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Longtime ASCAP Nashville head Connie Bradley dies at 75





Connie BradleyCourtesy of ASCAP

Connie BradleyCourtesy of ASCAP

Connie Bradley, who led Nashville’s American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers office for 34 years, died Wednesday at the age of 75.

“As head of ASCAP’s Nashville office for more than three decades, Connie Bradley was a mentor to so many of country music’s greatest songwriters and an indelible part of ASCAP’s history,” ASCAP Chair Paul Williams said in a statement. “She was a maverick leader in country music with an enormous heart who passionately advocated for the songwriters she loved so much. ASCAP and country music lost an iconic leader today. Our hearts go out to her family and the large community of songwriters who loved her.”

According to ASCAP, under her “fierce” leadership, the performing rights organization signed and supported the careers of Dierks Bentley, Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Rodney Crowell, Billy Currington, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, Kellie Pickler, Rascal Flatts, John Rich, George Strait, Sugarland, Wynonna and Chris Young, among others.

 

 

Illustrating that role, messages of love came pouring in from artists via social media after Bradley’s death.

“A pioneer, a friend to songwriters and a sweet soul,” tweeted the Oak Ridge Boys. “Rest easy ma’am … until the day.”

Said Chely Wright: “She. Was. An. Icon. Connie loved people as much as she loved songs and she had a refined sensibility about which ones were good and which ones weren’t. The woman suffered no fools. My deepest condolences to Jerry, Leigh, Clay and all who loved her.”

In addition to Bradley being a passionate advocate for music creators, ASCAP also called her a focused business leader, driven to achieve the best for ASCAP writers and publishers.

“She was at the forefront of the movement to secure better legislation to protect the intellectual property of songwriters,” reads a news release. “She personally nurtured and encouraged countless songwriters whose music is now heard around the world.”

Bradley was honored with several awards over the years for her leadership example, generosity and supportive spirit.

In December 2006, Bradley was presented the Harmony Award at Nashville’s annual Symphony Ball, presented to an individual who has demonstrated continued interest and support of music in Nashville

In 2008, she received the Leadership Music Dale Franklin Award, given to music industry leaders who exemplify quality leadership and leading by example. The award was jointly presented to Connie and “Music Row’s First Family,” the Bradleys.

In 2012, SOURCE, a nonprofit organization that supports a community of accomplished female professionals in all facets of Nashville’s entertainment industry, inducted Bradley into the SOURCE Hall of Fame.

In 2018, Bradley was presented the Country Music Association’s Irving Waugh Award of Excellence, which recognizes an individual whose ideas have dramatically broadened and improved country music’s influence on the national and global stage.

Boards on which Bradley served included a stint as chair of the Saint Thomas/Baptist Hospital Health Services Foundation Board, the Board of the Country Music Association and the Country Music Foundation. Bradley was also a member of the Academy of Country Music, the Country Music Association, the Copyright Society of the South, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, and SOURCE.

“Connie Bradley was a trailblazing woman in the music industry and under her leadership, ASCAP’s community of songwriters and publishers in Nashville grew in strength and impact for more than three decades,” ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews said in a statement. “Her legacy of hard work, vision, integrity and passion will continue to benefit music creators for years to come.”

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