Bill Lowery (October 21, 1924 – June 8, 2004) was an American music entrepreneur.

Early successes

Lowery was born in

Leesville, Louisiana Leesville is a city in, and the parish seat of, Vernon Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,649 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Fort Johnson South, Louisiana, Fort Johnson South micropolitan area and is additionally serv ...

. He studied radio dramatics at Taft Junior College and went on to a number of radio-announcing jobs. At age 21, he was hired to direct the construction and programming of WBEJ, a radio station in

Elizabethton, Tennessee Elizabethton () is a city in, and the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is the historical site of the first independent American government (known as the Watauga Association, created in 1772) located west of ...

. In the early 1950s, Lowery was the top

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

in America and also was a pioneer TV host on Atlanta television. A 1951 diagnosis of cancer (which he ultimately survived) left Lowery wondering how to provide for his family, and he decided to go into the music publishing business. Although the music industry told Lowery that no music company could be based anywhere but New York, Chicago, Nashville, or Los Angeles, he believed that Atlanta could be a true music city. Together with an associate, Dennis "Boots" Woodall, Lowery formed Lowery Music Company and was involved in independent record production and promotion. Early hit songs published by Lowery Music included a string of country music hits for major labels, but two of the most notable Lowery Music songs were early

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

hits: " Be Bop A Lula" by

Gene Vincent Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American rock and roll musician who pioneered the style of rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-a-Lula", is ...

& His Blue Caps, and " Young Love", recorded by both

Sonny James Jimmie Hugh Loden (May 1, 1928February 22, 2016), known professionally as Sonny James, was an American country music singer and songwriter best known for his 1957 hit, " Young Love", topping both the ''Billboard'' Hot Country and Disk Jockey s ...

and movie actor

Tab Hunter Tab Hunter (born Arthur Andrew Kelm; July 11, 1931 – July 8, 2018) was an American actor, singer, film producer, and author. Known for his blond hair and clean-cut good looks, Hunter starred in more than forty films. During the 1950s and 1960s ...

. Lowery is credited with being involved in the earliest recordings of

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country music, country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian. He is best known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "M ...

and

Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008), known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American country singer, guitarist, composer, songwriter and actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Gui ...

for

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

NRC days

In 1958, Lowery formed National Recording Corporation in Atlanta. To raise capital, sales of "founders' contracts" were made by a group headed by Ray Griggers. NRC initially recorded at WGST Radio studios until stock sales allowed NRC to set up its record pressing plant, record distributorship, and recording studio, with Ray Stevens,

Joe South Joe South (born Joseph Alfred Souter; February 28, 1940 – September 5, 2012) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Best known for his songwriting, South won the Grammy Award for Grammy Award for Song of the Year, ...

, and Jerry Reed as the staff band. Despite early hit records such as "Robbin' The Cradle" by Tony Bellus, as well as manufacturing and distribution of other labels, NRC was forced into bankruptcy in April 1961. Lowery called NRC "his only failure".

Later years

Lowery continued in music publishing, along with studio ownership and artist management of a list of successful artists. Before his death, Lowery Music was sold to Sony/ATV Music Publishing. His work with the Friends of Georgia Music organization assured that Georgia-based artists would be honored in the

Georgia Music Hall of Fame The Georgia Music Hall of Fame was a hall of fame to recognize music performers and music industry professionals from or connected to the state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It began with efforts of the state's lieutenant governor Zell Mill ...

. Lowery died in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 8, 2004, after a four-month battle with cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowery, Bill Businesspeople from Atlanta American radio DJs 1924 births 2004 deaths Record producers from Louisiana 20th-century American musicians People from Leesville, Louisiana 20th-century American businesspeople