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.