Jack Stapp (December 8, 1912 – December 20, 1980) was 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, while the ...

music manager A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of entertainer, artists in the entertainment industry. The responsibility of the talent manager is to oversee t ...

Biography

Stapp was born in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, United States. His family moved to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

in 1921, and Stapp was educated in that city. He became the programme controller at

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

's own radio station and oversaw its development to a commercial radio station as WGST. After relocating to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Stapp came to the attention of

WSM (AM) WSM (650 kHz) is a 50,000-watt clear channel AM radio station located in Nashville, Tennessee. It broadcasts a full-time country music format (with classic country and Americana leanings, the latter of which is branded as "Route 650") at 650&n ...

back in Nasville, who made him their programme manager. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Stapp joined forces with

Lou Cowan Louis G. Cowan (December 12, 1909 – November 18, 1976) was a president of the CBS broadcasting network in the United States and a creator of quiz shows (including ''Quiz Kids'' radio program, '' Stop the Music'', and ''The $64,000 Question'' fo ...

to create

Tree International Publishing {{Short description, American music publishing company Tree International Publishing was a major music publisher, based in Nashville. As the last major music publisher that was owned and operated in Nashville, it was sold to the CBS Records Group ...

. Stapp co-wrote, with Harry Stone, the popular song "

Chattanooga Shoe Shine Boy "Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy" (also known as "Chattanooga Shoe Shine Boy") is a popular song written by Harry Stone and Jack Stapp and published in 1950. It is the signature song of Red Foley who recorded it in late 1949. The song has been covered ...

" (1950).
By 1954, Tree Publishing's song, "By the Law of My Heart", was recorded by

Benny Martin Benny Edward Martin (May 8, 1928 – March 13, 2001), was an American bluegrass fiddler who invented the eight-string fiddle. Throughout his musical career he performed with artists such as the Bluegrass Boys, Don Reno, the Smoky Mountain Boys ...

. The following year, two of Tree Publishing's songwriters,

Mae Boren Axton Mae Boren Axton (September 14, 1914 – April 9, 1997) was known in the music industry as the "Queen Mother of Nashville." She co-wrote the Elvis Presley hit single "Heartbreak Hotel" with Tommy Durden. She worked with Mel Tillis, Reba McEntire, ...

and

Tommy Durden Thomas Russell Durden (December 15, 1919 – October 17, 1999) was an American steel guitarist and songwriter, who is most notable for co-writing Elvis Presley's breakthrough hit, "Heartbreak Hotel". Biography He was born in Morgan County, Geo ...

, co-wrote "

Heartbreak Hotel "Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. It was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, with credit being g ...

". By 1964, Stapp had left his radio duties behind to concentrate his efforts in expanding Tree. He later became a founder-member of 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 ...

and held top posts with

NARAS The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy Aw ...

. Stapp died in 1980, but was posthumously inducted to 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 amass ...

in 1989. Tree International Publishing, a music publisher, is still based in Nashville.

References

External links

Country Music Hall Of Fame Inductee, 1989
*

Bibliography

* The Editors of

Country Music (magazine) ''Country Music'' was a bi-monthly magazine on country music founded in New York City in 1972 by John Killion, Russell D. Barnard and Spencer Oettinger as a monthly publication. It was known for taking an approach to music journalism closer in to ...

(1994)
The Comprehensive Country Music Encyclopedia, p. 365-6
', . * Paul Kingsbury (ed.) (1998)
The Encyclopedia of Country Music: The Ultimate Guide to the Music, p. 503
', . * Barry McCloud (1995)
Definitive Country: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Country Music and Its Performers, p. 761-2
', . 1912 births 1980 deaths American country singer-songwriters Country Music Hall of Fame inductees People from Nashville, Tennessee Members of the Country Music Association 20th-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Tennessee Country musicians from Tennessee {{US-country-musician-stub