Born November 8, 1931, Shedd began work in his hometown of
Bremen, Georgia, where he was a member of a local band and worked in radio for fourteen years as DJ, engineer, sales manager and finally station owner. In 1972, he sold up and moved to
Nashville, where, by 1979, he was co-owner of the Music Mill recording studio. Harold and business partner Donnie Canada built a new building in 1982. Shedd was instrumental in Alabama, one of the first acts he worked with, being signed by
RCA. The band's debut single
'Tennessee River' was the first of Alabama's 21 consecutive number one hits that he produced. Shedd also produced albums for
Amie Comeaux,
Roger Miller,
Mel Tillis,
Louise Mandrell,
Dobie Gray,
K. T. Oslin,
Glen Campbell and
Willie Nelson. While
Reba McEntire had had top 10 singles, it was only with her collaboration with Shedd that she saw her first gold record, 1984's
My Kind of Country album, although the pair came into conflict over his suggestions for songs and "the sweetened arrangements he imposed on them". In 1988, Shedd joined
Mercury Polygram Records Nashville, where over the next six years, he oversaw the signing of
Kentucky Headhunters,
Shania Twain,
Billy Ray Cyrus, and
Toby Keith. In 1989, Shedd was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. After a period as President of Polydor Nashville, whose artists included
Mark McGuinn and
Trent Summar & The New Row Mob. VFR folded in 2002 due to a lack of funding. ==References==