Hit songwriter/producer Bobby Braddock.
August 27, 2007 — Songwriter Bobby Braddock will share his sincerity and wit and give a rare public performance at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on Sept. 15. He is the third composer to be honored in the museum's quarterly programming series, Poets and Prophets: Legendary Country Songwriters.
Museum editor Michael Gray will conduct an in-depth, one-on-one interview with Bobby, illustrated with audiovisual elements culled from the museum's collection. During the program, Bobby will perform some of his original songs and afterward will sign copies of his new memoir, Down in Orburndale: A Songwriter's Youth in Old Florida, in the museum store.
Bobby has written No. 1 country songs in each of the last five decades, including "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" (Tammy Wynette, 1968), "Golden Ring" (George Jones and Tammy Wynette, 1976), "He Stopped Loving Her Today" (George Jones, 1980), "Time Marches On" (Tracy Lawrence, 1996) and "I Wanna Talk About Me" (Toby Keith, 2001).
Bobby, who composed his first song at age 8, became interested in hillbilly music after hearing Ray Price, Marty Robbins and Johnny Cash. He moved to Nashville in 1964 and soon landed a job playing piano for Marty Robbins, who recorded Bobby's song, "While You're Dancing," later that same year. The song caught the attention of Tree International executive Buddy Killen, who offered the 25-year-old his first publishing contract in 1966.
With the help of Tree's chief song plugger, Curly Putman, and legendary producer Billy Sherrill, Tammy Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" (co-written with Putman) became Bobby's first No. 1 hit in 1968. Through the years, artists have recorded a wide array of his tunes, from the Statler Brothers' humorous "You Can't Have Your Kate and Edith Too" to one of the greatest songs in country music history, George Jones' heartbreaker "He Stopped Loving Her Today." The latter won the Country Music Association's Song of the Year award in 1980 and 1981. Bobby also forged a solo career, recording albums for MGM, Columbia, Mercury, Elektra and RCA.
Since his induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1981, Bobby has continued to write prolifically, penning hits like "Old Flames Have New Names" (Mark Chesnutt) and "Texas Tornado" (Tracy Lawrence) and also helped launch the career of singer Blake Shelton.