I have often thought of Ben Strauss as one of the nicest men I ever met. He's pleasant, he's a teacher, he's generous with his time and quite frankly, he's also really smart. Doesn't this sound like the perfect father figure for all of us?

Ben was the sales manager for the former Rogers Drum Company during its glory days. For most of that time, Rogers was a division of Grossman Music of Cleveland, Ohio.

In April of 1966, Rogers was purchased by CBS and Ben went with the new owner. From the late 50's through the late 70's, Rogers was simply the most innovative drum company around. In one respect, they had to be. Ludwig and Slingerland were huge in comparison and Camco and Gretsch were companies with other products to sell so that drums were not the only- and really, even, the main business.

Rogers brought out the first really practical tom mounts, flared legs on floor toms, memory locks and a host of other items. And there on the front lines was Ben Strauss. He came up with the nicknames that stuck- Swiv-O-Matic and Dyna-Sonic. He assembled an enviable group of endorsers- Buddy Rich, Louie Bellson, Cozy Cole- back in the days when endorsements were believable. Ben ever measured and weighed Buddy's sticks to match them for the Master. Is this a great guy or what?

Ben has been retired for a number of years but he loves his memories of Rogers and the interest that players and collectors show for those wonderful products.

For many years, Ben Strauss may have had some anonymity. That's OK. Today, he is recognized as one of the most important people in our 20th Century History of Percussion. Not bad for a cornet player.

Best wishes to Ben Strauss... what a guy.