UK production. Dave Clark of the Dave Clark Five and Pete York of the Spencer Davis Group were prominent British drummers using Rogers equipment during that era; along with Mick Avory of the Kinks (before switching to Ludwig) and John Steel of The Animals (after switching from Premier). Shortly after being purchased by CBS in 1966, Rogers drums moved its production in 1969 from Ohio to a Fullerton, CA factory complex, where the American Fender Guitars were also produced. In 1983, CBS sold Rogers and Fender to a group of individuals who were running the Fender division; the new owners soon after decided to discontinue the Rogers Drums line. Between 1984 and 1998, the Rogers name was owned by Island Music, who manufactured low-cost copies of the famous Big R Rogers drums outside the US. 1998 to present day In 1998, the Rogers name was acquired by the Brook Mays Music Company (BMMC) of Dallas, Texas. Jim Rosenthal, then VP Marketing for BMMC, identified the opportunity to purchase the name and revitalize the brand. BMMC began the brand as a low-cost, but high-quality import line of beginner drum sets that were sold exclusively through the company's own chain of music stores. The first kits were manufactured by Peace Drums of Taiwan. The drums sold successfully because many drummers (especially younger ones) wanted Rogers kits and the kits were excellent value. Bill Crowden, son-in-law of Bill Ludwig, was working for BMMC at the time and was brought in to the Dallas office to run Rogers. Together with Jim Rosenthal, they developed the line, using the names of Rogers kits and drums from the '60s. A high-quality line of kits emerged that included maple and birch shells with beavertail lugs and modern double-braced hardware. Sales of Rogers kits across the board for BMMC were extremely successful. However, in the summer of 2006, BMMC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. On August 26, 2006, the Yamaha Corporation of America announced that it had acquired the intellectual property rights to the Rogers Drum Company at the BMMC bankruptcy court-ordered auction. "Opportunities to acquire a well-respected brand that is so treasured by players do not come along every day," said Tom Sumner, Vice President and General Manager of Yamaha's Pro Audio & Combo Division. "We will use our expertise to improve on the Rogers legacy." Yamaha displayed its new Rogers drums at winter NAMM 2007.