Sammy Ash, COO of the family-run Sam Ash Music chain, died September 16, 2023, after a year-long battle with stage four melanoma. He was 65.
Named after the grandfather who founded the company in 1924, Ash spent his working life with the stores beginning in 1973. Among the notable turns in his career was helping designer Susumu Tamura name the Ibanez Tube Screamer TS-808 pedal, and guiding the company to become the first retailer to carry guitars made by Paul Reed Smith. In a January ’22 Vintage Guitar feature on Ash’s collection of PRS instruments, Smith recalled how Sam Ash Music’s first order – for more than $250,000 and placed by Sammy’s brother, Richard, pinch-hitting because Sammy was bedridden with a cold that day – played a key role in PRS Guitars becoming a reality.
A devoted guitarist and collector with a deep knowledge of vintage instruments, he established the used/vintage division of Sam Ash Music, which he considered his crowning achievement.
“I was lucky to have known Sammy,” said Mike Rock, who was hired as the chain’s Senior Buyer in 2008. “He took his work seriously, but never took himself too seriously. Sam loved showing up to work every day, and his cheerfulness was contagious. He and I would go over reports with his door closed so we could crack jokes and laugh without disturbing the whole office. When Sam really got to laughing, he’d light up the room, and his self-disparaging humor made him easy to admire.
“I felt very fortunate to work so closely with him for nearly 10 years. We had fun hunting for guitar collections and had an absolute riot shooting ads for VG; we dressed up as Vince and Jules from Pulp Fiction, a pair of zombies, surfers, action figures, and whatever kooky ideas Sam cooked up each month. He was a mentor and friend more than a boss, and a man I loved like a brother.”
“He was a lovely human being and mensch,” Smith said. “I don’t ever remember him complaining or saying a bad word about anybody, and while ours was a business relationship, we were good friends, as well. He was always very loving to his family and friends.”
Smith fondly recalls how Ash became “gleeful” every time he told him about finding another early PRS for his collection.
Guitarist Elliot Easton first met the Ash brothers in the late ’60s at their outlet in Huntington Station, on Long Island, and reconnected a decade later when Easton bought a new D-18.
“Of course, the first time I was in their store, the only thing I could afford were the Martin brochures,” he chuckled. “But when I bought the D-18 in ’79, Sammy and I hit it off because we remembered each other as kids. We became – and remained – good friends, and always got a laugh talking about that guitar.
“His passing is a huge loss for not only his family and friends, but the entire music community.”
Ash is survived by his wife, Rachel, four sons, and his brother.
This article originally appeared in VG’s November 2023 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
