Episode 8 of our “Paige’s of History Spotlights” is ready to go. Several state, national, and international performing arts organizations were formed during this time, as well as big changes in our company. Watch the video to learn what else was happening in our country and with our company between 1975-1990!
TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome back to our journey through the history of Paige’s Music. Today, we’ll traverse through the 1970s and 1980s an explosive time for the performing arts.
1976 also marked a major milestone for Paige’s Music. We opened our first Indianapolis location and have called Indianapolis home ever since.
We expanded our business to first in Terre Haute to the mall. And then that grew and grew and then decided to put a store in Indianapolis. That would be our central location for our salesmen calling on schools. And it got it got to be real good.
That same year, Paige’s Music partnered with Bands Of America and hosted the very first Grand National Championships at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater.
Seven years after landing on the moon NASA accomplished another feat by landing on Mars for the first time, a journey we were likely to repeat with astronauts in the coming decade.
America’s achievements in the space age inspired the most famous sci-fi movie of all-Star Wars. A billion years in the making.
A milestone in filmmaking. The movie is well known for its legendary score composed by John Williams. The beloved melodies and masterful orchestration influenced a new generation of film composers.
In 1977, Winter Guard International was formed, and in 1978, they held their first World Championship event in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
Two years later, In 1980, the Jupiter brand of band instruments was introduced.
On the heels of successful national and international performing arts organizations in the 1970s, the Indiana State School Music Association was formed in 1981. Known informally as ISSMA, the organization hosts marching band, jazz band, concert band and choir competitions every year. ISSMA is one of the primary reasons why Indiana is a crown jewel in the nation for the performing arts.
In 1984, the Baltimore Colts moved to Indianapolis, becoming the Indianapolis Colts. In addition to bringing the team. The move resulted in the building of the RCA Dome and eventually Lucas Oil Stadium – hallmarked performing venues for Bands Of America and Drum Corps International.
In 1989, Bands Of America permanently moved their Grand National Championships to Indianapolis.
Capping off a decade of rapid growth, Warner Paige III decided to redirect the focus of the business exclusively on our strongest segment, the Indiana school music market. To achieve this goal. Warner made what many considered a bold move in 1989 by selling the Terre Haute and Fort Wayne stores to competitors and consolidating all business operations in Indianapolis.
And that’s why I decided to shut it down. I shut down Fort Wayne. I sold it off. I shut down Terre Haute, and I said, I am going to concentrate on what I know and do best. So that’s how it kind of evolved into just a band and orchestra, a central warehouse kind of concept in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Wow, what an incredible 15 years. Join us next time as we look at the rise of several boutique manufacturers in the 1990s and early 2000s.
See you next time!