Jerry Bradley, a renown music executive, has died. Bradley, whose career spanned decades and included work with country music A-listers like Kenny Chesney and Alabama, died Monday, July 17, in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. The Country Music Hall of Fame member’s family confirmed his passing, though they did not disclose a cause of death, per The Tennessean. He was 83.
Born in Nashville on January 30, 1940, Bradley is considered to be part of what is known as “The First Family of Music Row,” with the Bradley family playing an important role in creating and shaping Nashville’s music industry and Music Row area. He was the son of Nashville sound architect Owen Bradley, as well as the nephew of the renowned A-Team guitarist Harold Bradley, who were both in the Hall of Fame. Bradley’s wife of 42 years, Connie Bradley, who died in 2021 at age 75, served as the head of ASCAP Nashville for more than three decades. His sister, Patsy Bradley, previously served as assistant VP at BMI.
Bradley’s own start in the music industry began in the 1960s when he began working with his family’s music publishing company, Forrest Hills Music. It was there that he learned to engineer and produce records in his dad’s studio, Bradley’s Barn. Bradley’s clients as an engineer included Loretta Lynn, Roy Clark, Gordon Lightfoot, The Who, and more. Bradley eventually approached Chet Atkins for a job at RCA, where he served as staff producer from 1970 to 1973, with Atkins later handpicking Bradley to succeed him as vp of Nashville operations from 1973 to 1983. During that decade, RCA Records worked with country hitmakers Alabama, Ronnie Milsap, Dolly Parton, Charley Pride, and more, and RCA Records was named “Label of the Year” by Billboard Magazine for ten consecutive years. It was also during this time that Bradley began developing a compilation project Wanted! The Outlaws that included music from Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser. The album became the first platinum-selling country album certified by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Bradley left RCA in 1983, and when the Gaylord company bought Acuff-Rose Publishing in 1985, Bradley was named the head of its newly formed Opryland Music Group. During his time there, he signed artists, including Kenny Chesney, to their first publishing deals. During his career, Bradley also served as president of the Country Music Association (1974-1975) and became a charter alumnus of Leadership Music. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2019, making him the third member of his family to receive the honor. In a statement, Kyle Young, CEO Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, said, “thanks to Jerry, country music gained newfound respect and commercial clout.”
A Celebration of Life will be held at Cedar Creek Yacht Club on Sept. 10 at 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you please make a donation to Music Health Alliance.
