Born 94 Years Ago Today in Alabama, the Grand Ole Opry Bassist Turned Music Mogul Who Helped Launch Dolly Parton’s Career and Penned Hits for Buck Owens and Conway Twitty

On this day (November 13) in 1932, William Doyce “Buddy” Killen was born in Florence, Alabama. Killen’s musical legacy spanned the entire spectrum of the industry, working his way from song plugger to owner of Tree International Publishing, the powerhouse publishing company that helped establish Nashville as the epicenter of country music. Helping shape the careers of Roger Miller, Dottie West, and Dolly Parton, Killen also enjoyed success as a songwriter, penning Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel”, Buck Owens’ “Open Up Your Heart”, and Conway Twitty’s “I May Never Get to Heaven”.

On November 1, 2006, Buddy Killen died of pancreatic cancer in Nashville 12 days before his 74th birthday. In a statement, Dolly Parton honored him as “one of the very first people to see my dream.”

“And not only did he see it, he tried to help make it come true,” she said. 

Today, we’re highlighting Buddy Killen’s innumerable contributions to country music in honor of what would have been his 94th birthday.

Buddy Killen’s Career Touched Every Aspect of Country Music

Buddy Killen got his start playing bass for two comedians who frequently performed at the Grand Ole Opry, which led to road show tours with artists including Hank Williams, Sr., Jim Reeves, and Eddy Arnold.

That group eventually went their separate ways, and Killen took a staff bassist gig with the Grand Ole Opry while also playing on recording sessions and singing on music publishing demos.

In 1951, he caught the attention of Jack Stapp, then program director of WSM radio and manager of the Grand Ole Opry. He had also recently founded Tree Publishing, and he hired Killen to sing demos for the company for $10 a night.

Two years later, Stapp promoted Killen to a song plugger position, meaning it was his job to pitch songs from the Tree catalog to recording artists.

The up-and-comer proved his mettle when he arranged for a young artist named Elvis Presley to record “Heartbreak Hotel”, written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden.

Selling more than a million copies, “Heartbreak Hotel” spent seven weeks atop the Billboard Top 100 and put the young man from Tupelo, Mississippi, on track to become one of the most singular musical forces of all time.

Climbing the Ladder

By 1957, Buddy Killen had ascended to executive vice president of Tree Publishing, with a 30 percent ownership stake in the company.

That same year, he met a broke songwriter at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge. Killen loaned the young man $5 and invited him to come by his office and play some of his songs.

That “broke” songwriter was Roger Miller, who soon racked up a number of hits for other artists, including “Invitation to the Blues” for Ray Price, “Home” and “Billy Bayou” for Jim Reeves, and “When Two Worlds Collide” for Bill Anderson.

Miller would also light up the charts with recordings of his own compositions, including “Dang Me” and “Chug-A-Lug”.

In 1960, Killen wrote the US Top 10 hit “Forever” for the Little Dippers (an offshoot of the Anita Kerr Singers). He also penned multiple country hits, including “Open Up Your Heart” (for Buck Owens, 1966), “I Can’t Wait Any Longer” (Bill Anderson, 1978), “I May Never Get to Heaven” (Conway Twitty, 1979), “Watchin’ the Girls Go By” (Ronnie McDowell, 1981) and “All Tied Up” (Ronnie McDowell, 1986).

Later Career

In 1975, Buddy Killen took over as president of Tree Publishing, assuming sole ownership five years later following the passing of Jack Stapp.

After leading Tree Publishing for 14 years, Killen sold the company to CBS Records in 1989. He then began building the Killen Music Group.

[RELATED: It Took George Jones More Than 80 Takes To Record His First No. 1 Hit]

In addition to working with ’90s country hitmakers including Faith Hill, Trace Adkins, and Kenny Chesney, Killen Music Group also expanded its borders, publishing music by Grammy-winning hip-hop duo OutKast.

Featured image by Ralph Dominquez / MediaPunch via Getty Images

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