JACK CLEMENT (1931–2013)
Sizable chunks of country music’s history have been made in Nashville studios built by Clement. Before taking up residence in Music City, Clement was a mainstay at Sun Studios in Memphis.
MARSHALL CRENSHAW (1953)
Best known as a musician, Crenshaw has also readied several historical recordings for reissue, most notably a Louvin Brothers collection.
LAWRENCE COHN (1942)
Cohn directly impacted country music as a reissue producer for Sony Music’s Legacy Recordings; he created the Roots ’n’ Blues series for the label.
DON COOK (1949)
Cook’s strength as a songwriter—he’s a top executive at Sony/ATV Tree Publishing—has powered much of his success as a producer.
STEVE CROPPER (1941)
More or less the manager of Stax Studio in Memphis, Cropper worked shoulder-to-shoulder writing songs with Otis Redding, the most countrified of legendary soul singers.
TOM DOWD (1925–2002)
One of the most admired recording engineers of all time, Dowd was also a producer of note, devoting most of his professional life to Atlantic Records.
SID FELLER (1916–2006)
Feller produced Ray Charles, including the game-changing album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music.
BOB FERGUSON (1927–2001)
At RCA and in the genealogy of country production, Steve Sholes begat Chet Atkins who begat Bob Ferguson.
TOMPALL GLASER (1933–2013)
Glaser built a Nashville studio commonly known as Hillbilly Central. In it a group of insurgents initiated country’s Outlaw movement.
SCOTT HENDRICKS (1956)
A Nashville producer and record-company executive, Hendricks has held leadership positions at Capitol Nashville, Virgin, and Warner Bros./Reprise Records. He has produced recordings by Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, Faith Hill, and Trace Adkins.
BOB IRWIN (1957)
As a reissue producer for Sony/Legacy, Irwin’s country credits include Lefty Frizzell, Buck Owens, Bob Wills, Johnny Cash, and the Byrds. In 1989 Irwin started Sundazed Records.
ROLAND JANES (1933)
That’s Janes’s guitar on Billy Lee Riley’s “Flyin’ Saucers Rock and Roll” and Jerry Lee Lewis’s “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.” He also engineered a number of the hits that tumbled out the doors of Sun Records.
BOB JOHNSTON (1932)
Most famous as Bob Dylan’s producer, Johnston followed Don Law Sr. as head of Columbia’s country-music division.
JOHN KEANE (1959)
In his Athens, GA, studio, Keane has produced R.E.M., the Cowboy Junkies, 10,000 Maniacs, and Nanci Griffith.
JERRY KENNEDY (1940)
From his post at Mercury Records, Kennedy produced, among others, Jerry Lee Lewis, Tom T. Hall, and Roger Miller. That’s his guitar on any number of hits.
BUDDY KILLEN (1932–2006)
Perhaps, country music’s greatest song hunter, Killen signed hundreds of writers to Tree Publishing Company. He produced the countrified soul singer Joe Tex.
JON LANGFORD (1957)
Langford’s sensibilities as an artist (drawing, painting, and making music) come from punk, and they are discernable in the music he’s recorded solo or with the Mekons, the Waco Brothers, and the Pine Valley Cosmonauts.
DON LAW JR.
Law is one of music’s most successful concert promoters; his father (1902–1982) was a legendary producer for Columbia Records.
WILLIAM MCEUEN
A producer of both film and music, McEuen made his mark on country when he brought his brother John’s group, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, to Nashville and recorded Will the Circle Be Unbroken.
BLAKE MEVIS
Standout items on Mevis’s resume include production work with George Strait, Vern Gosdin, Keith Whitley, and Mila Mason.
BUDDY MILLER (1952)
Singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Miller has production credits that include Emmylou Harris, Robert Plant, Allison Moorer, Solomon Burke, and Richard Thompson.
WILLIE MITCHELL (1928–2010)
At Royal Studios in Memphis, Mitchell created a patented brand of soul music that Al Green took to the world.
GURF MORLIX (1951)
An Austin-based guitarist and producer, Morlix’s work is heard to great effect on albums by Lucinda Williams and Robert Earl Keen Jr.
KEN NELSON (1911–2008)
For Capitol Records, Nelson produced the Louvin Brothers in Nashville, but it was his Hollywood-based production work with Merle Haggard and Buck Owens that defined a genre: the Bakersfield Sound.
JIM ED NORMAN (1948)
Before moving from California to Nashville in the early 1980s, Norman worked with the Eagles, Jennifer Warnes, and Anne Murray. Their sound anticipated country’s subsequent musical direction.
JOHN PALLADINO (1920)
Palladino was a pioneering recording engineer for Capitol Records in Hollywood.
DON PIERCE (1915–2005)
More than anyone in Nashville, Pierce knew how to market country music. Along the way, he produced a few records.
ALLEN REYNOLDS (1938)
Reynolds produced Garth Brooks (all of the defining albums), which is fame enough, but he also produced hits for Crystal Gayle, Don Williams, Kathy Mattea, and Kenny Rogers.
JIM ROONEY (1938)
Albums produced with Iris Dement, Nanci Griffith, and John Prine made Rooney an alt-country luminary.
SHELBY SINGLETON (1931–2009)
With money he earned from sales of Jeannie C. Riley’s “Harper Valley P.T.A.,” Singleton bought Sun Records (1969). Before that, he produced records for Mercury.
CRAIG STREET
Street crosses all musical boundaries and has produced k. d. lang and Norah Jones.
JAMES STROUD (1949)
The key to much of Stroud’s success as a producer (with Clint Black, Toby Keith, Tracy Lawrence, and Tim McGraw) is his ear for a groove. He started out as an R&B drummer.
MARTY STUART (1958)
Stuart’s production work with gospel group Jerry and Tammy Sullivan is a labor of love, reflecting his zeal for country traditions.
JEREMY TEPPER (1963)
Tepper’s Diesel Only Records has issued several compilations of truck-driving (“rig-rock”) songs.
BOB THIELE (1922–1996)
Though he