Felice Bryant

Elevator Operator, Publishing Company, Songwriter

Felice Bryant, in partnership with her husband Boudleaux, is credited with pioneering song promotion and self- publishing in Nashville, thus advancing the business side of the songwriting craft. The writer of more than 800 songs, including "Wake Up Little Susie," "Bye Bye Love," "Raining In My Heart" and others, Felice and Boudleaux were among the first to relocate to Nashville in the mid-twentieth century solely to pursue a songwriting career. They founded their own company, Showcase Music, in 1954 and Felice became the songplugger. It was said "Felice beat down the door for Boudleaux to walk through." They signed with Acuff-Rose Publishing to publish their first songs, but in an unparalleled move, they stipulated that US publishing rights to their songs would eventually revert to their ownership. In 1966, they left Acuff Rose and formed their own House of Bryant
Publications, which Felice continued to run even after Boudleaux's death. Born in Milwaukee, Felice was an elevator operator in a hotel when she met Boudleaux who was performing there. Together, they would become one of the most important and prolific songwriting teams and publishers in music history and were at the forefront of the evolution of pop music. They scored cuts by everyone from Eddy Arnold and the Everly Brothers to Bob Dylan, Tony Bennett, Simon & Garfunkel, the Grateful Dead, Elvis Presley and Ray Charles, which resulted in record sales in excess of a half billion copies worldwide.

Their song "Rocky Top" was adopted as Tennessee's official state song in 1982. Felice is enshrined in the Country Music Hall of Fame, The Songwriters Hall of Fame, the George Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

August 7, 1925 - April 22, 2003.