Owner of El Rey; played with some of the greats in country music
The former owner of El Rey Music Center in Arlington Heights, who promoted the study of guitar long before the launch of rock 'n' roll, is being mourned by his colleagues in the music business.
Ray Gaitsch started the store in Chicago in 1947 with his business partner, Elmer Herrick, and moved it to Arlington Heights in 1960. He died Aug. 3; the longtime Des Plaines resident was 85.
"At the time he started the store, it was fairly exotic," says Tom Henrickson, who bought El Rey from Mr. Gaitsch in 1990. "This was pre-Elvis, so to have a guitar store was fairly cutting edge."
Mr. Gaitsch grew up on a farm in Des Plaines, teaching himself to play the steel guitar on his lap. He was a pedal steel player with the WLS National Barn Dance in Chicago for years.
Colleagues say Mr. Gaitsch toured with one of the troop's trios, and played with such icons as Les Paul and Chet Atkins during those years. He continued to remain in touch with them throughout his life, especially in his role as president of the American Guild of Music.
When Mr. Gaitsch opened the music store with Herrick, they used a play on their names to come up with "El Rey," which in Spanish means"the king" or the king of music, as they promoted in their early advertisements.
The store was frequented by up-and-coming Chicago area musicians, such as Ted Nugent, The Buckinghams and the band Chicago.
Their move to Arlington Heights resulted in a momentous location: During the 1960s, the store was located across from The Cellar, which drew early rock 'n' roll bands to play to suburban audiences, including Cream, The Who, Buffalo Springfield, and the Shadows of Knight, to name a few, who also would stop by the store.
By the 1970s, the store moved again, to a house on Eastman Street in downtown Arlington Heights.
"It was a place for all the neighborhood kids to go," Henrickson recalls. "With all the gleaming new guitars hanging in the window, it was mesmerizing."
Gaitsch taught guitar lessons and always insisted his students learn to read music, Henrickson says. His own sons, David, Bruce and Tom, all played guitar in bands, and often helped run the store.
Bruce Gaitsch plays professionally in Nashville, and has played with and for Madonna, Richard Marks, and Timothy Schmitt of the Eagles, among others.
Bill and Sue Manglaris now own El Rey Music Center, where they continue to keep the focus on guitar lessons, and now sponsor annual student showcases to give them a venue to perform.
"I took lessons myself at the store back in the '60s," Bill Manglaris says. "That's part of the reason why I bought it, because of the nostalgia.
"But it all started with Ray. He was a pioneer in the industry, and he made guitar music accessible to students from throughout the suburbs."
Mr. Gaitsch was preceded in death by his wife, Betty. He is survived by his three sons and their wives, seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
Services have been held.