Bobby Braddock

Induction Year: 1981

Birth Name: Robert Valentine Braddock

Birth Date: 08-05-1940

Place of Birth: Lakeland, Florida

Growing up in central Florida, Bobby Braddock played in country and rock & roll bands there as a youth. He moved to Nashville in 1964 and took a short-lived job at Hewgley's Music Store. He became the pianist in Mary Robbins' road band in 1965, and in 1966 the Grand Ole Opry star recorded the first Braddock song to make the country popularity charts. It was the first of many.

The songwriter signed with the Tree International song-publishing company in 1966 and is still with Sony/ATV Tree today. Braddock has the distinction of having written at least one chart-topping country hit in five successive decades. His song catalog includes such classic country songs as "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," "(We're Not) The Jet Set," "Golden Ring," "Unwed Fathers," "I Don't Remember Loving You," "I Wanna Talk About Me" and "People Are Crazy."

His co-written 1980 hit for George Jones, "He Stopped Loving Her Today," has been voted the best country song of all time by the readers of Country America magazine, the listeners of BBC radio and the industry professionals who subscribe to Radio & Records. The ballad was also voted the Country Music Association's Song of the Year in both 1980 and 1981.

In addition to being a top writer, Bobby Braddock has been recorded as an artist by five different labels — MGM, Columbia, Mercury, Elektra and RCA. The latter two issued full albums by the songwriter.

His 1981 induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame was actually only a midway point in his career. Since then, he has written almost as many Top 10 hits as he did before his election.

Bobby Braddock discovered current star Blake Shelton and produced his first five albums from 2001 to 2008. Braddock has also produced records for Deborah Allen. In 2007, Braddock became an author when he published his acclaimed memoir, Down in Orburndale: A Songwriter's Youth in Old Florida. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2011.

"(We're Not) The Jet Set"

George Jones & Tammy Wynette1974 #15 country
John Prine & Iris DeMent1999 
 

"Come on In"

Jerry Lee Lewis1978 #10 country

"D-I-V-O-R-C-E"

(written with Curly Putman)

Tammy Wynette1968 #1 country, #63 pop
Conway Twitty1968 
Kitty Wells1968 
Dolly Parton1969 
Rosanne Cash1998 
 

"Faking Love"

(written with Matraca Berg)

T. G. Sheppard & Karen Brooks1983 #1 country
 

"Golden Ring"

(written with Rafe Van Hoy)

George Jones & Tammy Wynette1976 #1 country
 

"Hard Times"

Lacy J. Dalton1980 #7 country

"He Stopped Loving Her Today"

(written with Curly Putman)

NSAI, CMA & ACM Song of the Year

George Jones1980 #1 country
 

"Her Name Is…"

George Jones1976 #3 country
 

"I Believe the South Is Gonna Rise Again"

Bobby Goldsboro1974 #62 country
Tanya Tucker1975 #18 country
 

"I Don't Remember Loving You"

(written with Harlan Howard)

John Conlee1983 #10 country
 

"I Feel Like Loving You Again"

(written with Sonny Throckmorton)

T. G. Sheppard1981 #1 country
 

"I Wanna Talk About Me"

Toby Keith2001 #1 country, #28 pop
 

"Nothing Ever Hurt Me (Half as Bad as Losing You)"

George Jones1973 #7 country
 

"Old Flames Have New Names"

(written with Rafe Van Hoy)

Mark Chesnutt1992 #5 country
 

"Peanuts and Diamonds"

Bill Anderson1976 #10 country

"People Are Crazy"

(written with Troy Wayne Jones)

Billy Currington2008 #1 country, #27 pop
 

"Revelations"

Waylon Jennings1972 
Joe Nichols2004 
 

"Ruthless"

The Statler Brothers1967 #10 country
 

"Small Y'All"

Randy Travis1994 
George Jones1998 
Kenny Chesney and George Jones2010 
 

"Something to Brag About"

Charlie Louvin & Melba Montgomery1970 #18 country
George Jones & Tammy Wynette1970 
Willie Nelson & Mary Kay Place1978 #9 country
 

"Texas Tornado"

Tracy Lawrence1994 #1 country
 

"The Night That Hank Williams Came to Town"

(written with Charlie Williams)

Johnny Cash1987 #43 country
 

"They Call It Making Love"

Tammy Wynette1979 #6 country
 

"Thinkin' of a Rendezvous"

(written with Sonny Throckmorton)

Johnny Duncan1976 #1 country

"Time Marches On"

Tracy Lawrence1996 #1 country
 

"Unwed Fathers"

(written with John Prine)

Tammy Wynette1983 #63 country
John Prine1984 
Gail Davies1985 #56 country
Johnny Cash1985 
 

"While You're Dancing"

Marty Robbins1966 #21 country
 

"Womanhood"

Tammy Wynette1978 #3 country
 

"Would They Love Him Down in Shreveport"

George Jones1980 
Roy Clark1981 
The Oak Ridge Boys1982 
B. J. Thomas1982 
 

"Would You Catch a Falling Star"

John Anderson1982 #6 country
 

"You Can't Have Your Kate and Edith Too"

(written with Curly Putman)

The Statler Brothers1967 #10 country

Bobby Braddock

Induction Year: 1981