Biography

Music industry executive. Born July 18, 1919. Full name: Walter David Kilpatrick. AKA: W. D. Kilpatrick. Career most active 1940s-1960s. Nashville-based country producer for Capitol Records, 1950-1951. Country producer for Mercury Records, 1951-1956. Manager, WSM’s Grand Ole Opry, 1956-1959. Helped launch Acuff-Rose Artists Corporation, 1959. Later served with Warner Bros. Records and Philips Records. One of the founders of the Country Music Association (CMA).

Interview Summary

1995 September 26
(2 hours, 10 minutes)
Music industry executive D Kilpatrick talks about his career at Mercury Records. Discussion includes the decision to leave Capitol Records; his recruitment by Mercury Records; the scope of his responsibilities at Mercury; his experiences with Mercury’s country recordings, including the company’s relationship with independent distributors; reflections on the operating procedures at Mercury; moving his home base to Chicago; promoting Mercury’s records; the success of the Flatt & Scruggs Mercury recordings; and comments on Mercury acts he worked with, including Carl Story, the Stanley Brothers, Jerry Byrd, Johnny Horton, Jimmy Dean, Benny Martin, Sue Thompson, Ernie Lee, and the Carlisles.