Satherley was born in
Bedminster,
Bristol, England, and in the
1911 Census was recorded as working as a clerk in a rubber business. He had a boyhood love of "
cowboys and
Indians", and traveled to the US in July 1913, By 1923, Satherley started supervising Paramount recording sessions, working with Rainey, Jefferson and others and developing a reputation as a
talent scout. After a short time with
QRS, a
piano roll manufacturer, where he made the first commercial recordings of
Lead Belly. When
Columbia Records bought ARC in 1938 he became head of their country and blues A&R departments. Among those he produced were country stars
Gene Autry – for whom he helped secure his first film work – the
Carter Family,
Vernon Dalhart,
Bob Wills,
Lefty Frizzell,
Marty Robbins and
Roy Acuff, and many blues musicians including
Alberta Hunter,
Big Bill Broonzy,
Josh White,
Leroy Carr and
Memphis Minnie. Satherley retired from Columbia in 1952, only undertaking occasional production work thereafter. He was elected to the
Country Music Hall of Fame in 1971, the first non-American citizen to be so honored. He died in
Fountain Valley, California in 1986. In 2011, following many years campaigning, a
Blue Plaque was unveiled close to his birthplace in Bristol. The ceremony was filmed and formed part of a short documentary broadcast by
BBC Television on February 7, 2011, three days before the 25th anniversary of his death. ==References==