Keith Bradford, 2005 honorary inductee in the Rhode Island Country Music Hall of Fame, is still active in Nashville, long after Opryland, where he started, closed.
One of the finest shows you could enjoy at Opryland USA when it was going strong was Country Music USA. The show traced country music through the years and included many of its various styles.
Each year, auditions were held around the country to find talented young musicians for its cast. Rhode Islander Bradford won his audition and was a cast member from 1977 through 1980.
The show was updated each year to include the music of that year’s country music stars, so you would see a slightly different show each year.
Keith’s talents shone through as he portrayed many of the greats in country music—A. P. Carter in the Carter Family segment—Ernest Tubb in “Walking The Floor Over You”—Roy Acuff in “The Wabash Cannonball”—Willie Nelson in “Georgia On My Mind” and Lester Flatt in the group Flatt & Scruggs.
Keith also played the part of the great Red Foley and Merle Haggard, and his voice was heard in some of the show’s historical narrations.
“I truly believe that anyone young and wishing to become known in country music circles should spend no less than two years working in the cast of [a show such as] Country Music USA at Opryland”, Bradford says. “The training is the best, and so is the exposure.”
A couple of souvenir LPs of these shows were made over the years, and they were produced by the great Porter Wagoner.
Queen of Country Music Picks Bradford to Lead Her Family Band
From his experience performing in that show, Keith went on to become the Front Man of the Tennessee Mountain Boys, which traveled and backed up the Queen of Country Music, Kitty Wells, her husband Johnny Wright, and their son, Bobby.
Keith played bass in the band and emceed their shows for over 16 years. Keith and his brother Mike own and operate NBRN, an online radio station.
Keith has over 500 songs to his credit as a songwriter, which makes Keith one of the few Country songwriters in history to have written that many songs with various songwriters, including Barbara Blevins, Clyde R Birkla, and various other professional songwriters worldwide.
There are over 500 TV shows that Keith either hosted or produced, including Country, Gospel, and Bluegrass music, as well as interviews.