William Bradley Kincaid (July 13, 1895 - September 23, 1989) was an American folk singer and noted radio entertainer.[1] He was born in Point Level, Garrard County, Kentucky but would build a music career in the northern states. His first radio appearance came in 1926 when he performed on the National Barn Dance show on WLS (AM) in Chicago. A prolific composer of folk and country music tunes, the first edition of his 1928 songbook called "My Favorite Mountain Ballads" sold more than 100,000 copies;[1] later editions brought the total up to 400,000. He recorded on Gennett Records.[2] In 1935[3] he was working at WBZ (AM) radio in Boston, Massachusetts where he performed with a band that included a young singer/banjo player named Marshall Jones. Kincaid teased the twenty-two-year old fellow Kentuckian for always being grumpy when he came to the studio to do the early morning broadcast, nicknaming him "Grandpa Jones." The moniker became permanent for the future Grand Ole Opry star.[1] Kincaid moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1945 where he too performed on the Grand Ole Opry.[1] In 1971, he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.[1] Bradley Kincaid died in 1989 in Springfield, Ohio[1] and was interred there in the Ferncliff Cemetery.[4]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Bradley Kincaid, Nashville Songwriters Foundation Hall of Fame. Accessed 25 August 2007.
- ^ David Sanjek, "All the Memories Money Can Buy: Marketing Authenticity and Manufacturing Authorship", p. 155–172 in Eric Weisbard, ed., This is Pop, Harvard University Press, 2004. ISBN 0-674-01321-2 (cloth), ISBN 0-674-01344-1 (paper). p. 157.
- ^ "Flashback: The 'Opry' Gets A Grandpa", Country Weekly, March 2004. Quoted in part on FindArticles.com. Accessed online 25 August 2007.
- ^ Bradley Kincaid on Find A Grave. Accessed 25 August 2007.
