Felice and Boudleaux Bryant
Encyclopedia
Felice Bryant and Boudleaux Bryant (February 13, 1920 – June 25, 1987) were an American
husband-and-wife country music
and pop songwriting team best known for songs such as "Rocky Top
," "Love Hurts
" and numerous Everly Brothers hits, including "All I Have to Do Is Dream
" and "Bye Bye Love".
, and was trained as a classical violin
ist. He performed with the Atlanta
Philharmonic Orchestra during its 1937-38 season, but had more interest in country fiddling and joined Hank Penny
and his Radio Cowboys, an Atlanta-based western music band. In 1945 he met Matilda Genevieve Scaduto while performing at a hotel in her hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
, and their meeting resulted in a marriage of two future Hall of Fame songwriters.
Felice, as her husband affectionately called her, came from an Italian
family of music lovers. Although she had done some singing, she was a poet at heart with a natural gift for writing songs that - combined with her husband's music expertise - led to them becoming one of the most successful writing teams in modern music.
, where they wrote upwards of 80 songs. They solicited a number of country music artists in an attempt to sell their compositions but were either ignored or politely rejected until singer Little Jimmy Dickens
recorded their "Country Boy". The song went to No. 7 on the 1948 country charts and opened the door to a working relationship with Fred Rose
at Acuff-Rose Music
in Nashville, Tennessee
. In 1950, the Bryants moved to Nashville to work full time at songwriting. Some of their compositions from the early 1950s included the swinging "Sugar Beet" (recorded by Moon Mullican
) and the bluesy "Midnight" (recorded by Red Foley
).
The Bryants wrote more songs for Dickens as well as for popular country artist Carl Smith
, and at the same time released four 45 rpm singles
of their own to modest success. Beginning in 1957 the Bryants came to national prominence in both country music and pop music
when they wrote a string of hugely successful songs for the Everly Brothers and hits for others such as Roy Orbison
and Buddy Holly
. Their compositions were recorded by many artists from a variety of musical genres, including Tony Bennett
, Sonny James
, Eddy Arnold
, Bob Moore
, Charley Pride
, Nazareth
, Jim Reeves
, Leo Sayer
, Simon & Garfunkel, Sarah Vaughan
, The Grateful Dead
, Elvis Costello
, Count Basie
, Dean Martin
, Ray Charles
, Gram Parsons
, Bob Dylan
(Dylan's Self Portrait
album has one of Felice's tracks and one co-written with her husband), and others.
In 1962, The Bryants wrote "Too Many Chicks", a song that became a hit for Leona Douglas, the first African-American woman to record as a country and western singer. Leona was discovered by Fred Foster of Monument Records.
The Bryants eventually moved to a home not far from Nashville on Old Hickory Lake
in Hendersonville, Tennessee
, near friends Roy Orbison
and Johnny Cash
. In 1978, they moved to Gatlinburg, Tennessee
, where they purchased the "Rocky Top Village Inn" in the Great Smoky Mountains
. In 1979 they released their own album called A Touch of Bryant. "Rocky Top
", one of their more than 1,500 recorded songs, was adopted as a State song of Tennessee
in 1982 and the unofficial fight song for the University of Tennessee
sports teams.
During their career, the Bryants earned 59 BMI
country, pop, and R&B music awards. In 1972 they were inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
, in 1986 into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
, in 1991 into the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame
.
Boudleaux Bryant is the third most successful songwriter of the 1950s on the U.K. chart and Felice the 21st.
in Nashville.
NOTE: These songs all scored high on Billboard
Various songs of theirs, especially "All I Have to Do Is Dream", "Bye Bye, Love", "Love Hurts" and "Wake Up, Little Susie", have been covered by numerous other artists over the years.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
husband-and-wife country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and pop songwriting team best known for songs such as "Rocky Top
Rocky Top
"Rocky Top" is an American country and bluegrass song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant in 1967 and first recorded by the Osborne Brothers later that same year...
," "Love Hurts
Love Hurts
"Love Hurts" is the name of a song, written and composed by Boudleaux Bryant. First recorded by The Everly Brothers in July 1960, the song is also well known from a 1975 international hit version by the rock band Nazareth and in the UK by a top 5 hit in 1975 by Jim Capaldi.The song was introduced...
" and numerous Everly Brothers hits, including "All I Have to Do Is Dream
All I Have to Do Is Dream
"All I Have to Do Is Dream" is a popular song made famous by the Everly Brothers, written by the husband and wife songwriting team Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, and published in 1958. The song is ranked No...
" and "Bye Bye Love".
Beginnings
Boudleaux was born Diadorius Boudleaux Bryant in Shellman, GeorgiaShellman, Georgia
Shellman is a city in Randolph County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,166 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Shellman is located at ....
, and was trained as a classical violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist. He performed with the Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
Philharmonic Orchestra during its 1937-38 season, but had more interest in country fiddling and joined Hank Penny
Hank Penny
Herbert Clayton Penny was an accomplished banjo player and practitioner of western swing. He worked as a comedian best known for his backwoods character "That Plain Ol' Country Boy" on TV with Spade Cooley...
and his Radio Cowboys, an Atlanta-based western music band. In 1945 he met Matilda Genevieve Scaduto while performing at a hotel in her hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
, and their meeting resulted in a marriage of two future Hall of Fame songwriters.
Felice, as her husband affectionately called her, came from an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
family of music lovers. Although she had done some singing, she was a poet at heart with a natural gift for writing songs that - combined with her husband's music expertise - led to them becoming one of the most successful writing teams in modern music.
Songwriting career
During the first years of their marriage, the Bryants struggled financially, living in a mobile homeMobile home
Mobile homes or static caravans are prefabricated homes built in factories, rather than on site, and then taken to the place where they will be occupied...
, where they wrote upwards of 80 songs. They solicited a number of country music artists in an attempt to sell their compositions but were either ignored or politely rejected until singer Little Jimmy Dickens
Little Jimmy Dickens
James Cecil Dickens , better known as Little Jimmy Dickens, is an American country music singer famous for his humorous novelty songs, his small size, 4'11" , and his rhinestone-studded outfits...
recorded their "Country Boy". The song went to No. 7 on the 1948 country charts and opened the door to a working relationship with Fred Rose
Fred Rose (musician)
Fred Rose was an American Hall of Fame songwriter and music publishing executive.-Biography:Born in Evansville, Indiana, Fred Rose started playing piano and singing as a small boy. In his teens, he moved to Chicago, Illinois where he worked in bars busking for tips, and finally vaudeville...
at Acuff-Rose Music
Acuff-Rose Music
Acuff-Rose Music was an American music publishing firm formed by Roy Acuff and Fred Rose in Nashville, Tennessee. Acuff-Rose's honest behavior towards their writers set them apart from other music publishing firms at the time and lead them to fame throughout the 50's, 60's, 70's.-History:Acuff-Rose...
in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. In 1950, the Bryants moved to Nashville to work full time at songwriting. Some of their compositions from the early 1950s included the swinging "Sugar Beet" (recorded by Moon Mullican
Moon Mullican
Aubrey Wilson Mullican , known as Moon Mullican, was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and pianist. However, he also sang and played jazz, rock 'n' roll and the blues...
) and the bluesy "Midnight" (recorded by Red Foley
Red Foley
Clyde Julian Foley , better known as Red Foley, was an American singer, musician, and radio and TV personality who made a major contribution to the growth of country music after World War II....
).
The Bryants wrote more songs for Dickens as well as for popular country artist Carl Smith
Carl Smith (country musician)
Carl Milton Smith was an American country music singer. Known as "Mister Country," Smith was the husband of June Carter and Goldie Hill, the drinking companion of Johnny Cash, and the father of Carlene Carter...
, and at the same time released four 45 rpm singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
of their own to modest success. Beginning in 1957 the Bryants came to national prominence in both country music and pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
when they wrote a string of hugely successful songs for the Everly Brothers and hits for others such as Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
and Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
. Their compositions were recorded by many artists from a variety of musical genres, including Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
, Sonny James
Sonny James
James Loden , known professionally as Sonny James, is an American country music singer and songwriter best known for his 1957 hit, "Young Love". Dubbed the Southern Gentleman, James had 72 country and pop chart hits from 1953 to 1983, including a five-year streak of 16 straight among his 23 No. 1...
, Eddy Arnold
Eddy Arnold
Richard Edward Arnold , known professionally as Eddy Arnold, was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a so-called Nashville sound innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the Billboard country music charts, second only to George Jones. He sold more...
, Bob Moore
Bob Moore
Bob Loyce Moore is an American session musician, orchestra leader, and bassist who was a member of the legendary Nashville A-Team during the 1950s and 60s.-Biography:...
, Charley Pride
Charley Pride
Charley Frank Pride is an American country music singer. His smooth baritone voice was featured on thirty-nine number-one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His greatest success came in the early- to mid-1970s, when he became the best-selling performer for RCA Records since Elvis...
, Nazareth
Nazareth (band)
Nazareth is a Scottish hard rock band, founded in 1968, that had several hits in the UK in the early 1970s, and established an international audience with their 1975 album Hair of the Dog. Perhaps their best-known hit single was a cover of the ballad "Love Hurts", in 1975...
, Jim Reeves
Jim Reeves
James Travis Reeves , better known as Jim Reeves, was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well-known for being a practitioner of the Nashville sound...
, Leo Sayer
Leo Sayer
Leo Sayer is a British singer-songwriter, musician, and entertainer whose singing career has spanned four decades. Sayer became a naturalised Australian citizen in 2009. Sayer was a top singles and album act on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1970s...
, Simon & Garfunkel, Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer, described by Scott Yanow as having "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century."...
, The Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
, Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
, Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
, Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
(Dylan's Self Portrait
Self Portrait (Bob Dylan album)
Self Portrait is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's tenth studio album, released by Columbia Records in June 1970.Self Portrait was Dylan's second double album, and features mostly cover versions of well-known pop and folk songs. Also included are a handful of instrumentals and original compositions...
album has one of Felice's tracks and one co-written with her husband), and others.
In 1962, The Bryants wrote "Too Many Chicks", a song that became a hit for Leona Douglas, the first African-American woman to record as a country and western singer. Leona was discovered by Fred Foster of Monument Records.
The Bryants eventually moved to a home not far from Nashville on Old Hickory Lake
Old Hickory Lake
Old Hickory Lake is a reservoir in north central Tennessee. It is formed by the Old Hickory Lock and Dam , located on the Cumberland River at mile 216.2 in Sumner and Davidson Counties, approximately upstream from Nashville...
in Hendersonville, Tennessee
Hendersonville, Tennessee
Hendersonville is a city in Sumner County, Tennessee, United States, on Old Hickory Lake. The population was 51,372 at the 2010 census. Hendersonville is part of the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located 18 miles northeast of downtown Nashville. The city was settled around 1784 by...
, near friends Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
and Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
. In 1978, they moved to Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Gatlinburg is a mountain resort city in Sevier County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, Gatlinburg had a population of 3,828. The city is a popular vacation resort, as it rests on the border of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park along U.S...
, where they purchased the "Rocky Top Village Inn" in the Great Smoky Mountains
Great Smoky Mountains
The Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province. The range is sometimes called the Smoky Mountains or the...
. In 1979 they released their own album called A Touch of Bryant. "Rocky Top
Rocky Top
"Rocky Top" is an American country and bluegrass song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant in 1967 and first recorded by the Osborne Brothers later that same year...
", one of their more than 1,500 recorded songs, was adopted as a State song of Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
in 1982 and the unofficial fight song for the University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
sports teams.
During their career, the Bryants earned 59 BMI
Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
country, pop, and R&B music awards. In 1972 they were inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame was established by the Nashville Songwriters Foundation, Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. A non-profit organization, its objective is to honor and preserve the songwriting legacy that is uniquely associated with music community in the city of...
, in 1986 into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Songwriters Hall of Fame is an arm of the National Academy of Popular Music. It was founded in 1969 by songwriter Johnny Mercer and music publishers Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The goal is to create a museum but as of April, 2008, the means do not yet exist and so instead it is an online...
, in 1991 into the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame
Rockabilly Hall of Fame
The Rockabilly Hall of Fame was established on the internet on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relative to the artists and personalities involved in this pioneering American music genre....
.
Boudleaux Bryant is the third most successful songwriter of the 1950s on the U.K. chart and Felice the 21st.
Deaths
Boudleaux Bryant died in 1987. Felice Bryant remained active writing songs and in 1991 the Nashville Arts Foundation honored her with their "Living Legend Award". She died in 2003. They are interred together in the Woodlawn Memorial Park CemeteryWoodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery
Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 660 Thompson Lane in Nashville, Tennessee. It is one of the largest cemeteries in Nashville.Among those interred or entombed in the cemetery, there are many prominent members of the country music genre and their families.-List:Use the following...
in Nashville.
Everly Brothers
- "Bye Bye, Love"
- "Wake Up, Little Susie"
- "All I Have to Do Is DreamAll I Have to Do Is Dream"All I Have to Do Is Dream" is a popular song made famous by the Everly Brothers, written by the husband and wife songwriting team Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, and published in 1958. The song is ranked No...
" - "Bird Dog"
- "Devoted to YouDevoted to You (song)"Devoted to You" is a song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant.The best-known version was recorded by The Everly Brothers, and released by Cadence Records as catalog number 1350. This version was issued as the flip side of "Bird Dog," but reached the charts on its own, at #10 on the United...
" - "Problems"
- "Poor Jenny"
- "Take a Message To Mary"
- "Like Strangers"
- "Always It's You"
- "Love of My Life"
- "Love HurtsLove Hurts"Love Hurts" is the name of a song, written and composed by Boudleaux Bryant. First recorded by The Everly Brothers in July 1960, the song is also well known from a 1975 international hit version by the rock band Nazareth and in the UK by a top 5 hit in 1975 by Jim Capaldi.The song was introduced...
"
NOTE: These songs all scored high on Billboard
Gram Parsons with Emmylou Harris
- "Love Hurts"
- "Sleepless Nights"
- "Brand New Heartache"
Other artists
- "Rocky TopRocky Top"Rocky Top" is an American country and bluegrass song written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant in 1967 and first recorded by the Osborne Brothers later that same year...
" – The Osborne BrothersOsborne BrothersThe Osborne Brothers, Sonny Osborne and Bobby Osborne , were an influential and popular bluegrass act during the 1960s and 1970s... - "MexicoMexico (Bob Moore song)"Mexico" is the title of a 1961 instrumental recording by American bassist, orchestra leader and Rockabilly Hall of Fame member Bob Moore. Moore was a noted session musician in the 1950s and 1960s who worked with Elvis Presley, Pat Boone, Roy Orbison and Brenda Lee, among others...
" – Bob MooreBob MooreBob Loyce Moore is an American session musician, orchestra leader, and bassist who was a member of the legendary Nashville A-Team during the 1950s and 60s.-Biography:...
and His Orchestra - "Come Live with MeCome Live with MeCome Live with Me is a 1941 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer romantic comedy film starring James Stewart and Hedy Lamarr, directed by Clarence Brown.-Plot:...
" – Roy ClarkRoy ClarkRoy Linwood Clark is an American country music musician and performer. He is best known for hosting Hee Haw, a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969–1992. Clark has been an important and influential figure in country music, both as a performer and helping to popularize the genre... - "Raining in My HeartRaining in My Heart"Raining in My Heart" is a popular rock and roll ballad recorded by Buddy Holly with the orchestral backing by Dick Jacobs. The music and lyrics are written by the songwriting team of Felice Bryant and Boudleaux Bryant. It was released as a single on Coral Records in 1959, peaking at #88 on the...
" – Robert WyattRobert WyattRobert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career... - "She Wears My RingShe Wears My RingShe Wears My Ring is a song by Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison and Solomon King.The original song La Golondrina is a mexican song and was composed by Narciso Serradel Sevilla....
" – Solomon KingSolomon KingSolomon King was a 1960s and 1970s popular music singer. He is best remembered for his 1968 hit single, "She Wears My Ring".-Biography:... - "Sugar Beet" – Moon MullicanMoon MullicanAubrey Wilson Mullican , known as Moon Mullican, was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and pianist. However, he also sang and played jazz, rock 'n' roll and the blues...
- "Blue Boy" – Jim ReevesJim ReevesJames Travis Reeves , better known as Jim Reeves, was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well-known for being a practitioner of the Nashville sound...
- "Midnight" – Red FoleyRed FoleyClyde Julian Foley , better known as Red Foley, was an American singer, musician, and radio and TV personality who made a major contribution to the growth of country music after World War II....
Various songs of theirs, especially "All I Have to Do Is Dream", "Bye Bye, Love", "Love Hurts" and "Wake Up, Little Susie", have been covered by numerous other artists over the years.
External links
- [ Allmusic Entry for Felice ]
- [ Allmusic Entry for Boudleaux]
- Rockabillyhall page
- Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum