Alembic Guitars Club
Connecting => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: Jonathan Johnstone (stoney) on December 23, 2002, 05:03:47 AM
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I'm sure all of you in the Washington DC area will be interested in the following article. For musicians far and wide, the music world has lost an icon. Washington Music Center as sold Alembic Basses and Guitars for many years.
Chuck Levin Dies at 76; Owned Storied Washington Music Center
Chuck Levin, 76, the owner and president of the legendary Washington
Music Center of Wheaton that music trade publications have called the
world's largest single music store, died of cancer Dec. 22 at his home in
Bethesda.
He founded the business on H Street in Washington in 1958 and moved it to
Wheaton a decade later. The store, with more than 100 employees, takes up
four warehouses and nearly a full city block.
Mr. Levin presided over a business that not only leased and sold musical
instruments but also repaired instruments and set up sound, lighting and
recording systems for homes, music studios, schools, nightclubs and
airports.
Over the years, the store's customers included Stevie Wonder; such groups
as the Moody Blues, the Talking Heads and the Rolling Stones; U.S. military
service bands; and others around the world.
The business sold and leased such items as Fender, Gibson, Hamar, Peavey
and Taylor guitars; Akai, Ensoniq, Kawai, Korg, Roland and Yamaha keyboards;
Ludwig, Pearl and Tama percussion instruments; and others from Armstrong,
Bach, Bundy and Holton.
In 2001, the store received six major awards from the National
Association of Music Merchants, including those for best pro audio and
lighting departments and for best music store.
Yet, Mr. Levin's heart did not seem to be entirely with sales to
professionals or in catering to musical celebrities.
In October 1998, The Washington Post published a story about Mr. Levin
and his business in which he said working with children gave him the
greatest satisfaction. That's why I started renting, he said.
The story focused on the fact that in the previous three weeks he had
rented more than 3,800 band instruments to Washington area schoolchildren.
A store spokesman said that it was the largest volume distributor of
school instruments in the world. Perhaps one of the ways the store secured
that honor was through its prices.
A rental for a school year might cost less than $100. The Post reported
that Mr. Levin had been leasing instruments to children for 35 years, and
during that time, prices had gone up only 10 percent.
Mr. Levin, who was born in the Bronx, N.Y., came to the Washington area
as a teenager. He served with the Merchant Marine in the Atlantic during
World War II.
He was a member of B'nai Israel Congregation in Rockville.
Survivors include his wife of 51 years, Margie Levin, and a daughter,
Abbe Levin, both of Bethesda; two sons, Alan and Robert, both of Rockville;
a sister; and two grandchildren.
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We're deeply saddened to hear this news. Washington Music is our oldest dealer, and I can't remember a time without Chuck. I understand he was so dedicated to his store, that even in the hospital, he had paperwork brought in so he could do his work.
The store is closed today for the services.
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That is sad. I grew up in the Marlyand/DC area and Chuck Levin's was/is a landmark for all of us who were local musicians and that grew up in the area. I met Chuck once, and he seemed like a really nice guy. I ordered my custom through Washington Music center back in '94 because I could get the best deal as they were one of the largest Alembic dealers. Man, what a blast from the past for me.It's amazing to think how many peoples lives he touched through his music store.
-Earl