September 18, 2023 I Obituary
Sam Ash Music’s COO Sammy Ash Passes Away
Sammy Ash was 65.
Sammy Ash, COO of Sam Ash Music stores, passed away on September 16 after a 12-month battle with cancer. He was 65.
Sammy Ash was named after his grandfather who founded the Sam Ash Music Company in New York City in 1924. Ash started working in the family business at the age of 15 and served in the company for nearly 50 years. As COO, Ash was responsible for heading up the customer service department and all physical aspects of the music store chain, including opening and designing new stores. As the part of the third generation of leadership, he worked alongside his brothers David and Richard Ash.
In a December 2014 interview with Music Inc., Ash spoke about what it was like to work alongside his brothers.
“Unlike certain organizations where the players that are on top change about every 18 months, we’ve been working together a long time,” Ash said during the interview. “I have to anticipate what [my brothers] want — and think — and they do the same for me.”
Ash’s son Ben Ash currently serves as the company’s content marketing manager and represents the fourth generation in the business.
In addition to his duties at Sam Ash Music, Sammy Ash was an active member of the MI industry, speaking at many NAMM shows. He is preceded in death by his father, Jerry Ash, former Sam Ash Music chairman, who passed away earlier this year in July at the age of 98.
