Robert Valentine Braddock (born August 5, 1940) is an American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

songwriter and record producer. A member of the

Country Music Hall of Fame The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has ama ...

and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Braddock has contributed numerous hit songs during more than 40 years in the industry, including 13 number-one

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

Early years

Braddock was born in Lakeland, Florida, to a father who was a citrus grower. Braddock spent his youth in Auburndale, Florida, where he learned to play piano and saxophone. The musician toured

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

and the South with

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

bands in the late 1950s and early 1960s. At the age of 24, Braddock moved to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...

, Tennessee, to pursue a career in

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

Musical success

After arriving in

, Braddock joined Marty Robbins' band as a pianist in February 1965. In January of the next year, a song he wrote for Robbins, " While You're Dancing", became Braddock's first record to appear on the charts. He then signed his first of five recording contracts with major record labels and a publishing contract with Tree Publishing Company, now

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyou ...

. Braddock quickly established himself as a bankable songwriter, penning songs in the 1970s for such artists as

The Statler Brothers The Statler Brothers (sometimes simply referred to as The Statlers) were an American country music, gospel, and vocal group. The quartet was formed in 1955 performing locally, and from 1964 to 1972, they sang as opening act and backup singers ...

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta ...

, George Jones, Nancy Sinatra, Johnny Duncan,

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, " Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature in ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis mad ...

, and

Tommy Overstreet Thomas Cary Overstreet (September 10, 1937 – November 2, 2015) was an American country music singer. Often referred to as "T.O." by fans and radio disc jockeys, Overstreet had five top-five hit singles in the ''Billboard'' country charts an ...

. Braddock continued his successful songwriting career well into the 21st century, writing songs recorded by artists including

Lacy J. Dalton Lacy J. Dalton (born Jill Lynne Byrem; October 13, 1946) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is known for her gritty, powerful vocals, which ''People Magazine'' likened to a country equivalent of Bonnie Raitt. Dalton had a n ...

T.G. Sheppard William Neal Browder (born July 20, 1944) is an American country music singer-songwriter, known professionally as T. G. Sheppard. He had 14 number-one hits on the US country charts between 1974 and 1986, including eight consecutive number ones ...

, John Anderson,

Mark Chesnutt Mark Nelson Chesnutt (born September 6, 1963) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Between 1990 and 1999, he had his greatest chart success recording for Universal Music Group Nashville's MCA and Decca branches, with a total of ...

, and Tracy Lawrence. Braddock sometimes co-wrote songs with

Curly Putman Curly is a surname, given name, nickname or stage name. It may refer to: First name, nickname or stage name * Crazy Horse (1840–1877), Oglala Sioux war chief nicknamed "Curly" * Curly (scout), nickname of Ashishishe (c. 1856–1923), Crow Ind ...

or Sonny Throckmorton, fellow members of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. As a producer, Braddock's greatest success thus far is the discovery of

singer Blake Shelton, securing a recording deal in 2001. Braddock is credited as producer for several of Shelton's number-one country hits, including his debut single "

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

" which spent five weeks at the top of the charts. Also in 2001 Braddock penned the song "I Wanna Talk About Me", intended for Shelton but eventually recorded by

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's '' Toby Keith'', 1994's ''Boomtown'', 19 ...

. "I Wanna Talk About Me" topped the Billboard Country Charts for five weeks in 2002. In March 2007, Braddock released a memoir recounting his early life in pre-Disney World Central Florida, titled ''Down in Orbundale: A Songwriters Youth in Old Florida'', published by

Louisiana State University Press The Louisiana State University Press (LSU Press) is a university press at Louisiana State University. Founded in 1935, it publishes works of scholarship as well as general interest books. LSU Press is a member of the Association of American Univ ...

. Braddock currently resides in

and continues to write songs for the publishing company

Sony/ATV Sony Music Publishing (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is the largest Music publisher (popular music), music publisher in the world, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021. US-based, it is part of the Sony Mu ...

. In July 2017, Braddock was featured in a
Episode
of Malcolm Gladwell's Podcast, ''Revisionist History", which analyzed the emotional appeal of country music relative to other genres. Gladwell dubbed Braddock 'The King of Tears'.

Books

In 2007, Braddock published a memoir, ''Down in Orburndale''. In 2015, Vanderbilt University Press published ''Bobby Braddock: A Life on Nashville's Music Row'', a second memoir of Braddock's tumultuous career in Nashville's music industry. The book was aided by 85 of the author's personal journals going back as far as 1971.

Awards and recognition

* The George Jones classic, " He Stopped Loving Her Today," which Braddock co-wrote with

, won the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

Song of the Year award two years in a row (1980 and 1981) and the 1981 Song of the Year from the

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country musi ...

. This song was voted "Country Song of the Century" in a poll by

Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...

magazine, as well as "Best Country Song of All Time" in a poll conducted by the BBC and Country America magazine. * 1981 Music City News Songwriter of the Year * 1981 Nashville Songwriters Association Song of the Year * 1981 Inductee into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame * 2011 Inductee into the

Songwriting

Songs Braddock wrote or co-wrote that made the ''Billboard'' country singles chart include:

Albums

*''Between the Lines'' 1979 *''Love Bomb'' 1980 *''Hardpore Cornography'' 1983

Singles

References

External links

Bobby Braddock Tribute Website

from dizzyrambler.com

with Music Journalist Larry Wayne Clark

from Songwriter Universe Magazine
Podcast interview
with author Malcolm Gladwell {{DEFAULTSORT:Braddock, Boby American country singer-songwriters 1940 births Living people Musicians from Lakeland, Florida Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Members of the Country Music Association Singer-songwriters from Florida People from Auburndale, Florida Country musicians from Florida American male singer-songwriters