Owen Bradley
October 21, 1915 – January 7, 1998
Owen Bradley was a prominent country music producer who was one of the architects of what would become known as the “Nashville Sound.” Bradley began his career at storied radio station, WSM-AM, where he worked as a staff musician and engineer. He quickly moved up the ranks while moonlighting as a songwriter. Bradley’s earliest song of significance was “Night Train To Memphis,” first made famous by Roy Acuff. He was soon hired by Decca Records as a musician and assistant producer, working on many country hits of the ’50s. By 1958, Bradley was the vice president of the label’s Nashville division and was laying the foundation for the Nashville Sound. Throughout his career, Bradley helped make stars out of the likes of Patsy Cline, Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn and Brenda Lee. His recordings of Cline in particular, became the blueprint for those of countless female country singers to come. Owen Bradly was 82 when he passed away on January 7, 1998.