refer to was a
store by the name of "WE BUY" they were not
interested in selling new merchandise,they made more profit on used and Vintage than the stores such as Ash, Terminal, and Mannys did. Rudy was once Jimmys Music,he had the smallest store and was by far the most well stocked Fender dealer,his only line was Fender and his business with Fender triple what the others did. Ash at that time was NOT
on West 48th St.

The prices on current merchandise was too
competitive,whereas the used and Vintage market was much more lucrative. That is how WE BUY made the sucess of his store,basically
he wasn't tied up with a MSRP and could mark
an instrument with any price he wanted.

I bought my first ever Fender from a man who
was trying to sell Eddie Bell the Fender product. Eddie was a dedicated Gibson dealer and wanted no part of this new thing called
Fender, I followed this man down the street after Bell asked him to leave and I asked him
how much he wanted for that odd looking triple neck guitar,and since I was a young guy I had to have permission from my mother and father to buy the what is now my first ever Fender Custom.This was back in 48. It was through that first Fender that I bought
which unbeknown to me belonged to Fender Sales and NOT to the salesman,This is the part that shaped my life from that day on.

This will also be in my book.Nothing negative
nothing technical,but what it was like as a young guy trying to sell a product I beleived
in,,but it was Don Randall and Leo that I put my faith in and Im happy I did. Now look at me,memories are made of this but no money,
and here it is Christmas day and Im posting
on the Forum,.

Doyle,,there were many times I would help out at Mannys and get behind the counter and help them,they were my friends as well as my best Fender dealer.

I pushed Fender while the Gibson rep pushed
Gibson,we pushed each other around

but we
all remained friends on and off the field of play,its different now. Salesmen today have
a different approach,but they do what the company asks them to do.When I did it I did it "My Way" with Leo's blessings and the rep
made the decisions in the field. If I dropped
the ball it was my error and not Fenders.

If I scored a run,it was my base hit that scored the run. I didnt have a board of directors to report my every move.

The entire game is different today..Its a new
Ballgame,but not one that I would survive in.

As Sterling Ball (Ernies son said and I quote) recently..Jody if you were in this rat race today,you would be on a steady diet
of "Proxac and Tums" I still take tums on occasion but not the "Prozac"

Thanks for your question and I hope I was able to answer you. My book will take a trip
back in time when the Music Business was a fun business and the "almighty buck was NOT the bottom line.

Thanks
Jody

Tell you this,,,IT WILL NEVER BE THE SAME,

NO WAY JOSE.....

later PS Now aren't you glad you asked

[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 25 December 2002 at 02:03 PM.]

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 25 Dec 2002 3:54 pm

I get $30.00 to not play, and $50.00 to not show up! And I believe I'm underpaid!

Jody Carver · Post by **Jody Carver** » 25 Dec 2002 4:21 pm

Who asked you Howard???

You would work just to be seen.

and not heard.[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 25 December 2002 at 04:22 PM.]

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 25 Dec 2002 4:35 pm

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 25 Dec 2002 4:41 pm

Great posts Jody..I really enjoy reading your history..When you talk about NYC I go back immediatley in my mind..what ever is left of it anyway..

thanks
tp

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 25 Dec 2002 5:59 pm

I too enjoy reading your posts, Jody. Were you the Fender rep for just the New York area or did you have the whole country?

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Carter D10 9p/10k
Richard Sinkler