As many Americans scrambled to file their taxes on time, we at Special Collections in Performing Arts (SCPA) would like to highlight the efforts of music industry luminary Lynn L. Sams in advocating for tax repeal on the purchase of musical instruments!
Born on April 4, 1896, Sams' career in music began as a traveling salesman for the Conn Corporation, one of the largest and most historically significant instrument manufacturers in the United States. Sams' early days in instrument sales may have inspired the character of Harold Hill in Meredith Willson's beloved musical The Music Man. Throughout his career, which included some time as vice president of the Buescher Instrument Company, Sams collected and conducted research on school bands as well as the American Bandmasters Association, an organization of band directors, composers, and members of allied professions of which he was a founding member. Sams's personal papers are part of the American Bandmasters Association Research Center at SCPA, and the presence there of a most unusual item, "The Last Taxable Musical Instrument Award," pictured below, inspired further research into his advocacy efforts just in time for this year's Tax Day.
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