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{{Short description|Violinist, teacher, and entrepreneur (1897–1956)}}
{{about|the entepreneur|the chain of musical instrument stores he founded|Sam Ash Music|the vaudeville singer and movie actor|Sam Ash (actor)}}
{{Infobox person
|name        = Sam Ash
|birth_name  = Samuel Ashkynase
|image       =
|caption     =
|birth_date  = {{birth date|1897|8|21|mf=y}}
|birth_place = [[Austria-Hungary]]
|death_date  = {{death date and age|1956|9|8|1897|8|21|mf=y}}
|death_place =
|occupation  = [[Musician]], [[Music education|music teacher]], [[Entrepreneurship|Entrepreneur]]
|nationality = American
|alma_mater  =
|spouse      = Rose Dinin (m. 1924)
|relatives   = Jerry Ash (son)<br>Paul Ash (son)<br>Marcia Ash (daughter)
}}
'''Sam Ash''' (born '''Samuel Ashkynase'''; August 21, 1897 – September 8, 1956) was a violinist, teacher, and entrepreneur, best known as the founder of the [[Sam Ash Music|Sam Ash Music Store]].
==Life and career==
===Early life===
Ashkynase was born to Moishe and Mottle Ashkynase in a small town in [[Austria-Hungary]] on August 21, 1897. In 1907 his family immigrated to the [[United States]].,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.limusichalloffame.org/inductees/sam-ash/ |title=Long Island Music Hall of Fame: Sam Ash |publisher=Long Island Music Hall of Fame |accessdate=December 21, 2018}}</ref> settling on Hopkinson Avenue in [[Brooklyn]].
When Ash's father Morris became unemployed after contending with a [[tumor]], he entered the workforce to help with his family's finances, working as an [[apprentice]] as a [[Pattern (sewing)|cutter]] in the [[Clothing industry|garment industry]]. At the same time Ash was discovering that his true passion was playing the [[violin]]. Ash began [[music lesson|teaching music lessons]] and later formed the Sam Ash Orchestra, performing at weddings, dances, and [[:Category:Jewish organizations|Jewish organizations]] around the [[New York City]] area.
===Marriage and Sam Ash Music Store===
In August 1923 Sam met [[Russia]]n immigrant Rose Dinin and 6 months later, on February 9, 1924, they married. Rose felt that the income from Sam's music career wasn't reliable, so they decided to start their own business. They pawned Rose's [[engagement ring]] for $400 (she later got it back) in order to make the final downpayment to rent the building that would become the first Sam Ash Music Store.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Beat Goes On |url=http://risnews.com/beat-goes-0 |website=Retail Info System |date=August 2003 |publisher=EnsembleIQ |accessdate=21 December 2018}}</ref>
In 1925, their first son Jerry was born, followed in 1929 by their second son Paul, and finally their daughter Marcia in 1935, with the family living in a small 3-bedroom apartment behind the music store as they struggled to grow the business in the midst of the [[Great Depression]]. As the economy began to recover their neighborhood was declining, so in 1944 they moved to another part of Brooklyn, buying a building on 236 Utica Avenue.
Ash had already expanded his store's offerings beyond the initial assortment of sheet music, music instrument repairs, and phonographs. He began capitalizing on area school music programs by delivering sheet music and stocking a growing selection of band instruments. In the 1950s as [[rhythm and blues]] and [[rock and roll]] gained popularity, Ash was among the first stores in the area to add [[guitar]] brands like [[Gibson (guitar company)|Gibson]] and [[Fender Musical Instruments Corporation|Fender]]. He also tasked son Paul with adding a record store, which at one point accounted for nearly half the store's overall revenue.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=Douglas |title=Paul Ash, Who Made Music Store a Chain, Dies at 84 |url=https://nytimes.com/2014/02/11/business/paul-ash-president-of-music-store-chain-dies-at-84.html |accessdate=21 December 2018 |agency=The New York Times |publisher=The New York Times Company |date=10 February 2014}}</ref>
===Death===
On September 8, 1956, Sam died of a massive [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]].
==Recognition==
Sam Ash was inducted into the [[Long Island Music Hall of Fame]] on October 15, 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.limusichalloffame.org/project/sam-ash/ |title=Sam Ash - Long Island Music Hall of Fame |publisher=Long Island Music Hall of Fame |accessdate=August 19, 2015}}</ref>
==See also==
*[[Sam Ash Music]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* [https://www.samash.com/help/about-us Sam Ash - About Us]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ash, Sam}}
[[Category:1897 births]]
[[Category:1956 deaths]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from New York City]]
[[Category:People from Brownsville, Brooklyn]]
[[Category:People from Crown Heights, Brooklyn]]
[[Category:American people of Austrian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Retail company founders]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:Burials at Beth David Cemetery]]
[[Category:Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States]]