Born 118 Years Ago Today in Chicago, the Music Visionary Who Signed Kitty Wells and Patsy Cline and Helped Make Nashville the Country Music Capital

On this day (November 10) in 1908, powerhouse country music executive Paul Cohen was born in Chicago, Illinois. Getting his start in the industry with Columbia Records, he joined Decca’s nascent American operation in the 1930s. Cohen’s energetic production style and keen business acumen helped shift the epicenter of country music operations from the Northwest to Nashville, transforming what was then dubbed “hillbilly music” into the booming multi-billion dollar industry it is today. He also guided the careers of many high-profile hitmakers, signing Kitty Wells, Patsy Cline, Ernest Tubb, Webb Pierce, and Red Foley — just to name a few.

Today, we remember Paul Cohen’s invaluable contributions to the music we still love today in honor of what would have been his 118th birthday.

Paul Cohen Saw What Nashville Could Be

In 1934, brothers Jack and Dave Kapp formed Decca Records’ American operations and hired their old friend from Chicago, Paul Cohen, as the label’s Midwestern branch manager. Cohen moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was responsible for finding and signing new talent.

During World War II, he gradually took control of Decca’s “hillbilly music” production work from Dave Kapp, finally moving to New York in the mid-1940s to lead that branch of the company.

Although living in the Big Apple, Cohen traveled twice or thrice weekly to Nashville, where two of the label’s biggest stars — Ernest Tubb and Red Foley — were based out of the Grand Ole Opry.

In August 1947, he set up shop at Castle Recording’s new studios, located in the Tulane Hotel at Eighth Avenue North and Church Street.

Musicians Owen Bradley and Beasley Smith helped Cohen line up artists, session musicians and arrangements. Eventually, Cohen hired Bradley to open Decca Records’ Nashville office.

Shaping Nashville into Music City

A spirited, hands-on producer — described in his Country Music Hall of Fame “as much cheerleader as executive”—Paul Cohen also had an uncanny ability for spotting new talent and matching them with the perfect songs.

For example, he produced Kitty Wells’ 1952 feminist anthem “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels”, which holds a place in history as the first-ever No. 1 country hit for a solo female artist.

Cohen also signed Webb Pierce, Brenda Lee, Patsy Cline, and Bobby Helms, while Tubb, Foley, and Jimmie Davis also continued to thrive.

Owen Bradley took Cohen’s place when the Chicago-born executive left Decca’s country division in early 1958. Meanwhile, Cohen produced pop songs for the label’s Coral subsidiary before launching his own company, Todd Records.

Signing country acts including Pee Wee King and Dub Dickerson, the label also achieved success on the pop charts when Joe Henderson’s “Snap Your Fingers” peaked at No. 8 in the early 1960s.

In 1964, Cohen reunited with his old boss Dave Kapp after the latter formed the independent label Kapp Records. Moving to Nashville to take over as head of the country music division, Cohen signed and produced Hugh X. Lewis, Cal Smith, Billy Edd Wheeler, and Mel Tillis.

Paul Cohen served as president of the Country Music Association when the Country Music Hall of Fame opened in 1967. In his final years, he served as head of ABC Records’ Nashville office before a cancer diagnosis forced him to step down.

[RELATED: On This Day in 1945, the Singing Redhead From Blue Lick, Kentucky Became Nashville’s First Country Star]

On April 1, 1970, Paul Cohen died at age 61 in Bryan, Texas. In an unprecedented move, Nashville’s Music Row offices closed a week later to pay tribute to the man who made Nashville — and country music — what it is today.

Featured image by David Redfern/Redferns