Arthur Edward Satherley (October 19, 1889 – February 10, 1986)[1] was an American record producer and A&R man. Often called Uncle Art Satherley, he made major contributions to the recording industry and has been described as "one of the most important pioneers in the field of country music production".[2]
Life and career
Satherley was born in Bedminster, Bristol, England, and in the 1911 Census was recorded as working as a clerk in a rubber business.[3] He had a boyhood love of "cowboys and Indians", and traveled to the US in July 1913,[3] settling in Wisconsin where he began work for a lumber company in Port Washington. He was then employed in the furniture business, for several years working for the Wisconsin Cabinet and Panel Company, which in 1918 began making phonographs. He also did secretarial work for Thomas Edison. Satherley's work involved him in the manufacture of shellacdiscs, and he became responsible for marketing records for the Paramount company, selling discs by blues singers including Ma Rainey, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Blind Blake, initially at county fairs and other events, and then through advertising in regional newspapers.[4][5]
Satherley retired from Columbia in 1952, only undertaking occasional production work thereafter. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1971, the first non-American citizen to be so honored.[2] He died in Fountain Valley, California in 1986.[5]
In 2011, following many years campaigning, a Blue Plaque was unveiled close to his birthplace in Bristol. The ceremony was filmed and formed part of a short documentary broadcast by BBC Television on February 7, 2011, three days before the 25th anniversary of his death.[citation needed]