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Country music impresario, BUDDY KILLEN

NPR Reviewed Jul 2, 2026 ✓ Reviewed by citations.press editors

KILLEN once played bass in Hank Williams' band for ten dollars a night

10 dollars · pay per night KILLEN, bass player in Hank Williams' band

In 1989 he sold Tree to Sony for 50 million

1989 · sale year50 million dollars · sale amount KILLEN, head of Tree International

KILLEN signed Dolly Parton when she was fourteen

14 years · age at signing KILLEN, signed Dolly Parton

Country music impresario, BUDDY KILLEN. For many years KILLEN was the head of Tree International, Nashville's leading music publisher, writer and producer. KILLEN once played bass in Hank Williams' band for ten dollars a night; in 1989 he sold Tree to Sony for 50 million. He's worked with just about every star in the Country firmament: Elvis Presley (Tree published "Heartbreak Hotel"), Dolly Parton (KILLEN signed her when she was fourteen), Willie Nelson (was a songwriter for Tree); and many classics in the Country cannon: "King of the Road", "Okie from Muskogee" and the immortal "D-I-V-O-R-C-E". KILLEN's new autobiography is "By the Seat of My Pants" (Simon & Sch

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