Ernie Ball (born Roland Sherwood Ball; August 30, 1930 – September 9, 2004) was an American entrepreneur and musician who developed guitar-related products. Ball began as a club and local television musician and entrepreneur, building an international business in guitars and accessories. Ernie Ball Inc. is the eponymous corporation Ball started to market guitar accessories.
Early life
Ball was born Roland Sherwood Ball in Santa Monica, California, and grew up in a musical family, the son of Frances (née Shankland) and Roland Adelbert Ball. and his father was a car salesman who taught Hawaiian steel guitar on the side. Although Ball began to play steel guitar at age nine to please his father, he lost interest for several years. In his early teens he took a renewed interest in the instrument, practicing as many as three hours a day. Within a year he was a member of the Musicians Union.
Career
Professional musician
While still in his early teens, Ball began playing professionally in South Central Los Angeles beer bars. By age 19 he joined the Tommy Duncan Band playing pedal steel guitar. Duncan, the former lead singer with Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, took the band on tour through the Southwestern United States. During the Korean War, he did a tour of duty in the United States Air Force Band, playing guitar and bass drum. The position soon gained him wider recognition in the Los Angeles music scene and led to studio work and teaching jobs. By the early 1970s, Ball established brand distributors in Europe and Asia.
In 1985, the company was moved to a new facility in San Luis Obispo and remained there with all of its operations until early 2003, when the company relocated its string manufacturing to Coachella in Southern California’s Riverside County. Under Ball's leadership, it grossed more than $40 million per annum.
Ball remained active in his company until his death 42 years after its founding. He died from an ongoing, undisclosed illness on September 9, 2004, leaving the business to his sons and other family members. He was buried near his home at San Luis Cemetery in San Luis Obispo, California.