Owen Bradley: Legacy of Country Music

Country music would not be what it is today if not for the man named Owen Bradley. Bradley was a popular country music producer in the 1950’s and 1960’s. He helped make country music become more accessible and radio-friendly by blending country music with pop. His technique built the foundation of pop-country music and made stars out of Brenda Lee and Patsy Cline in the 1950’s.

Bradley was born in Westmoreland, Tennessee but grew up in Nashville. He became a professional piano player in his teens, when he used to perform in clubs, joints and roadhouses. He worked with WSM radio when he was 20. Within the next five years, Bradley was an integral part of WSM. He was hired by WSM as fulltime instrumentalist and arranger in 1940. Some two years later, he was the station’s musical director. While at WSM, Bradley led his own dance band, which was a popular attraction in high society parties in Nashville.

In 1947, Bradley worked as the assistant of music producer Paul Cohen at Decca Records. His stint with Cohen exposed Bradley to the ins and outs of production. Whenever Cohen could not travel from New York to Nashville, Bradley ended up doing the production himself.

Bradley and his brother Harold founded a film studio in 1951. They moved from the original location in Hillsboro Village to a Quonset hut on 16^th Avenue South. The Quonset hut became the studio in 1955; the first on that street which later be known as Music Row.

When Cohen left Decca in 1958, Bradley became the vice president of Decca’s Nashville Division label. He pioneered the Nashville sound where he combined orchestration with pop to produce country music. He worked with Cline, where her music always makes it to the Top ten hits. Then Bradley also produced Lee’s albums and hit the charts as well. Bradley also produced the albums of Web Pierce and Kitty Wells.

In 1961, Bradley purchased a farm outside Nashville. He converted the barn into a demo studio. Later, it became a first rate studio and was named Bradley’s Barn.

Bradley made it to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1974. Through his retirement, he continued to produce occasional projects. He died on January 7, 1998.

Robert S. Brookings and His Legacy for the American People

Robert S. Brookings was an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was more popularly known for his contributions to St. Louis’ Washington University and for his efforts to establish the Brookings Institution.

Brookings was born on January 22, 1850 in Baltimore, Maryland. He grew up there until he was 17, when he moved to St. Louis, Missouri with his brother Harry. They worked with household goods wholesaler Cupples & Marston. In 1872, Robert and Harry managed the firm and grew during their tenure.

By the time Brookings was financially secure, he left the management of the company in 1895 and began involving himself in philanthropic activities. He became the Chairman of the Board of Washington University where he donated more than $5 million in cash and assets. He served the University until his death in 1932.

During the presidency of President Woodrow Wilson, Brookings was appointed to the War Industries Board in 1917. Later, he became the chairman of the Board’s Price Fixing Committee. As the chairman of this committee, he liaised between the different industries and the US government. He received the US Distinguished Service Medal.

Brookings founded the Institute for Government Research in 1916. Later, he also founded a school of public policy and an institute for economics. The three entities merged in 1927 which gave birth to the Brookings Institution.

William Edward Boeing: Setting the Pathway of American Dominance in the Aviation Industry

He saw the need for new technologies to be able to fight in the World War II, so William Edward Boeing was able to capitalize on that need to become an icon in the history of American aviation.

Boeing started as a general businessman but he became a giant in the aviation business in the 1940s. Majority of his successes were the result of meeting the needs of the World War II, providing aircrafts of diverse capabilities to be able to fight in the War.

He studied in Yale University’s Sheffield Scientific School. Together with his friend Conrad Westervelt, Boeing created the Boeing Airplane Company in 1915. His dream was to build stronger planes than the ones made with wood used during those days.

Using a seaplane hangar located in Seattle, the Boeing Company started producing planes, with the European designs of planes used in the World War I as models. The US Navy got attracted with two of Boeing’s seaplanes. This encouraged Boeing to produce newer ones which can be used for pilot training.

The World War I caused Boeing Company’s rapid expansion, while the periods between wars were stagnant for Boeing. But the company held on to its reputation and was awarded with the Daniel Guggenheim Medal for its pioneering efforts in aircraft design and production.

Boeing Company even grew larger when the World War II was anticipated. Boeing became the big boss of 2,960 employees through the end of 1938. But during the attack of the Pearl Harbor in 1941, he was the employer of 28,840 workers.

Boeing was responsible for designing the three basic military planes used during the War: the B-17 Flying Fortress (1934), the B-29 Superfortress (1938), and the training plane Kaydet. B-17 and B-29 became the icons of American capacity during the war. In fact, the B-29 Superfortress dropped the first atomic bomb in Japan.

After the war, Boeing’s health started to fail. He severed his financial connections with the Boeing Company. In spite of this, Boeing continued to produce not only military planes but also commercial airliners. When Boeing died in 1956, his company was able to produce the largest jet bomber in the US, the B-52.

Pope Sixtus IV: Making Money Out of Damnation

Of all the high-profile entrepreneurs who graced those history books and magazine covers, Francisco della Rovere or Pope Sixtus IV is probably the most controversial one, what with his business that made money out of damnation and long list of scandals that were enough to give the most sinful man a run for his money.

Born in 1414 to a wealthy and influential Papal family, Pope Sixtus VI made a highly unconventional move for a member of an illustrious Papal family. He entered the Franciscan order and studied theology and philosophy at the University of Pavia and around this time, fathered a number of illegitimate children through several affairs. He became the pope in 1474.

Pope Sixtus IV’s entrepreneurial flair kicked in after he realized that there was money to be made from the dead. He developed a way for the Church to bring in more profit by telling the Catholic community that the time their dearly departed loved ones will spend suffering in the purgatory will be lessened if they increase their donations to the Vatican. The coffers filled quickly and soon enough, there was plenty of money to go around in the Church. Pope Sixtus IV grew his business further by permitting the Spanish Inquisition and licensing brothels.

Needless to say, Pope Sixtus IV is a dodgy businessman, and probably should not be included in the list of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs. But his knack for creating ways to make money – no matter how devious they were – was the kind of thing one cannot simply ignore.

Conrad Moffat Black: The Rise and Fall of a Media Mogul

Conrad Moffat Black is a Canadian-born British journalist, industrialist, historian and writer. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on August 25, 1944. His father is George Montegu Black Jr., who became the president of Canadian Breweries Ltd.

In 1965, Black earned his Bachelor of Arts degree at Carleton University. He would later finish law (1970) at Université Laval and earn his master’s degree in history at McGill (1973). Together with his partners David Radler and Peter White, Black acquired several rural newspapers, including L'Avenir de Brome Missisquoi, The Eastern Townships Advertiser, and Sherbrooke Record.

After his father’s death, Black used his inheritance from Ravelston Corporation to purchase the controlling interest of Argus Corporation, including its subsidiary, Hollinger International. Later, Black divested from Argus to purchase several other quality newspaper companies such as the Sydney Morning Herald, The Chicago Sun Times, the Jerusalem Post and the London Daily Telegraph. Later in 1992, Black took over Southam Inc., a chain of Canadian newspapers.

Black gave up his Canadian citizenship in 2001 to accept the title of Baron offered to him by the British government. He was inducted as Lord Black of Crossharbour into the House of Lords.

For the consideration of $3.2 billion, Black dealt his Canadian newspaper chain to its competitor, CanWest Media. After the deal, Black was fired as chairman of Hollinger following allegations of fraud. In 2005, his partner Radler cooperated with the US authorities in plea bargain agreement. Black was charged with obstruction of justice and fraud, primarily because of Radler’s testimony. His sentence was imprisonment for 78 months.

He appealed his case to the US Supreme Court. In July 2010, he bailed out of prison. A review was conducted of his obstruction of justice case. After the review, his original sentence of 78 months was changed to 42 months. He served his sentence and was released from Federal Correctional Institution Miami in April 2012.