Sherman Brooks Halsey (February 22, 1957 – October 29, 2013) was an American music video and television director, producer, and artist manager. Sherman Halsey produced and directed hundreds of television shows and music videos for artists such as

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 17 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, five for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those albums have reached number one on ...

Brooks and Dunn Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1988 through the suggestion of songwriter and record producer, Tim DuBois. Before thei ...

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He is known for performing a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country", as well as writing many of his own songs. Jackson has recorded 21 studi ...

, B. B. King,

Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin (born February 26, 1953), known professionally as Michael Bolton, is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton performed in the hard rock and heavy metal music genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, both on his early solo a ...

and

Dwight Yoakam Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and filmmaker. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album ''Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerable s ...

Career

After college, Halsey split his time between the Agency, Management and Record Company division headquartered in Tulsa, and their Beverly Hills office where he and Dick Howard developed the television production arm of the Jim Halsey Company. As vice chairman of the Jim Halsey Company, the largest agency in country music in the world at that time, he was involved in all aspects of the artists' careers. The Jim Halsey Company represented 47 of country music's top stars,

Roy Clark Roy Linwood Clark (April 15, 1933 – November 15, 2018) was an American singer, musician, and television presenter. He is best known for having hosted '' Hee Haw'', a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969 to 1997. Clark wa ...

The Oak Ridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American vocal quartet. The classic and most well-known lineup of the group, which performed together for over 40 years, consisted of William Lee Golden (baritone), Duane Allen (lead), Richard Sterban (bass), and Joe ...

, The Bellamy Brothers,

The Judds The Judds were an American country music duo composed of lead vocalist-guitarist Wynonna Judd and her mother Naomi Judd on backup vocals. The duo signed to RCA Records in 1983 and released six studio albums between then and 1991. The Judds wer ...

Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...

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 ...

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

and many others. Halsey was vice chairman of the Jim Halsey Company from 1980 to 1990 when the Halseys sold the Agency division to William Morris. The Halseys maintained ownership of the Management and Production divisions of the company.Gordon, Marty (January 15, 1990). "The William Morris Agency and Jim Halsey to Create World's Premiere County Music Agency",

Business Wire Business Wire is an American company that disseminates full-text press releases from thousands of companies and organizations worldwide to news media, financial markets, disclosure systems, investors, information web sites, databases, bloggers, ...

. Halsey discovered and managed an unknown

. Drawing upon his directing talent, Halsey combined his management and marketing skills to design and implement a plan which would develop Yoakam's career through the newly emerging video market. As Yoakam's manager, he produced and directed numerous music videos for Yoakam including one of the first big budget music videos, “Honky Tonk Man”. Halsey also worked as manager of the group The Clark Family Experience. He discovered them after seeing a videotape of one of their performances, but with no contact information on the tape, it took him six months to find them. He asked them if they wanted to open for Tim McGraw, and got them signed to

Curb Records Curb Records (also known as Asylum-Curb and formerly known as MCG Curb) is an American record label started by Mike Curb, originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963. From 1969 to 1973, Curb merged with MGM Records where Curb served as President of M ...

, within a few weeks of meeting them. Halsey became a prolific music video director, especially for Tim McGraw. Regarding their work together, McGraw said in an interview, ""Sherman has documented pretty much everything and almost all the videos I've done." McGraw delayed plans for a television network special, eventually titled, ''Tim McGraw: Sing Me Home'', until he could be assured that Halsey would direct the special.

Personal life

Halsey was the son of artist manager, agent, and impresario

Jim Halsey Jim Halsey is an American artist manager, agent and impresario. He and his staff have guided, promoted or managed the careers of numerous prominent U.S. entertainers - particularly country music stars - including 29 inductees of the Country Musi ...

Death

Halsey died on October 29, 2013, at his Nashville home. He was 56. Funeral services for Halsey were conducted November 5, 2013, at Memorial Hall, Independence, Kansas and were attended by approximately 400 people as well as family. Roy Clark, The Oak Ridge Boys, and Tim McGraw attended the services. Jana Jae played a violin farewell and Leon Russell sent a videotape tribute. A eulogy was delivered by his father, Jim Halsey and another was delivered by his sister, Gina.

Filmography

Television shows

Music videos directed

80 music videos are currently listed here.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Halsey, Sherman American music industry executives American music video directors 1957 births 2013 deaths University of Kansas alumni People from Independence, Kansas