Si Siman (born Ely E. Siman Jr.; January 17, 1921 – December 16, 1994) was an American

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, ...

executive as a radio producer, talent agent, songwriter, record producer, television producer and music publisher who helped transform the sound of music in the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

after World War II and into the 1980s. He discovered Country Music Hall of Fame Members

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...

and

Porter Wagoner Porter Wayne Wagoner (August 12, 1927 – October 28, 2007) was an American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour. In 1967, he introduced singer Dolly Parton on his television show, ''The ...

, and secured record deals for

The Browns The Browns were an American country and folk music vocal trio best known for their 1959 Grammy-nominated hit, " The Three Bells". The group, composed of Jim Ed Brown and his sisters Maxine and Bonnie, had a close, smooth harmony characteristic ...

and

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed onl ...

among others; and was the key figure behind ''

Ozark Jubilee ''Ozark Jubilee'' is a 1950s United States network television program that featured country music's top stars of the day. It was produced in Springfield, Missouri. The weekly live stage show premiered on ABC-TV on January 22, 1955, was renamed ...

,'' the first network television series to feature America's top country music stars. According to the Encyclopedia of Country Music, he was "the driving force in the emergence of Springfield, Missouri, as a country music center in the 1950s."

Biography

Siman was born in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an esti ...

on January 17, 1921, and was a

batboy In baseball, a batboy or batgirl is an individual who carries baseball bats to the players on a baseball team. Duties of a batboy may also include handling and preparing players’ equipment and bringing baseballs to the umpire during the game. ...

for the

Springfield Cardinals The Springfield Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springfield, Missouri. They compete as a member of the Texas League's North Division. The Cardinals began play in 2005. The team is owned by the 11-time Major League Baseball ...

. He scored a World Series ring with the

Gashouse Gang The Gashouse Gang was the nickname of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team of the early 1930s. Owing to their success that started in 1926, the Cardinals would win a total of five National League pennants from 1926 to 1934 (nine seasons) while wi ...

(1934)

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

as batboy. He spent a summer and half driving legendary scout Charley Barrett who was working for

Branch Rickey Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...

, the general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals. He attended Duke University, Berea College and graduated from

Drury College Drury University, formerly Drury College and originally Springfield College, is a private university in Springfield, Missouri. The university's mission statement describes itself as "church-related". It enrolls about 1,700 undergraduate and grad ...

after serving in the US Navy during World War II.

Radio producer

He returned to Springfield and rejoined Ralph Foster's KWTO, where he had worked as a teenager, and became vice president of Foster's RadiOzark Enterprises, Inc., which produced

nationally syndicated Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...

radio shows from Springfield hosted by such performers as

Tennessee Ernie Ford Ernest Jennings Ford (February 13, 1919 – October 17, 1991), known professionally as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American singer and television host who enjoyed success in the country and western, pop, and gospel musical genres. Noted for h ...

, George Morgan, Smiley Burnette and Bill Ring. Siman would produce multiple radio shows, including Sermons In Song, Saddle Rockin'Rhythm starring Shorty and Sue Thompson, 260 shows starring Tennessee Ernie Ford, and 293 award-winning radio shows featuring Smiley Burnette. He also produced The Bill Ring Show for General Mills heard on for two years on ABC Radio.

An ear for talent

Siman discovered

and

in the early 1950s. He took a recording of "Canned Heat" by Chet Atkins to Steve Shoals at RCA Victor resulting in a label deal. He was Wagoner's first manager having heard him on a local broadcast from a butcher shop in West Plains, Missouri; produced his first hit, "A Satisfied Mind", in Springfield; and signed him to an

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

contract in 1951. He told Atkins his given name, Chester, wouldn't make it in country music,Sylvester, Ron "100 Ozarkers: 'Si' Siman Impacted Country Music" (October 10, 1999), "Progress," ''Springfield News-Leader'', p. 8H and he helped Atkins and

land contracts with RCA. He would pitch

to Paul Cohen at Decca Records and put her on the Ozark Jubilee, Steve Allen Show, the Ed Sullivan Show and the Perry Como show to help launch her career.

Television producer

From 1954-1961, Siman and Mahaffey were managing vice presidents of Foster's Crossroads TV Productions, and co-executive producers of ABC-TV's ''

'', the first popular country music series on network television. In April, 1954, Siman lured

Red Foley Clyde Julian "Red" Foley (June 17, 1910 – September 19, 1968) was an American musician who made a major contribution to the growth of country music after World War II. For more than two decades, Foley was one of the biggest stars of the gen ...

to Springfield to host the program over a bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey at the Andrew Jackson Hotel in

Nashville, Tennessee 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 ...

. Siman also handled booking most of the show's performers. Siman and Mahaffey were also co-executive producers of the show's

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gov ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's ''

Five Star Jubilee ''Five Star Jubilee'' is an American country music variety show carried by NBC-TV from March 17–September 22, 1961. The live program, a spin-off of ABC-TV's '' Jubilee USA'', was the first network color television series to originate outside ...

'' (1961); as well as ''

The Eddy Arnold Show ''The Eddy Arnold Show'' is the name of three similar American network television summer variety programs during the 1950s hosted by Eddy Arnold and featuring popular music stars of the day. It was also the name of a radio program starring A ...

'' (1956) and ''

Talent Varieties ''Talent Varieties'' is a country music talent show on American network television and radio in 1955 that featured performers hoping to achieve fame in the entertainment business. The weekly ABC-TV program was a live half-hour summer replaceme ...

'' (1955), both ABC. In 1963, Foster, Siman and Mahaffey formed Tele-Color, Inc., which in 1964 filmed color segments for ABC's '' Wide World of Sports'' and other programs.

Music publishing

Siman would publish major hit songs from Springfield, Missouri spanning four decades. Especially noteworthy are the standards " The Letter" (Two-time Grammy Nominee) (#1 1967) - the song would be covered by artists all around the world but would have the distinction of being a top 20 single in the US three times in a span of four years (’67, ’69 and ’70) with the Boxtops, the Arbors and Joe Cocker, and Always on My Mind. (Grammy Song of the Year and Grammy Country Song of the Year, Grammy Best Male Country Vocal Performance, two-time CMA Song of the Year, CMA Single of the Year, Nashville Songwriters Association Song of the Year, ACM Single of the Year, BMI Top 100 Song of the Century, BMI Most Performed Song Award). 1950s: Starting in partnership with Foster and John B. Mahaffey (Foster's nephew), they established the Earl Barton Music, Inc. publishing company. The firm obtained copyrights for national country hits including

Little Jimmy Dickens James Cecil Dickens (December 19, 1920 – January 2, 2015), better known by his stage name Little Jimmy Dickens, was an American country music singer and songwriter famous for his humorous novelty songs, his small size (4'11" 50 cm, and ...

' smash "A-Sleeping at the Foot of the Bed" (1950), "Trademark" with Carl Smith (1953) and Johnny Mullins' novelty tune "Company's Comin'" (1954). 1960s: Siman scored huge success in the late 1960s with songwriter

Wayne Carson Thompson Wayne Carson (born Wayne Carson Head; May 31, 1943 – July 20, 2015), sometimes credited as Wayne Carson Thompson, was an American country musician, songwriter, and record producer. He played percussion, piano, guitar, and bass. His most fam ...

, besides " The Letter", " Always On My Mind", he published " Soul Deep" (

The Box Tops The Box Tops is an American rock band formed in Memphis in 1967. They are best known for the hits " The Letter", " Cry Like a Baby", "Choo Choo Train," and " Soul Deep" and are considered a major blue-eyed soul group of the period. They perfo ...

); " Neon Rainbow" (The Box Tops), "No Love At All" B.J. Thomas, "Do It Again A Little Bit Slower" Jon and Robin, and " Somebody Like Me"

Eddy Arnold Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the ''Billboard'' cou ...

. He helped such local artists as Ronnie Self and Johnny Mullins (" Blue Kentucky Girl") chart nationally. 1970s: Siman and Carson would gather a string of hits with country music legend Gary Stewart. Working closely with Roy Dea at RCA Records, Stewart would score his only career #1 single with the song

She's Actin' Single (I'm Drinkin' Doubles) "She's Actin' Single (I'm Drinkin' Doubles)" is a song written by Wayne Carson, and recorded by American country music singer Gary Stewart. It was released in March 1975 as the third and final single from the album '' Out of Hand''. The song was ...

. Other titles were "Drinkin' Thing", "I See The Want To In Your Eyes", "Oh,Sweet Temptation", "Ten Years of This" and "Whiskey Trip". Other #1 singles in the 1970s included "I See the Want to in Your Eyes" with

Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...

and

Rocky (song) "Rocky" is a song written by Ronald Johnson (aka Woody P. Snow) and performed by American country music artist Dickey Lee. It was released in July 1975 as the fifth single and title track from the album ''Rocky''. On the country chart, "Rock ...

by Dickie Lee (also a top 10 pop hit with Austin Roberts. Top 5 hits included Always on My Mind by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

. In the late 1970s Siman advised

Tim Nichols Tim Nichols (born in Portsmouth, Virginia) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Active since the late 1980s, Nichols has written for several country music singers, including Keith Whitley, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Jo Dee Messina ...

, who later co-wrote

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those alb ...

's smash hit "

Live Like You Were Dying ''Live Like You Were Dying'' is the eighth studio album by American country music artist Tim McGraw. It was released on August 24, 2004, by Curb Records and was recorded in a mountaintop studio in upstate New York. It entered the ''Billboard'' 2 ...

", and in 1980 urged him to move from Springfield to Nashville. 1980s: Siman would publish three #1 singles in the 1980s before his retirement including The Clown (Conway Twitty song) by "Conway Twitty" and cover versions of Always on My Mind by

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 ...

and

the Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo ...

Later years

In 1970, Siman established the Red Foley Memorial Music Award at

Berea College Berea College is a private liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky. Founded in 1855, Berea College was the first college in the Southern United States to be coeducational and racially integrated. Berea College charges no tuition; every a ...

. The annual award is presented to students there in recognition of their musical contributions to the campus. He was active with the Shriners and was appointed chief aide in 1980. He promoted a show for the Shriners at the Superdome in New Orleans featuring George Strait as the headliner. When he retired in 1987, Siman sold Earl Barton Music and the rights to a catalog of nearly 2,000 songs to Rolf Budde Musikverlage of Germany. In 1991, he donated his papers 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 ama ...

. In January 1994, Siman helped found Ozarks Pictures Corp. to produce family films. Its first feature was 1995's ''A Place to Grow,'' shot in southwest Missouri and starring

Gary Morris Gary Gwyn Morris (born December 7, 1948) is an American singer and stage actor who charted a string of hits on the country music charts throughout the 1980s. Morris is known for the 1983 ballad " The Wind Beneath My Wings", although his credit ...

Wilford Brimley Anthony Wilford Brimley (September 27, 1934 – August 1, 2020) was an American actor. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and working odd jobs in the 1950s, Brimley started working as an extra and stuntman in Western films in the l ...

and

Boxcar Willie Lecil Travis Martin (September 1, 1931 – April 12, 1999), whose stage name was Boxcar Willie, was an American country music singer-songwriter, who sang in the "old-time hobo" music style, complete with dirty face, overalls, and a floppy hat. ...

.Butler, Robert W. "Screen Notes" (January 22, 1995), ''

The Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...

'', p. J4 Siman died of cancer in Springfield on December 16, 1994.

Family

His son,

Scott Siman Scott Foster Siman (born July 22, 1954) is a leading American country music entertainment executive based in Nashville, Tennessee. He oversaw the rise of country music superstar Tim McGraw and the launch of Dancing With the Stars celebrity ...

, is an entertainment executive in Nashville who manages and oversees the multi-faceted career of superstar

, as well as managing numerous other country music artists and publishing multiple #1 country songs such as "Make You Miss Me" by Sam Hunt, "Break Up With Him" by Old Dominion, "Save it For a Rainy Day" by Kenny Chesney and "It's 5 O'clock Somewhere" by Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett.

Posthumous recognition

*A scholarship for students pursuing music business studies was established in Siman's name at

Middle Tennessee State University Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU or MT) is a public university in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Founded in 1911 as a normal school, the university consists of eight Undergraduate education, undergraduate colleges as well as a college of Postgr ...

. *In 2008, the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau honored him with its Pinnacle Award, noting that "The impact of the 'Jubilee''and Siman's efforts are still felt by Springfield's tourism industry." *He was awarded a "Missourian of the Year Award" for his contributions to the arts.

Notes

References

* ''Ozark Jubilee Souvenir Picture Album'' (first edition, 1955) *Terry, Dickson "Hillbilly Music Center" (February 5, 1956), '' St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' "The Everyday Magazine", p. 1 *"Hillbilly TV Show Hits the Big Time" (March 10, 1956), ''

Business Week ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

'', p. 30 *''The Ozark Jubilee starring Red Foley'' (1956), Radiozark Enterprises, Inc. * ''Ozark Jubilee Souvenir Picture Album'' (second edition, 1956), © Ozark Jubilee's Crossroads Store * ''Country Music Jubilee Souvenir Picture Album'' (third edition, 1957) *"The Death of TV's Jubilee" (September 18, 1960), '' Springfield Leader & Press'', p. D4 *Hoekstra, Dave "Sounds from the Heartland in an All-American Festival" (June 28, 1992), ''

The Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'', "Show", p. 1 * . *Update; Lifelines; Deaths, E.E. "Si" Siman (January 14, 1995), ''

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 adverti ...

, p. 59 *Butler, Robert W. "Screen Notes" (January 22, 1995), ''

'', p. J4 *Brothers, Michael A. "A Songwriter's Journey to the Top" (February 13, 2005), ''

Springfield News-Leader The ''Springfield News-Leader'' is the predominant newspaper for the city of Springfield, Missouri, and covers the Ozarks. The ''News-Leader'' has a daily circulation of 32,363 and a Sunday circulation of 51,402 as of September 2013. Sunday si ...

'', p. 1C *Sylvester, Ron "100 Ozarkers: 'Si' Siman Impacted Country Music" (October 10, 1999), "Progress," ''Springfield News-Leader'', p. 8H *Booher, Kate "'I want People to feel like this is their Team'" (June 5, 2005), ''Springfield News-Leader'', p. 8D *. {{DEFAULTSORT:Siman, Ely E. 1921 births 1994 deaths People from Springfield, Missouri Record producers from Missouri Talent managers American radio executives American music industry executives American television executives Deaths from cancer in Missouri Drury University alumni 20th-century American businesspeople