Connie Bradley, Former CMA Board President And CMA Irving Waugh Award Of Excellence Recipient, Passes Away

Connie Bradley, former CMA Board President and industry veteran passed away today, March 24, 2021.

A pioneer in the music industry, Bradley worked for more than three decades with ASCAP, rising to Senior Vice President and Nashville Head. Under her leadership, ASCAP signed and supported the careers of Dierks Bentley, Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Rodney Crowell, Billy Currington, Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, Kellie Pickler, Rascal Flatts, John Rich, George Strait and Chris Young, among many. Bradley served on the CMA Board of Directors from 1983 to 2012, having been elected both President and Chairperson in 1989 and 1990. She was also awarded CMA’s Irving Waugh Award of Excellence in 2018, which recognizes an individual who is the originator and caretaker of demonstrated ideas and actions that have broadened and improved Country Music’s influence on a national or international level for the benefit of the industry as a whole.

“I am so saddened to hear the news of Connie’s passing. She was one of the many trailblazers, along with Frances Preston and Jo Walker Meador, for women in the Nashville music business. Her passion for artists, songs and the Country Music industry as a whole paved the way for so many. Personally, I will miss her class, her stories and her humor. I am heartbroken for Jerry, and offer my deepest condolences to him and their family during this time.” –Sarah Trahern, Country Music Association CEO