thumb|right|In 1979, they released their own album called A Touch of Bryant.

Felice Bryant (born Matilda Genevieve Scaduto; August 7, 1925 – April 22, 2003) and Diadorius Boudleaux Bryant (; "Love Hurts" (credited solely to Boudleaux),

Felice Bryant was born Matilda Genevieve Scaduto in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1925 to an ethnic Sicilian family, and had written lyrics set to traditional Italian tunes. During World War II, she sang and directed shows at the local USO.

In 1945, Boudleaux met Felice when he was performing at the Schroeder Hotel, in Milwaukee, her home town, where she was working as an elevator operator. They eloped five days after meeting. and hits for other singers, such as Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly. Their compositions were recorded by many artists from a variety of musical genres, including Lynn Anderson, Tony Bennett, Frankie Laine, Sonny James, Eddy Arnold, Bob Moore, Charley Pride, Nazareth, Jim Reeves, Leo Sayer, Jerry Lee Lewis, Simon & Garfunkel, Sarah Vaughan, the Grateful Dead, Elvis Costello, Count Basie, Dean Martin, Ray Charles, Gram Parsons, Joan Jett, and Bob Dylan. (Dylan's Self Portrait album has a song by Boudleaux and another he co-wrote with Felice.)

thumb|right|The Bryants wrote hits for many artists.

In 1962, the Bryants wrote "Too Many Chicks", a song that became a hit for Leona Douglas, the first African-American woman to record as a country music singer.

The Bryants eventually moved to a house not far from Nashville on Old Hickory Lake in Hendersonville, Tennessee, near friends Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash. In 1978, they moved to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. They had often stayed at The Gatlinburg Inn, where they wrote numerous songs, including "Rocky Top". They purchased the Rocky Top Village Inn in the town next to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In 1979, they released their own album called A Touch of Bryant. "Rocky Top", written in 1967, was adopted as a state song by Tennessee in 1982, in 1991 into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, and in 2025 into the Volunteer State Music Hall of Fame.

Boudleaux Bryant is the third-most successful songwriter of the 1950s on the UK Singles Chart, and Felice Bryant is the 21st.

Their works are present in the House of Bryant, which is located in Gatlinburg. From September 2019 to August 2020, their artifacts were on exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville.

Deaths

Boudleaux Bryant died of cancer in 1987. Felice Bryant remained a songwriter. In 1991, the Nashville Arts Foundation honored her with its Living Legend Award. She, too, died of cancer in 2003. They are both interred in Woodlawn Memorial Park in Nashville.

Selected list of songs

Little Jimmy Dickens

  • "Country Boy" (1948)
  • "Bessie the Heifer"
  • "We Could" (credited solely to Felice)

Buddy Holly

  • "Raining in My Heart"

Compton Brothers

  • "Bird Dog"
  • "Love Hurts"

Gram Parsons with Emmylou Harris

  • "Love Hurts"
  • "Sleepless Nights"
  • "Brand New Heartache"

Emmylou Harris

  • "Sleepless Nights"
  • "Like Strangers"
  • "Love Hurts"

Ricky Van Shelton

  • "Hole in My Pocket"

Johnny O'Keefe

  • "She Wears My Ring" (English lyrics)

Other artists

  • "Rocky Top" – The Osborne Brothers,

References

Further reading

  • Kingsbury, Paul. (1998). "Felice and Boudleaux Bryant". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. pp. 63–64.
  • [ Allmusic Entry for Felice ]
  • [ Allmusic Entry for Boudleaux]
  • Rockabillyhall page
  • Countrymusichalloffame.org
  • Performingsongwriter.com
  • Southernreader.com