Rooks, Ron (July 28, 1952-August 28, 2006)
Dates
- Existence: July 28, 1952 - August 28, 2006
Biography
Ron Rooks (July 28, 1952 – August 28, 2006) was the owner of Music Exchange, a record store in Kansas City that Rooks opened in 1979 with his wife Nancy. The store was a fixture in the Westport district, operating at 207 Westport Road until 1998 before relocating to 4200 Broadway. One of the biggest in the Midwest, the Broadway location was a 10,800 square-foot building containing hundreds of thousands of records, movie posters, comics, promotional and concert items and other music memorabilia, which Rooks referred to as “Americana.” Throughout its history the Music Exchange always carried hard-to-find vintage records of all genres, and attracted people from across the country, many of whom would come in to see the things hanging on the walls, not necessarily to buy music. Rooks also booked performers and local artists for live shows in-store at both locations. High overhead costs forced Rooks to relocate to a warehouse at 13th Terrace and Hickory in the West Bottoms in May 2006. Rooks passed away suddenly August 28, 2006, while at his office.
Sources:
http://backtorockville.typepad.com/back_to_rockville/2006/08/farewell_ron_ro.html
http://blogs.pitch.com/wayward/2008/06/the_music_exchange_to_open_doo.php
http://blogs.pitch.com/wayward/2006/08/goodbye_ron.php
http://www.pitch.com/2006-09-07/music/rooked/
http://www.pitch.com/2005-04-28/music/after-the-sunset/
