William Owen Bradley 1915-1998

Born in Westmoreland, Tennessee, Owen Bradley moved to Nashville at age seven with his parents, Vernon and Letha Male Owen Bradley. A self-taught musician, his career began at age 15 playing piano in local roadhouses and clubs. Bradley was musical director at WSM Radio and leader of the Owen Bradley Orchestra. He and his brother Harold established the first recording studio on 16th Avenue, South, now known as Music Row. As a Decca/MCA Records executive, he produced records for more than a dozen members of the Country Music Hall of Fame, including Kitty Wells, Brenda Lee, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, Ernest Tubb and Bill Monroe among others. An architect of the Nashville Sound, Bradley was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1974.