Harold Bradley
Encyclopedia
Harold Bradley is a pop guitarist and an American country
guitarist.
Harold played banjo
as a child but switched to guitar on the advice of his elder brother, Owen Bradley
. Owen arranged for Harold to tour with Ernest Tubb
while Harold was still in high school. After graduation, Harold joined the Navy. After his discharge, he attended George Peabody College in Nashville
, studying music and accompanied Eddie Arnold and Bradley Kincaid
at the Grand Ole Opry
. His first session was with Pee Wee King
and the Golden West Cowboys in 1946.
Owen and Harold built Bradley Film and Recording Studios, later known as the Quonset Hut, which was the first music-industry related business on what is now known as Music Row, in 1954. Harold enjoyed frequent work as a session musician
into the 1970s, performing on hundreds of albums by country stars such as Patsy Cline
, Willie Nelson
, Roy Orbison
, and Elvis Presley
. He also played bass guitar
on records, initiating the "tic-tac" method of bass muting. According to Guitar Player Magazine, Harold is the most recorded guitar player in the world and he is a member of the Nashville A-Team, which was inducted in to the Musician's Hall of Fame in 2007.
Harold recorded three albums as a pop guitarist on Columbia Records, "Misty Guitar", "Guitar for Lovers Only", and "Bossa Nova Goes to Nashville" in the 1960s.
From 1991 - 2008, Harold served as the president of the Nashville chapter of the American Federation of Musicians
(AFM). In 1999 he was elected as the AFM International Vice-President and still serves in that capacity.
Bradley was inducted in to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006 as was his brother Owen previously.
In 2010 Harold was one recipient of the Trustees Award at the 52nd Grammy Awards
.
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...
guitarist.
Harold played banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
as a child but switched to guitar on the advice of his elder brother, Owen Bradley
Owen Bradley
Owen Bradley was an American record producer who, along with Chet Atkins and Bob Ferguson, was one of the chief architects of the 1950s and 1960s Nashville sound in country music and rockabilly.-Before the fame:...
. Owen arranged for Harold to tour with Ernest Tubb
Ernest Tubb
Ernest Dale Tubb , nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" , marked the rise of the honky tonk style of music...
while Harold was still in high school. After graduation, Harold joined the Navy. After his discharge, he attended George Peabody College in Nashville
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...
, studying music and accompanied Eddie Arnold and Bradley Kincaid
Bradley Kincaid
William Bradley Kincaid was an American folk singer and radio entertainer.He was born in Point Level, Garrard County, Kentucky but built a music career in the northern states. His first radio appearance came in 1926 when he performed on the National Barn Dance show on WLS-AM in Chicago, Illinois...
at the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
. His first session was with Pee Wee King
Pee Wee King
Julius Frank Anthony Kuczynski , known professionally as Pee Wee King, was an American country music songwriter and recording artist best known for co-writing "The Tennessee Waltz"....
and the Golden West Cowboys in 1946.
Owen and Harold built Bradley Film and Recording Studios, later known as the Quonset Hut, which was the first music-industry related business on what is now known as Music Row, in 1954. Harold enjoyed frequent work as a session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
into the 1970s, performing on hundreds of albums by country stars such as Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...
, Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
, 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 Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
. He also played bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
on records, initiating the "tic-tac" method of bass muting. According to Guitar Player Magazine, Harold is the most recorded guitar player in the world and he is a member of the Nashville A-Team, which was inducted in to the Musician's Hall of Fame in 2007.
Harold recorded three albums as a pop guitarist on Columbia Records, "Misty Guitar", "Guitar for Lovers Only", and "Bossa Nova Goes to Nashville" in the 1960s.
From 1991 - 2008, Harold served as the president of the Nashville chapter of the American Federation of Musicians
American Federation of Musicians
The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada is a labor union of professional musicians in the United States and Canada...
(AFM). In 1999 he was elected as the AFM International Vice-President and still serves in that capacity.
Bradley was inducted in to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2006 as was his brother Owen previously.
In 2010 Harold was one recipient of the Trustees Award at the 52nd Grammy Awards
52nd Grammy Awards
The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares Person of the Year on January 29, two days prior to the Grammy telecast. Only ten of the 109 awards were received during the broadcast...
.