Bobby Braddock Becomes
Producer For Blake Shelton

By Bill Chestnut

We talked to former Auburndale resident Bobby Braddock on Friday about his growing up in Auburndale. He graduated from Auburndale High School in 1958 and lived here all of his life until going to Nashville in his early years.

Bobby said there were 67 in his graduating class and he remembered all of them. He played the saxophone in the high school band but also took piano lessons throughout his high school days.

The piano is what he uses to write and co-write all of the best selling country songs throughout the years. His mother and father wanted him to take the piano lessons and he is very glad he pursued it.

Bobby's dad Paul was the Mayor, City Manager and City Judge all at one time in the 40's in Auburndale. Both his mother and dad were very active in city affairs throughout their years.

Bobby Braddock talked about the many talented people throughout Polk County he played with in the early years such as Silas Ramsey, Big John Taylor, Carl Chambers, Bruce and Buddy Canova and Jim Stafford,

Braddock said he always will call Auburndale home as this is where he grew up and had so much fun in the small bands around the county. "I love the small town atmosphere that has always been in Auburndale even though it has really grown in the years I have been gone there is still that great feeling of knowing everyone.

Braddock told this writer he is writing a book of a small southern town and all of its characters. The book will be sort of an autobiography. He said it will be close to a year before he finishes it.

Now Auburndale's own Bobby Braddock, after 34 years of-writing hit songs in Nashville, could easily rest on his laurels. Instead, the cowriter of such classics as George Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," and Tammy Wynett's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," has reinvented himself to become one of Music Row's hot record producers.

Braddock jumped into record production and launched Blake Shelton, the hottest, most exciting new act since the coming of Alan Jackson.

This comes as no surprise to the producers and A & R people who have been listening to Braddock's great song demos over the years. Bobby has been thrilling Nashville and America at large with his highly original approach to a song since he came to Nashville in the late 60s, barely out of childhood, and began playing piano on the road for Marty Robbins. But he had really come to Music City to write songs and soon the hits began to come.

He exploded in the seventies, with classics like "Golden Ring," "Thinking Of A Rendezvous," "Womanhood," and "Her Name Is," all number I smashes.

The dominant country song of the 1980s was "He Stopped Loving Her Today," a song he wrote with Curly Putnam, which was CMA Song of the Year two years running and which was voted "Best All-Time Country Song" by both BBC listeners and "Country America Magazine" readers.

When Radio and Records Magazine polled business leaders last year, "He stopped Loving Her today" was voted Country Song of the Century and Bobby was on the list of the century's top fifteen songwriters. Other major Braddock hits of the 80s included "Faking Love," Hard Times," "I Don't Remember Loving You," and I Feel Like Loving You Again." In 1981 Bobby became the youngest living member ever elected to the NSAI Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Many country fans consider the country song of the 90s to have been "Time Marches On," which occupied the top spot on Billboard country singles chart for nearly a month and helped Tracy Lawrence into the top echelon of country singers, as Bobby's songs had done earlier for George Jones and Tammy Wynette.

Braddock hits of the 90s included "Old Flames Have New Names," co-written with Rafe Van Hoy (as was "Golden Ring") and "Texas Tornado," another huge stepping stone for Tracy Lawrence. All told Bobby has had thirty-two top ten hits, including 12 number #1s.

So why, now, after all these years, go through the intense effort involved in finding an artist, assembling the material, tracking and mixing, then pitching to the labels?

Braddock said, "When I first heard Blake, I thought he was just what modem country music needed. We met shortly thereafter;. he liked the sound of my demos and I liked him personally and thought he had what it took to become a superstar."

Bobby produced a session on Blake for SONY Productions, pitched it until he secured a record deal with Giant, and produced twenty sides, including "Austin," which became a runaway number I hit and did indeed launch a superstar.

"Austin" was not written by Bobby and in fact he insisted on excluding one of his songs from the album although others in the decision-making process thought it belonged. "When I am wearing my producer's hat," Braddock said, "I am a completely different person from the songwriter trying to get a song cut."

Bobby continued, "If I were to include something of mine at the expense of a better song, then I wouldn't be a very good producer. "

As you read this, Shelton's first single, "Austin," remains as number 1 on the Billboard charts for five straight weeks. Shelton earned the biggest first week album sales for a country solo artist since 1992. He claimed the Number 1 position on both the Hot Country Singles and Tracks chart and the Top Country Singles Sales chart making him the first debut male country artist to own the top spot on both charts simultaneously since Billboard introduced the single sales chart in July 1995.

Braddock, who has no plans to stop writing anytime soon, wrote two songs on Shelton's CD , "I Thought There Was Time" and "Same Old Song." And it looks as if Braddock may have another hit on his hands with the release of Toby Keith's next single, "I Wanna Talk About Me," which although not yet officially released (it was accidently shipped early), has already come into the national charts in Billboard and R&R.

Bobby Braddock's career success is based on dogged persistence and focus. Bobby said, "I am still a songwriter. As long as I am producing Blake Shelton, he is the only artist I will be producing." And when Braddock says or writes something, you can take it to the bank.

Bobby Braddock is an Auburndale boy who had big dreams of making it big in Nashville and he did just that with many long years of hard work.