We have a rich history that started over a century ago!
Here are some highlights of our journey.
Our story begins when Mr. Biggerstaff left the Chickering piano factory to start the Piano Tuning Program at Northeast Missouri State Teachers College (now Truman State University) in Kirksville, Missouri in 1922. Among his students was a talented musician and eager entrepreneur, Stanley Shaw.
Stanley graduated from Mr. Biggerstaff’s technology program in 1932. Later, he would open Shaw Music in Jefferson City which eventually expanded to three stores throughout Missouri. Mr. Shaw went on to mentor two piano technicians: his son-in-law Gus Schwartz, and Smokey Burd.
Allen “Smokey” Burd, a studio musician and guitar teacher at Shaw Music, was offered a piano tuner apprenticeship under Mr. Shaw. Smokey went into the piano tuning and repair business in 1964 and would go on to train his son Ronnie Burd, Terry Keeney, and his grandson Joe Kemple. In addition he taught piano tuning courses in South Korea, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Liberia.
Ron, a 2nd generation piano tuner, assisted Smokey in piano repairs part-time for many years.
Terry became Smokey’s competitor and remained a life-long friend.
Joe worked alongside his grandfather Smokey for over a decade, absorbing as much knowledge as he could.
Joe began working with his grandfather Smokey Burd at age 18, and is now enjoying his 38th year as a piano tuner. He has spent the last 7 years established in St. Louis, building what is now Burd & Sons. A certified Master Piano Technician, he has a wide range of experience, including having been on staff at Truman State University (where this story began 103 years ago), a tech for two different Steinway dealers, and the tech for the largest music store in Norway.
At Truman State, Joe mentored Dustin Hamilton, who has since become a well-respected technician, and who is the current piano technician at T.S.U.
Joe has mentored his two oldest sons, Ike and Riley, who join him in the shop on larger projects and who are 4th generation piano technicians.
Today, Joe provides master-level tuning for families and institutions throughout St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and St. Charles County (including St. Peters and O’Fallon).
Read more about Joe Kemple.
Burd & Sons has deep roots in piano service across St. Louis and throughout Missouri. You may remember us as St. Louis Piano Tuning or St. Louis Pianoworks – same expert team, same commitment to excellence.
We rebranded to Burd & Sons to better reflect our family legacy, but our dedication to tuning, repair, and full service care remains as strong as ever.
Our logo was inspired by another family business, Burdland Records.
Burdland Records produced several albums in the 1960’s for various Missouri-based artists.
The logo for Burdland Records was designed by Smokey Burd.
