Born in Florida 86 Years Ago, the Songwriter Who Discovered Blake Shelton and Wrote Signature Hits for Tammy Wynette and George Jones

On this day (August 5) in 1940, Bobby Braddock was born in Lakeland, Florida. He had a brief recording career before finding success as a songwriter. He wrote and co-wrote several songs that became classics, including “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” and “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” career hits for Tammy Wynette and George Jones, respectively. Braddock is also credited with discovering Blake Shelton.

Braddock played in country and rock bands in his teens. Then, when he was in his early 20s, he moved to Nashville. There, he became the pianist in Marty Robbins’ road band. In 1966, Robbins gave Braddock his first hit as a songwriter when he took “While You’re Dancing” to No. 21 on the country chart. This led to a publishing deal with Tree International, according to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

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Bobby Braddock Writes Stone-Cold Classics

A year later, the Statler Brothers brought Braddock his first top 10 hits. They took “Ruthless” and “You Can’t Have Your Kate and Edith Too” to No. 10 on the country chart.

Braddock found his first No. 1 in 1968, when Tammy Wynette released “D-I-V-O-R-C-E,” which became one of her signature songs. Interestingly, he co-wrote it with Curly Putman. They also co-wrote George Jones’ 1980 career-saving No. 1 “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” It won multiple Song of the Year awards and has been hailed as the greatest country song ever recorded.

Below is a list of Braddock’s other chart-topping singles.

• “Golden Ring” –George Jones & Tammy Wynette
• “Time Marches On” –Tracy Lawrence
• “I Wanna Talk About Me”–Toby Keith
• “Texas Tornado”–Tracy Lawrence
• “People Are Crazy”–Billy Currington
• “Faking Love”–T.G. Sheppard & Karen Brooks
• “I Feel Like Loving You Again”–T.G. Sheppard
• “Thinkin’ of a Rendezvous”–Johnny Duncan

Discovering Blake Shelton

In the mid-1990s, former American Songwriter publisher Jim Sharpe called songwriter/author/journalist Michael Kosser to see if he’d like to hear “this big kid from Oklahoma” sing. Sharpe called him the best singer he’d ever heard. According to a piece he wrote for Variety, Kosser wasn’t initially interested. Finally, he went to Sharpe’s office to hear Blake Shelton. He was blown away. Soon, they had a standing weekly songwriting session.

After learning that Shelton had been shot down by every label in Music City, he called Bobby Braddock and played him a tape of Shelton singing. “The song is OK, but who’s that singer?” was his response.

Soon, the three of them met at Braddock’s house. He and Shelton became fast friends. More importantly, Braddock saw potential in the young singer/songwriter. He convinced his publishing company, Sony/ATV, to foot the bill for a recording session.

Braddock took the CD they recorded all over town. Finally, he got Shelton a deal with Giant Records. When that label folded, its parent company, Warner Bros., picked Shelton up and ran with him.

Braddock’s involvement in Shelton’s career didn’t stop there. He produced his first Shelton’s first three albums. Then, co-produced the next two. Those LPs produced some of the Oklahoma native’s most successful singles, including “Austin,” “Some Beach,” “She Wouldn’t Be Gone,” and “The Baby.”

In short, Bobby Braddock has shaped the sound of country music for the last five decades. Without him, the genre wouldn’t have some of its biggest stars or best-loved songs.

Featured Image by R. Diamond/WireImage

The post Born in Florida 86 Years Ago, the Songwriter Who Discovered Blake Shelton and Wrote Signature Hits for Tammy Wynette and George Jones appeared first on American Songwriter.