Frank Sass
It takes a kaleidoscopic array of people to make music and music scenes in Nashville possible. One of the most powerful reminders comes in a bittersweet way each year, as we reflect on those who have died.
Jerry Bradley
Jerry Bradley, whose father Owen and uncle Harold helped make Music Row the center of the country universe, may be best known for producing Wanted! The Outlaws. Among Margie Hunt’s contributions was establishing Sony Nashville’s Film & Television Department, the first in-house team at a major country label dedicated to sync licensing. Chuck Flood co-founded premiere artist and business management firm Flood, Bumstead, McCready & McCarthy.
Revered songwriter Abe Stoklasa was helping break down the country industry’s resistance to the LGBTQ community from the inside. Lee Clayton enriched the canon with songs like “Ladies Love Outlaws” and “Silver Stallion,” but had a bigger fan base in Europe. Chance Martin was an associate of Johnny Cash and Cowboy Jack Clement; his lone album In Search languished in private-press obscurity for three decades, but was heralded as a country-psych masterpiece upon its 2013 reissue.
Guitarist Brad Thomson spread the gospel of Tennessee metal in the mid-Aughts with mathcore outfit The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza. Around the same time, journalist and Scene contributor Mark Mays was writing about Nashville hip-hop and R&B when few others were. Sonatore, meanwhile, was a pillar of the contemporary Nashville underground through his dreamy emo-inspired electronic pop music and distinctive photography.
Michael Rhodes was a first-call session bassist who also toured with bluesman Joe Bonamassa. Mike Henderson, a standout songsmith and co-founder of veteran bluegrassers The SteelDrivers, was also a blues aficionado; he enlisted Rhodes and others to turn The Bluebird Cafe into a juke joint on many a Monday night.
Liz Theils
Dave Roe, whose laundry list of credits includes playing in the final incarnation of Johnny Cash’s band The Tennessee Three, earned a reputation as one of the finest ever to wield an upright bass; he’s also remembered as a beloved mentor. So is Richard Griffin, who taught music theory and directed ensembles for decades at Nashville School of the Arts. Many producers and players who are defining the sound of Nashville hip-hop studied with him, alongside pros across numerous genres.
The Springwater community mourned the loss of the venue’s much-loved soundman Nick Barber. While Exit/In reopened under new management this year, three people who were involved with the venerable venue at different times passed away. Liz Thiels retired after a lauded career in public relations, including a long run at the Country Music Hall of Fame; she also was a co-owner of Exit/In early in its run. Frequently during the past 20 years, you’d find the imposing but genial Kenny Highers working the door. And for many years, before he ran his own clubs Blue Sky Court and The Rutledge, front-of-house engineer Frank Sass educated a legion of up-and-comers about not sounding like absolute shit onstage.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misidentified Liz Thiels as a co-founder of Exit/In; she joined the business as a partner not long after it opened. We regret the error.
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