Nearly Four Decades Ago, We Said Goodbye to One Half of the Husband-And-Wife Duo Behind Hits by the Everly Brothers, Roy Clark, and Kitty Wells

On this day (June 25) in 1987, Boudleaux Bryant died of cancer. He and his wife, Felice, wrote some of the most memorable pop and country hits of the 1950s and ’60s. The Everly Brothers found success with several of their songs. Little Jimmy Dickens and Kitty Wells also pulled several songs from their catalog. They are far from the only ones who recorded songs penned by the Bryants, though. That list includes Sonny James, Eddy Arnold, Bob Dylan, Charley Pride, The Beatles, and many more.

Bryant didn’t start his career as a songwriter. Instead, he was a classically trained violinist. He played with the Atlanta Philharmonic for a season before joining several country, jazz, and western swing bands. He was on tour in the summer of 1945 and staying at the Schroeder Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, when he met Matilda Scaduto, an elevator operator, and fell in love.

Months later, in September 1945, the pair tied the knot, and Matilda Scaduto became Felice Bryant. She was a poet, and before long, the couple began writing songs. She would write the lyrics, and he would put them to music.

Their joint songwriting career took off in 1948, according to the Country Music Hall of Fame. That year, Rome Johnson showed Fred Rose their song “Country Boy.” He passed the song to Little Jimmy Dickens, and it became a top 10 hit the next year. In 1950, Rose convinced the couple to relocate to Nashville. According to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, they became Music City’s first full-time country songwriters.

Boudleaux and Felice Bryant Wrote Major Hits

Felice and Boudleaux Bryant quickly began notching hits as songwriters. Their first few years in Nashville saw their songs recorded by Carl Smith, Little Jimmy Dickens, Eddy Arnold, and Kitty Wells. All of those artists consistently found success with the Bryants’ compositions.

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In 1957, the duo linked with the Everly Brothers, who recorded several of their songs. The next year, they released “All I Have to Do Is Dream,” which topped the country, pop, and R&B charts. The Everlys took four more of the Bryants’ songs to the upper reaches of the charts between 1958 and 1960.

Highlights from the Bryants’ Catalog

Boudleaux and Felice Bryant wrote several memorable hits. The list below is just the tip of the iceberg.

• “Wake Up Little Susie”–The Everly Brothers (No. 1)
• “She Wears My Ring”–Ray Price (No. 6)
• “Rocky Top”–The Osborne Brothers (No. 33)
• “Love Hurts”–Nazareth (No. 8)
• “Hole in My Pocket”–Ricky Van Shelton (No. 4)
• “Hey Joe”–Carl Smith (No. 1)
• “Bye Bye Love”–The Everly Brothers (No. 1)

Featured Image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

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