Biography
Shelby Singleton earned recognition as a skilled and committed producer in country music, overseeing numerous landmark recordings that began with R&B work alongside Clyde McPhatter before shifting to sessions with Jerry Lee Lewis, Tom T. Hall, and Charlie Rich. During the mid-'60s he started launching independent labels to issue material from the performers he identified and developed. Among them was Jeannie C. Riley, whom he discovered and guided through the hit single "Harper Valley P.T.A." In 1969 Singleton executed a shrewd commercial decision by acquiring the Sun catalog rights from Sam Phillips, after which he permanently stepped away from studio production to concentrate on industry business operations.