Hartley Peavey

Hartley Peavey (born December 30, 1941, Meridian, Mississippi, United States) is a founder and CEO of Peavey Electronics Corporation and a well-known innovator in the musical equipment industry. A 1964 graduate of Mississippi State University, Peavey has been recognized by his alma mater as an Alumni Fellow and as the 2004 commencement speaker. He also received an honorary doctor of creative and performing arts degree from Mississippi State in 2004.

Hartley Peavey founded Peavey Electronics, one of the world’s largest manufacturers and suppliers of musical and professional audio equipment, in 1964 after building his first amplifier in 1956. Since its foundation, Peavey Electronics has been privately owned, and has grown massively from their humble beginnings in Hartley's basement in the 1950s.

As a teenager, he built his first guitar amplifier in the basement of his parents' house. In 1964, he moved into the first Peavey Electronics facility in the attic space above a music shop in Meridian.

In the past 30 years, Hartley has expanded his musical empire into the production of keyboards and drum instruments, with manufacturing facilities spread over several continents.

Awards and honors

List copied from Peavey corporate web site:

• 2003: Honored by the City of Meridian, Mississippi, with "Hartley Peavey Drive"
• 2001: Inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame (see also Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame web site)
• 1996: Profiled by CNN and featured in international print ad campaign in Forbes, The Economist, BusinessWeek and Money
• 1991: Honored by the President of the United States, George H. W. Bush, for workplace training, education and achievements in the international marketplace
• 1990: Inducted into Rock Walk of Fame, Hollywood, California

Notes

• Achard, Ken. Peavey Revolution: Story of Hartley Peavey and the Company He Created. San Francisco: Backbeat Books; Berkeley, CA: Distributed to the book trade in the US and Canada by Publishers Group West; Milwaukee, WI: Distributed to the music trade in the US and Canada by Hal Leonard Publishing Co, © 2005. ISBN 0-87930-849-4.

External links

• Hartley Peavey's biography at corporate site
• Video Interview with Hartley Peavey
• Video Interview with Hartley Peavey at 2011 NAMM Show by The Musician Network®