The History of Tarpley Music
Clara Tarpley was a piano teacher in Wellington, Texas in the early 1900s, and began selling pianos in 1917. In the 1920s she began selling pianos out of a hardware store in Shamrock, Texas. During the 1920s, Pampa Texas was a booming oil town and Mrs. Tarpley decided that was the place to be. So in 1927 she moved her business into downtown Pampa (in a 15' x 75' building) and established Tarpley Music Company. Pianos were very popular in the 1920s. She would receive the pianos by train from all over the country for sell in West Texas. The Tarpleys maintained a location in Pampa for 80 years.
Clara was actively involved in all facets of the business including deliveries. Ironically her untimely death was the result of a traffic accident following a delivery in 1954. Her son Louis was already involved in the business, and took over the full time management of Tarpley Music. He was an outstanding businessman, and continued the growth of the company. The company was selling everything from televisions, antennas, appliances, and of course musical instruments. Louis passed away in 1962.
Louis's sons Bill and Glenn took over the management at that time. They continued to expand the business by adding stereo equipment, guitars, and other "hot" products of the time. They sold many of the original products from Fender, Gibson, Martin, and Hammond. The brothers being very successful in Pampa decided to open a store in nearby Perryton, Texas in 1960. They kept that store until 1964, when they had an opportunity to purchase Jenkins Music in Amarillo, Texas. In 1966 the Tolzien family approached them to buy their store in Amarillo, which they did.
In 1984, Bill's son David joined the company full time. In 1986, the company opened a store in Lubbock after purchasing the Electric Ear. David took over the management of that location. In 1989, Glenn's son John joined the company full time. He took over the management of the Pampa store in 1991. Also in 1991, the company expanded to a fourth location in Clovis, New Mexico.
During the 1990's David and John assumed the management of the company. In 1995, a central warehouse and office complex was built in Amarillo. David and John both moved to Amarillo to manage the company from there. Again in 1998, they added the fifth Tarpley location in Wichita Falls, Texas that was in operation until 2007. In 2006, a new location was added in San Angelo, Texas.
Tarpley Music continues to grow and expand, always striving to keep the company on the cutting edge of the music industry. Tarpley Music has continued to expand into other markets as well. We have a complete sound and video installation division, which was begun in 1991 in Lubbock. We also have the most complete Band and Orchestra department in West Texas. We have educational representatives who call on the area schools, and three complete repair facilities to provide service and support. In 2008 Tarpley Music went into a partnership with Penders Music in Denton, Texas and Southlake Music Academy in Southlake, Texas to develop a new retail company, Music1st that is designed for retail operations with teaching studios.
Tarpley Music ranks among the top 200 music stores in the country (out of an estimated 8,000+ music stores), as ranked by Music Trades Magazine. With the fourth generation now in place, we are poised to continue the growth of Tarpley Music Company. We are very proud of our heritage, and look forward to serving our communities.