Belmont University To Launch Scholarship To Honor Harold Bradley

Harold Bradley

Belmont University’s School of Music is set to honor the legacy of guitarist and music executive Harold Bradley, via a new scholarship in the name of the Country Music Hall of Fame member. The honor will be awarded to outstanding students in the university’s music business program, with an emphasis on guitar.

The Harold Bradley Endowed Scholarship at Belmont has received initial funding from an anonymous donor. A ceremony celebrating the new scholarship will be held at Belmont on Friday, Jan. 25. Bradley and his family will be in attendance.

Bradley, along with his brother Owen, laid the groundwork for Nashville’s music industry. They opened their first recording studio in 1955 on 16th Ave. S. Later, they added an Army surplus Quonset hut to the existing building, creating a studio complex that would become the apex of Music Row.

While Owen became the head of Decca Records and a producer for artists including Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Brenda Lee and numerous others, Harold concentrated on playing on records. Harold has played on countless iconic songs and albums, including Alan Jackson’s “Here in the Real World,” Patsy Cline’s “Crazy,” “I Fall to Pieces” and “Sweet Dreams,” Lefty Frizzell’s “Long Black Veil,” Eddy Arnold’s “Make the World Go Away,” Loretta Lynn’s “Coal Miner’s Daughter” and Roy Orbison’s “Crying,” Elvis Presley’s “Devil in Disguise,” Roger Miller’s “King of the Road,” Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man,” Conway Twitty’s “Hello Darlin’,” and Burl Ives’ “Holly Jolly Christmas.”

Harold was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1974.