Born on This Day in 1911, the Man Who Helped Transform Nashville Into Music City and Brought Us Legendary Acts Like Chet Atkins and Elvis Presley

On this day (February 12) in 1911, Stephen H. Sholes was born in Washington, D.C. He started working for the Victor Talking Machine Company, which would later become RCA Records, as a messenger boy as a teenager. After years with the company, he became a powerful music industry executive who helped shape the future of Nashville, Tennessee. He also had a hand in forging the future of country music by signing the likes of Chet Atkins and Jim Reeves.

Videos by American Songwriter

Sholes was a longtime employee of RCA Records. After working for a time as a messenger, he moved to the radio department. However, his experience playing saxophone and clarinet in dance bands landed him a spot in the label’s record division. There, he produced sessions for a wide variety of artists. Then, during World War II, he moved to the United States Army’s V-disc operation, which produced records for troops.

[RELATED: Chet Atkins Created the Nashville Sound but Didn’t Want To Be Known as a Country Guitarist]

According to the Country Music Hall of Fame, Sholes became the head of country and R&B recording for RCA in 1945. The next two decades saw him discover, sign, or develop some of the most important names in country music, including Chet Atkins, the Browns, Hank Locklin, Hank Snow, Jim Reeves, and Pee Wee King.

How Stephen Sholes Shaped Country Music

Stephen Sholes was one of a handful of producers who saw the largely untapped recording opportunities in Nashville. He began recording many of RCA’s country artists there instead of forcing them to travel to New York or California. Initially, the label leased available studios to record their sessions. Then, two years after Owen Bradley built the first studio on what would one day come to be known as Music Row, Sholes convinced RCA higher-ups to rent a newly-built studio space on Seventeenth Avenue South. This allowed the label’s artists to record without having to pay for studio time. At the same time, it allowed RCA to rent out the studio to other artists and labels when it wasn’t in use. This opened up a new revenue stream for the company.

Chet Atkins became Sholes’ production assistant. Then, when it was time for the executive to leave Nashville for Los Angeles, he appointed Atkins to run RCA’s Nashville operation. Later, Atkins would become one of the architects of the so-called Nashville Sound.

Sholes didn’t limit himself to country music, though. He also signed Elvis Presley to RCA Records in 1955. Moreover, he produced or co-produced most of Presley’s early albums.

From the Nashville Sound to the rock and roll revolution, American music would not be the same without the influence and input of Stephen Sholes.

Featured Image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images