Bartlett first worked for the Central Music Company, a
shape note music publisher in
Hartford, Arkansas. In 1918, with David Moore and John A. McClung, he co-founded the Hartford Music Company in Hartford. He served as its President from 1918 to 1935. Over the course of nearly two decades, he opened new branches in
Nacogdoches, Texas and
Hartshorne, Oklahoma. He was the founder of the Hartford Music Institute in 1921. Five years later, he mentored
Albert E. Brumley, who attended the institute. He published
The Herald of Song, a monthly magazine about gospel music. A prolific songwriter, he wrote many Christian gospel songs such as
Everybody Will Be Happy Over There,
Just a Little While,
He Will Remember Me,
You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down, and
Victory in Jesus. He also wrote the country music song
Take an Old Cold Tater (and Wait), recorded by
Little Jimmy Dickens. ==Personal life, death and legacy==