Singleton, Shelby S., 1931-2009

Shelby Sumpter Singleton, Jr. (December 16, 1931 – October 7, 2009) was an American record producer and record label owner.

After his military discharge he worked in a munitions company, based in Shreveport, Louisiana for five years before being hired to promote Starday Records country music catalog. When a marketing arrangement between Starday and Mercury Records was terminated, Singleton was hired by Mercury to do promotional work. He rose in the company to become a record producer and executive in Mercury's Nashville office. In 1960, he achieved his first hit single, Brook Benton's recording of "The Boll Weevil Song", which became a #2 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the following year. Singleton spent nine years at Mercury and its sister label, Smash Records, during which he was involved in producing many hit records, including Leroy Van Dyke's "Walk On By"; "Ahab the Arab" by Ray Stevens; and "Wooden Heart" by Joe Dowell. Singleton also acted as producer for such artists as Jerry Lee Lewis, Roger Miller, Charlie Rich, Dave Dudley, and Brook Benton.

In 1962, Singleton bought the master recording of "Hey Paula" by Jill and Ray, originally released on LeCam Records. He changed their names to Paul & Paula and issued the song on Mercury's sister label, Philips Records. The song spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. By 1966, Singleton was vice-president of Mercury, but resigned to form several music labels, including SSS International and Plantation Records. He achieved his first #1 hit in 1968 with Jeannie C. Riley's "Harper Valley PTA". The following year, Singleton purchased Sun Records and its rock and roll catalog from Sam Phillips. From this point onwards, most of his career was dedicated to releasing and repackaging the Sun catalog, much of which was previously unreleased.Singleton was also on the nominating committee of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.