Born 137 Years Ago Today in England, the Unsung Architect of Country Music Who Helped Make the King of Singing Cowboys a Star

On this day (October 19) in 1889, Art Satherley was born in Bedminster, Bristol, England. He moved to the United States in his 20s and began working in manufacturing. Eventually, his work led him to the recording industry. He became a talent scout and producer who helped launch Gene Autry’s career. He also worked closely with the likes of Bob Wills, Roy Acuff, Bill Monroe, Red Foley, Marty Robbins, and the Carter Family.

Like many Europeans at the turn of the century, Satherley was infatuated with the American West. In his mid-20s, he moved to the United States. There, he began working as a lumber grader for the Wisconsin Chair Factory. In 1918, he began working at Wisconsin Chair’s newly formed record label, Paramount Records. Initially, he worked on the manufacturing side, making shellac discs. Then, he began marketing records for Paramount. He began selling blues records at county fairs and other events. Then, he moved to nationwide marketing campaigns in magazines and newspapers.

According to the Country Music Hall of Fame, Satherley began working as a producer and talent scout in the mid-1920s. He quickly gained a reputation as an expert in blues and country music, then called race and hillbilly records, respectively. As the decade came to an end, he moved from Paramount to the American Record Corporation.

Art Satherley’s Relationship with Country Music

Satherley may have been English by birth, but he understood rural music and its listeners. “I was brought up on the farm,” he said. “I said my prayers on a sheepskin at night on a stone floor under a thatched roof. I have shucked wheat with my hands, and oats and barley. I have done much work around the farmyard. So, you see, I have understood country music from my early childhood days,” he explained.

He proved this time and again by discovering and promoting talented artists who became cornerstones of country music. He also produced sessions for titans of country music, including Vernon Dalhart, Lefty Frizzell, Marty Robbins, the Carter Family, and Johnny Bond.

Satherley recorded several sessions for Roy Acuff, whom he called a “pure, unadulterated country American.”

He also produced Gene Autry’s first sessions with the American Recording Company. More importantly, he suggested that Autry focus on Western music and develop a cowboy image. Satherley used his contacts in the film industry to get Autry into his first films. Later, he sparked the singing cowboy craze in Hollywood. Gene Autry went down in history as the King of Singing Cowboys thanks to Art Satherley’s suggestions.

Satherley also worked closely with Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys. He produced hundreds of sessions for Wills. Most notably, he named their signature song “San Antonio Rose.”

Satherley retired in 1952. Nineteen years later, he became the first member of the Country Music Hall of Fame to be born outside the United States.

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“I’m the only living man who’s been through this business with his hands,” Art Satherley said. “Running the factories, making the records, making the formulas, finding the material, seeing that the pressing’s done, selling the records, and finding the artists. Nearly fifty years at it,” he added. “And now, considered the daddy of it all. That’s what they call me, the daddy of all recordings country.”

Featured Image by Maureen Donaldson/Getty Images

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