Art Satherley
b. Arthur Edward Satherley, 19 October 1889, Bristol, England. Known as Uncle Art, Satherley was a pioneer in the US recording industry during the '20s and '30s. As a talent scout, producer and A&R person, he was credited with providing the American Recording Company with one of the strongest country music catalogues in the USA. After travelling to America in 1913, he worked for the Wisconsin Chair Company which also made phonograph cabinets. He soon moved into the recording business, promoting blues artists, such as Ma Rainey, Blind Blakeand Blind Lemon Jefferson for the Paramount label. In 1929, he joined the newly formed ARC, and toured the US in search of new talent in the areas of country, hillbilly, blues and ‘race’ music, and was at the forefront in promoting new markets. During the '30s he recorded artists such as Hank Penny, Roy Acuff, Bob Wills, Big Bill Broonzy, Bill and Cliff Carlisle, Blind Boy Fuller and Gene Autry. The latter had enormous hits with Silver Haired Mother Of Mine, Yellow Rose Of Texas and Tumbling Tumbleweeds. 
When ARC became Columbia in 1938, Satherley stayed with the company as an A&R executive until his retirement in 1952. Among the artists whose careers he guided and influenced were Marty Robbins, Lefty Frizzell, Bill Monroe, Carl Smith, Spade Cooley, Al Dexter and Little Jimmy Dickens. Satherley's assistant for many years, David Law, eventually became a leading producer, and was responsible for the early recordings of David Frizzell, younger brother of the legendary Lefty. Satherley was elected to the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 1971 for his pioneering work in the genre.