Though born and grew up in a musical family, Sherwood Roland Ball, widely known as Ernie Ball at first didn’t really manifested an obvious inclination as regards to music. Primarily seeking to please his father, he picked up the steel at the age of nine, but became bored and finally gave it up. His grandfather authored the typical, "When Irish Eyes are Smiling", a lighthearted song in tribute to Ireland. His father on the other hand, was a car salesman who taught Hawaiian steel guitar on the side. Later in his early teens, he began to take a renewed interest on the instrument. He was practicing as many as three hours a day and became a member of the Musicians Union in a span of one year. His real name was then not suitable for stage use so his bandmates gave him a name Ernie Ball.

He was also an American entrepreneur, highly acclaimed as an innovator in the development of guitars and related products and accessories. He opened the arguable first music store in the United States sometime in 1957 or 1958, exclusively selling guitars. Because of this, he was criticized by music sales representatives for declining to sell drumsticks and other instruments. He was frequently discouraged that there’s no success in a guitar store, but it did not proved right as people from miles came to visit his shop and even soon started to export his products to various countries. His popular products include Guitar Strings, Bass Strings, Accessories, Pedals, and Super Locks. All in different variations. He did not create something new, but instead simply saw a demand and persist on improving upon existing products and eventually succeed in finding ways to meet market demands. He was the type of a businessman who disregards market surveys and prefers to test the product on in the marketplace to see if they would succeed. He regarded profit-and-loss as necessary business language and trusted his instincts.

The birth of the Ernie Ball brand was made remarkable when he convinced a string manufacturer to make him custom sets with a 24-gauge third string which he sold in his store. This resulted when he noticed that beginner students experienced difficulty playing the bestselling Fender #100 medium gauge strings. This is so because at that time, it was common for a set of strings to have a wound third string. He had the problem discussed with the Fender company, suggested a lighter gauge but this was rebuffed by the company. His proposals were repeatedly turned down by Fender but he was never dispirited and instead goes to another company and continuously branding a product under his name whenever there’s newly manufactured. His store now gained attraction and large patronage by professional musicians. Today, Ernie Ball Slinkys are the favorite of many world famous guitar players. Apart from this, Ball was receiving mail orders from individuals and store Before his death, Ernie Ball has remained active in his business for forty-two years. He was married and had three sons and a daughter. His interests include collecting cars, surfing, and flying airplanes. He passed away on September 9, 2004 from an ongoing, undisclosed illness, leaving the business to his sons and some of his family members.