William Doyce “Buddy” Killen (November 13, 1932 – November 1, 2006) was an American

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

and

music publisher A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers began to play a role in the management of the intellectu ...

, and a former owner of Trinity Broadcasting Network and

Tree International Publishing Tree International Publishing was a major American music publisher, based in Nashville. As the last major music publisher that was owned and operated in Nashville, it was sold to the Sony Music, CBS Records Group in 1989.John ParelesRecords to Buy ...

, the largest

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 ...

publishing business, before he sold it to

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records, a former name of Sony Music, a global music company * CBS/Sony, a former name of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, a Japanese music company division of Sony * CBS Records International, a label for Columbia Re ...

in 1989. He was also the owner of

Killen Music Group KMG (Killen Music Group) Records was a Christian record label. The label was established in 1997 by Buddy Killen as a subunit of the Killen Music Group / Buddy Killen Enterprises and sold in late 1998 to Cal Turner III, who is related to the Cal ...

, involved with more diverse genres of music, such as

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

and

rap Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

Biography

William Doyce Killen was born in

Florence, Alabama Florence is a city in, and the county seat of, Lauderdale County, Alabama, Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the state's northwestern corner, and had a population of 40,184 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Florence is l ...

. Immediately upon graduating high school in 1951, he moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. In Nashville, Killen worked as an

upright bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

player in the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

before going freelance and working with musicians including

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

Jim Reeves James Travis Reeves (August 20, 1923July 31, 1964) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. One of the earliest pioneers and practitioners of the Nashville sound, he played a central role in the sonic development of country music in th ...

, and

Cowboy Copas Lloyd Estel Copas (July 15, 1913 – March 5, 1963), known by his stage name Cowboy Copas, was an American country music singer. He was popular from the 1940s until his death in the 1963 plane crash that also killed country stars Patsy Cline an ...

, among others. In 1953 he was hired as a

song plugger A song plugger or song demonstrator is an individual who promotes music to musicians, record labels, and customers. Song pluggers work for a music publishing company or operate independently. The function of the role has evolved as advances in mu ...

for the newly-formed

Tree Publishing Tree International Publishing was a major American music publisher, based in Nashville. As the last major music publisher that was owned and operated in Nashville, it was sold to the CBS Records Group in 1989.John ParelesRecords to Buy Tree, Endi ...

, and in 1955 Killen and Tree scored international success with

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

's first number 1 hit, "

Heartbreak Hotel "Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. It was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, with credit being g ...

". Killen was promoted to executive vice president of Tree Publishing, where he worked with

Roger Miller Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping country hits " King of the Road", "Dang Me", and " England Swing ...

Dottie West Dottie West (born Dorothy Marie Marsh; October 11, 1932 – September 4, 1991) was an American country singer and songwriter. She also had several credits as an actress. A distinguished figure in the country genre, West was among several people ...

, and

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

. Killen also achieved success as a songwriter with songs including

the Little Dippers Anita Jean Kerr (''née'' Grilli; October 13, 1927 – October 10, 2022) was an American singer, arranger, composer, conductor, pianist, and music producer. She recorded and performed with her vocal harmony groups in Nashville, Los Angeles, and ...

' hit "

Forever Forever or 4ever may refer to: Film and television Films * ''Forever'' (1921 film), an American silent film by George Fitzmaurice * ''Forever'' (1978 film), an American made-for-television romantic drama, based on the novel by Judy Blume * '' ...

" (1960),

Buck Owens Alvis Edgar "Buck" Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was the frontman for The Buckaroos, which had 21 No. 1 hits on the ''Billboard'' country music chart. He pioneered what came ...

' " Open Up Your Heart" (1966), and "

I May Never Get to Heaven "I May Never Get to Heaven'" is a song written by Bill Anderson and Buddy Killen, and was originally recorded by Don Gibson in 1960 and released on the B-side of "Just One Time", Conway Twitty recording In 1979, the song was recorded by American ...

", which was a hit for

Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...

in 1979. In 1964 Killen formed the Dial Records label in order to promote

Joe Tex Yusuf Hazziez (born Joseph Arrington Jr.; August 8, 1935 – August 13, 1982), known professionally as Joe Tex, was an American singer and musician who gained success in the 1960s and 1970s with his brand of Southern soul, which mixed the style ...

, with a string of successful songs beginning with "

Hold What You've Got "Hold What You've Got" is a 1964 single by Joe Tex. The single was his second chart release and first to reach the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Hold What You've Got" went to number one on the ''Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', i ...

" (1964). In 1971 Killen and three business partners bought Danny Davis' Nashville Audio Recorders studio, with Killen becoming the sole owner of the studio, renamed Sound Shop Recording Studios, in 1975. Killen's work as a

included artists such as

Louise Mandrell Thelma Louise Mandrell (born July 13, 1954) is an American country music music artist (occupation), singer. She is the younger sister of fellow country singer Barbara Mandrell, and older sister of musician Irlene Mandrell. Louise had a successfu ...

Exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

Ronnie McDowell Ronald Dean McDowell Sr. (born March 25, 1950) is an American country music artist. McDowell charted more than 30 top-40 hits on the ''Billboard'' country music charts. Two of his singles – " Older Women" and " You're Gonna Ruin My Bad Reputati ...

Diana Trask Diana Roselyn Trask (born 23 June 1940) is an Australian singer, songwriter and author. She was considered to be one of the first Australian music artists to find success in the United States, particularly in the genres of pop and country. Bo ...

, and

T. G. Sheppard William Neal Browder (born July 20, 1944) is an American country music singer, known professionally as T. G. Sheppard. He had 14 number-one hits on the US country charts between 1974 and 1986, including eight consecutive number ones between 19 ...

. Killen became president of

in 1975. Following the death of

Jack Stapp Jack Stapp (December 8, 1912 – December 20, 1980) was an American country music manager. Biography Stapp was born in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. His family moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1921, and Stapp was educated in that city. He bec ...

in 1980, Killen became the sole owner of the company. Under Killen's leadership, Tree became a leading publisher on the

Billboard charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ' ...

. In 1985, Killen was inducted into the

Alabama Music Hall of Fame The Alabama Music Hall of Fame, first conceived by the Muscle Shoals Music Association in the early 1980s, was created by the Alabama Music Hall of Fame Board, which then oversaw construction of a facility after a statewide referendum in 1987 ...

. In 1989, Killen sold the company to

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

subsidiary CBS Records for a price estimated to be between $30 million and $40 million. At the time, Tree International Publishing had a catalogue of approximately 35,000 songs. After the sale of Tree Publishing, Killen formed the Killen Music Group. During this time, Killen worked with artists such as

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American Country music, country singer. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold almost 50 million albums worldwide ...

Trace Adkins Tracy Darrell Adkins (born January 13, 1962) known professionally as Trace Adkins, is an American country music singer and actor. Adkins made his debut in 1996 with the album ''Dreamin' Out Loud'', released on Capitol Records Nashville. Since t ...

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country singer. With 30 million albums sold worldwide, he released his debut, '' In My Wildest Dreams'', in 1994, and has since released 19 follow-ups. His albums spawned 27 singles tha ...

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire ( ; born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music, country singer and actress. Dubbed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Sin ...

and

Bill Anderson James William Anderson III (born November 1, 1937) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and television host. His soft-spoken singing voice earned him the nickname "Whispering Bill" from music critics and writers. As a songwriter, hi ...

. In the mid-2000s, Killen's company worked with

Outkast Outkast (sometimes written as OutKast) was an American hip-hop duo formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1992, consisting of Big Boi (Antwan Patton) and André 3000 (André Benjamin, formerly known as Dré). Widely regarded as one of the greatest an ...

, publishing songs on the companion album to their 2006 film '' Idlewild''. He also co-published the popular

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American Country music, country music band formed in 1999 in Nashville, Tennessee. The band consists of Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background voc ...

song "

Me and My Gang ''Me and My Gang'' is the fourth studio album by the American country music group Rascal Flatts, released on April 4, 2006 as their fourth album for Lyric Street Records. The album became the highest US debut of 2006, with 721,747 units and wen ...

Death

Killen died in

on November 1, 2006, twelve days before his 74th birthday. The cause of death was

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

References

External links

* Buddy Killen at AllMusic {{DEFAULTSORT:Killen, Buddy 1932 births 2006 deaths Musicians from Florence, Alabama Record producers from Alabama American country songwriters American male songwriters Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Tennessee Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee Songwriters from Tennessee Songwriters from Alabama 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American songwriters