William “Bill” Higgins, a self-taught guitarist who opened a Catonsville musical instrument shop in 1965 and expanded his customer base by offering credit to young musicians, died of Fabry disease Wednesday at his Pasadena home. He was 81.
Born in Baltimore and raised on Park Grove Avenue in Catonsville, he was the son of Paul Higgins, a Westinghouse manager, and Mary Cray, a homemaker.
The younger Mr. Higgins was a Catonsville High School graduate and had taken a job in the Social Security Administration’s mailroom when he started giving guitar lessons.
He had no formal musical training and picked up popular songs by ear. He placed an ad in a local newspaper promoting his services as a music teacher and soon found that he needed a central location.
In 1965, Mr. Higgins and his wife, Nancy Lee Baker Higgins, rented a space behind a Frederick Road coin shop.
“We were working out of a fishing tackle box,” he said in a 2015 Catonsville Times article.
After the coin dealer left the location, the building’s landlord approached Mr. Higgins with an offer for him to take over the storefront.
“For $60, I could run the show, and I said, ‘Yes, I’ll stay,’” he said, adding that he quit the SSA.
“Music was a lot more fun,” he said.
Al Cunniff, a friend and business associate, said: “Bill had basic entrepreneurial street smarts. He had no business degrees or college. In the midst of that era of rock music — the time of The Beatles and local bands that played at Catholic Youth Organization dances — Bill was there at the right time.”
Mr. Higgins co-wrote a Sunday column in the old News American’s Young World section with Mr. Cunniff.
“It was called Music Notes and advised musicians how to get the most out of their guitars and amplifiers,” Mr. Cunniff said.
Mr. Cunniff said customers saw names of guitars and amplifiers such as Gibson and Fender on TV and needed to get them in the store.
“His immediate challenge was to get accounts with the big manufacturers who then had relationships with his competitors,” Mr. Cunniff said. “In time, Bill, through growing sales and holding musical clinics with recording artists, got a foothold. He drew the attention of the major brands.”
The business, which was run by Mr. Higgins and his wife, Nancy, grew to become a retailer of well-known instrument-makers. He soon won the Gibson, Fender and Peavey accounts.
“My father was an honest, respected and a positive person,” said his son, Brian Paul Higgins. “He greeted his customers with a handshake and often requested them to chat with him at his desk.”
His son said Mr. Higgins knew what it was to be a young musician and offered credit to those just starting out.
“People would pay him weekly,” his son said. “It was my father’s way of getting started, of getting his foot in the door.”
Bill’s Music, originally Bill’s Music House, expanded several times along Frederick Road and now occupies the old John S. Wilson lumberyard.
“When a band like Rod Stewart was playing Merriweather Post Pavilion and the technical crew needed some equipment, they came into the shop. This led to friendships and a meal backstage,” Mr. Cunniff said.
Mr. Higgins worked at the store until four years ago. His three children now operate the business.
Mr. Higgins lived on the Magothy River and enjoyed boating and crabbing. He had a pilot’s license and flew out of Clearview Airport.
Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Nancy Lee Baker Higgins, who worked alongside her husband managing the business; a son, Brian Paul Higgins, of Catonsville; two daughters, Tracey Higgins Kern and Jamie Lee Reese, also of Catonsville; two brothers, Dave Higgins of Pasadena and Mark Higgins of Easton; four sisters, Marnie Higgins of Scottsdale, Arizona, Susan Sullivan of Raleigh, North Carolina, Christine Higgins and Patricia Higgins, both of Port St. Lucie, Florida; and five grandchildren.
A funeral was held Monday at the Candle Light Funeral Home.
