Brad Swanson was an American popular organist based in Western Pennsylvania and New York. His recordings, targeted towards older audiences, were popular jukebox selections and one of his albums made the national ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' chart.

Biography

Born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, Swanson began playing the organ in

Olean, New York Olean ( ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. Olean is the largest city in Cattaraugus County and serves as its financial, business, transportation and entertainment center. It is ...

.''The Billboard Albums'', 6th edn. Joel Whitburn. 2006. Record Research Inc. p. 1024. . He began his professional career at the age of eighteen, touring the country while giving concerts in clubs. In 1948 he was appearing twice daily at The Capitol Hill restaurant in Olean. In the early 1960s Swanson had a radio show entitled ''Dinner Serenade'' which broadcast on WKJF. His album ''Quentin's Theme'' appeared on ''

s album charts in October 1969 for two weeks, the highest listing being at position #185. In 1971 he was employed as an organist at the

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn by IHG is a chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson (1913–2003), who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee. The chain was a division ...

. By that time he had released ten

LP record The LP (from long playing or long play) is an Analog recording, analog sound storage medium, specifically a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of revolutions per minute, rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use ...

s on Thunderbird Records and was active as a promoter for the Music Operators of America.

Style and influence

His marketing tag was "and his Whispering Organ Sound". Swanson played Allen organs, which he would extensively modify.

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

was reported to be a fan of Swanson's music. In the late 1960s and very early 1970s his singles appeared among the most popular selection in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

for

jukeboxes A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that plays a user-selected song from a self-contained media library. Traditional jukeboxes contain records, compact discs, or digital files, and allow user ...

oriented towards "adult" and "oldies" locations. A "Greatest Hits" compilation released on Thunderbird in 1970 was accorded a four-star rating (the highest possible) by ''

''. His recordings were reviewed three decades later as "majestically cheezy."

References

{{Authority control American organists Musicians from Buffalo, New York Thunderbird Records artists