The Slingerland Drum Company is a historic drum company that is linked to the rich history of jazz drumming. The company was founded by Henry Heanon "H.H." Slingerland (1875-1946) in 1912. Slingerland had won a correspondence school of music in a card game aboard one of the gaming boats that once cruised Lake Michigan. He then opened a music school in Chicago, and soon turned to manufacturing instruments as well. The company started out importing ukuleles from Germany, but set up its own production because it could not meet demand. Soon, they produced their own banjos and ukuleles and eventually, also guitars (including electric guitars from 1936 or earlier). Production of drums was started in 1927 in answer to the entry of the Ludwig & Ludwig drum company into the banjo market. The first Slingerland drum kits came out in 1928.
A resourceful and energetic businessman, H.H. established an extensive dealer network throughout the U.S., the then-territory of Hawaii (in the early 1930s) and China. After H.H.'s death from a stroke, the company was run by his wife, Nona, and one of their children, Henry Jr. (known as "Budd.") The company's manufacturing plant was later moved from Chicago proper to the outer suburbs. H.H.'s other interest, a large dairy farm bought from the McCormick family on the Rock River in northwestern Illinois, was taken over by his eldest child, Marion, and her husband Richard B. McLaughlin.
The company remained in the Slingerland family until 1970. In the 1970s and 1980s, Slingerland changed ownership multiple times until it was acquired from Gretsch by the Gibson musical instruments company in 1994. Slingerland still exists and offers a variety of drum sets, including Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich signature sets. They now operate from Conway, Arkansas, and also produce a series of drum kits there.
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