We use cookies in the following ways: (1) for system administration, (2) to assess the performance of the website, (3) to personalize your experience, content and ads, (4) to provide social media features, and (5) to analyze our traffic. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website. Please consult instructions for your web browser to disable or block cookies, or to receive a warning before a cookie is stored on your computer or mobile device. Read our Privacy Policy.

Country Music Hall of Fame logo.
Museum View Cart
Country Music Hall of Fame logo.
Back to Oral History
  • Oral History

D Kilpatrick

September 26, 1995 OHC360 130 min.
Share

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.