Brad Swanson was an American popular organist based in Western Pennsylvania and New York. His recordings, targeted towards older audiences, were popular jukebox selections and one of his albums made the national ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' chart.

Biography

Born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, Swanson began playing the organ in

Olean, New York Olean ( ) is a city in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. Olean is the largest city in Cattaraugus County and serves as its financial, business, transportation and entertainment center. It is one of the principal cities of the Southern ...

.''The Billboard Albums'', 6th edn. Joel Whitburn. 2006. Record Research Inc. p. 1024. . He began his professional career at the age of eighteen, touring the country while giving concerts in clubs. In 1948 he was appearing twice daily at The Capitol Hill restaurant in Olean. In the early 1960s Swanson had a radio show entitled ''Dinner Serenade'' which broadcast on WKJF. His album ''Quentin's Theme'' appeared on ''

s album charts in October 1969 for two weeks, the highest listing being at position #185. In 1971 he was employed as an organist at the

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn is an American chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia. and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee that year. The chain was a division ...

. By that time he had released ten

LP record The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and a ...

s on Thunderbird Records and was active as a promoter for the Music Operators of America.

Style and influence

His marketing tag was "and his Whispering Organ Sound". Swanson played

Allen organs The Allen Organ Company builds church organs, home organs, and theatre organs. Its factory is located in Macungie, Pennsylvania. The Allen International Sales Headquarters also includes the Jerome Markowitz Memorial Center, a museum. It displ ...

, which he would extensively modify.

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

was reported to be a fan of Swanson's music. In the late 1960s and very early 1970s his singles appeared among the most popular selection in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

for

jukeboxes A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to selec ...

oriented towards "adult" and "oldies" locations. A "Greatest Hits" compilation released on Thunderbird in 1970 was accorded a four-star rating (the highest possible) by ''

''. His recordings were reviewed three decades later as "majestically cheezy."

References

{{Authority control American organists Musicians from Buffalo, New York Thunderbird Records artists