Jim Denny

Jim Denny. . A foundational behind-the-scenes player in the early Nashville music business, Jim Denny worked for the Grand Ole Opry and later launched one of Country Music's most successful music publishing companies along with a major talent booking agency., Born James Rae Denney, (he later changed the spelling), on a farm near Buffalo Valley on February 28, 1911. Denny was sent to Nashville to live with his aunt around 1922. He had 40 cents in his pocket when he arrived, and he found jobs selling The Tennessean newspaper on Church Street and delivering telegrams. He took business courses at the Watkins Institute free night school, and, aged 16, was hired on with the parent company of radio station WSM. Starting in the accounting department, Denny became attracted to WSM's Saturday night show, the Grand Ole Opry. He took on many Opry jobs and quickly worked his way up to backstage manager. Acting on his own, he developed a profitable concessions business. For several months in the summer of 1945, Denny additionally operated another side venture: a recording studio that enabled servicemen to record greetings for their families. Although not designed to record music, it was the first purpose-built recording studio in Nashville., With the Opry at the height of its popularity, the show's Artists' Service Bureau booked its stars all across the country. Denny assumed control of the Bureau while doubling as the show's manager. Feared and respected more than loved, he nevertheless improved the quality of bookings from schoolhouses to auditoriums and state fairs. He was determined to keep the Opry preeminent among radio barn dances and was intolerant of those who didn't uphold his standards. In August of 1952, he fired Hank Williams for repeatedly missing shows. In 1954, Denny booked Elvis Presley, who was at the dawn of his career, for one appearance which received a polite but cool reception from the Opry audience., In January 1953, Denny started another side venture. In partnership with Opry star Webb Pierce, he launched Publishing Company. WSM offered him a pay raise and continuance as the manager of the Opry if he gave up Cedarwood, but he refused. On Sept. 26, 1956, he was fired from the Opry. Immediately, he started Jim Denny Artist Bureau, recruiting many of the Opry stars. In another venture with Pierce, he acquired a chain of small radio stations. Billboard magazine named Denny "Country and Western Man of the Year" in 1955., As the advent of rock 'n' roll changed the complexion of country music and Opry attendance slipped. Denny assembled the Philip Morris Country Music Show. Starting in January 1957, it offered free admission to everyone carrying a pack of Philip Morris cigarettes. The show toured for over a year and starred Carl Smith, Little Jimmy Dickens, Red Sovine, and others. Many of those recruited for the show left the Opry., Denny built Cedarwood Publishing Company and the Jim Denny Artist Bureau into major players within the business. Among Cedarwood's staff writers were Danny Dill ("Long Black Veil" and "Detroit City"), John D. Loudermilk ("Tobacco Road" and many others), Mel Tillis ("I Ain't Never" and many others), and Wayne Walker, who wrote for Patsy Cline and other artists., Jim Denny died in Nashville on August 27, 1963. By that point, the Jim Denny Artist Bureau was booking thousands of shows a year and Cedarwood was one of the top three country music publishers. Denny was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1966.