‘Shady Ladies’ Susan Nadler And Evelyn Shriver Talk Business, Friendship, And Hilarity [Interview]

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Susan Nadler and Evelyn Shriver, also known as the ‘Shady Ladies of Music City,’ have been forging their own paths through the Nashville music business since the 1980s.

The close friends and industry stalwarts have always demanded a seat at the table that was largely made up of men, and eventually became first women ever to helm a major Nashville record label. They’ve both led a fascinating career, which they talk about in their hilarious podcast, Shady Ladies of Music City.

The recently announced second season of the podcast is available to stream now–and Susan and Evelyn just revealed more guest stars for the second season, including Clint Higham, Bonnie Garner, Michael Campbell, Shane McAnally and the late Connie Bradley. They join previously announced episodes featuring Martina McBride, Lorrie Morgan, Joel Katz, Raul Malo and Tony Conway.

Evelyn came to Nashville after having started her career in PR in New York, where her husband had a record deal. While in New York Evelyn worked with actors Cary Grant, Bette Davis, and Joan Crawford, and musicians Cher, Diana Ross, and more. She was part of the team that launched People magazine, Entertainment Tonight and MTV.

Eventually she and her husband grew tired of New York and moved to Nashville. Once in Music City, her first management client in Nashville was a young, handsome country newcomer from North Carolina: Randy Travis.

“A girl named Susan Niles who used to work at Warner Brothers, she was my assistant in New York at one time, and she was a huge country music fan,” Evelyn said. “One day I said to her, ‘You should really move to Nashville,’ and she did. So when I came down here, she was the only person I knew and she took me and my husband out to the Nashville Palace to meet Randy.

“They wanted to have somebody outside of Nashville, he had been rejected by so many people in Nashville that they wanted somebody that didn’t have that attitude—and it turned out to be me.”

Evelyn Shriver, Susan Nadler. Photo: Courtesy Shriver & Nadler

Susan grew up in Pittsburg and was a music lover from birth. She started her college degree in Wisconsin, and finished in Jerusalem. Susan returned to the United States, but got involved in smuggling hashish through Mexico. She and her partners were caught and she ended up spending time in prison in Mexico. Susan later published a book about the experience called, The Butterfly Convention.

Susan then moved to Key West, where she owned and operated a popcorn stand and started writing books. She briefly married a songwriter, which got her to Nashville and eventually led her to a career in PR.

“I couldn’t make a dime as a writer, so I decided to get into the music business,” Susan said. “I had just done a series of interviews for my book and I went to talk to a woman named Liz Thiels who had a great PR company called Network Inc. I told her what my background was, I had just had a second book come out, and she hired me right away. So I started off doing PR. I had never worked before, I had never even operated a fax machine.”

After cutting her teeth in PR working with country and blues artists, Susan went to work for manager Stan Moress, doing PR for his artist list that included names such as Lorrie Morgan, Eddie Rabbit, Ronnie Milsap, Roger Miller, KT Oslin, Restless Heart and more. “He was the only management company in town that was going to have an in-house press person, and that was me.”

Eventually Susan became Lorrie Morgan’s manager. “We still are very good friends. We had a long history together and we made a lot of money together, Susan said. “I went on the road a lot with her, she’s an incredible talent. She really has the most authentic country voice.”

Susan Nadler, Lorrie Morgan, Evelyn Shriver. Photo: Courtesy Shriver & Nadler

Evelyn and Susan’s paths crossed in 1988. The two were fast friends.

“We both came from different backgrounds than most people in Nashville,” Evelyn said. “I came from New York, and she thought I was Jewish and that I was more sophisticated, so she was hell-bent on becoming friends. She called me all the time, we would have breakfast or lunch or whatever. We ended up becoming really good friends.”

“Evelyn was fantastic. She was so intelligent and from New York, she knew everybody,” Susan said. “She was representing Randy Travis and I was representing Tammy Wynette. We just became really good friends and that was the beginning of a long and very productive friendship. We have done a lot together.”

Pictured (L-R): Asylum Records Stan Byrd (VP Promotion), Susan Nadler (Exec. VP/A&R), Nancy Jones, George Jones, Evelyn Shriver (Label Head) in 1999. Photo: Courtesy Shriver & Nadler

Evelyn earned the title of the first female president of a major country label when she took over Asylum Records in 1998; Susan served as Asylum’s Exec. VP/A&R. They released the critically-acclaimed projects Cold Hard Truth (George Jones) and Trio II (Emmylou Harris/Dolly Parton/Linda Ronstadt) until Asylum was folded into Nashville-based Warner Bros. Records in 2002.

“We were unbelievably busy. We were overwhelmed with how much work there was,” Susan said. “When we came in [to Asylum] the first day they had fired everybody and we couldn’t even open the door. We had to rehire people back to figure out how to work the switchboard. It was an incredible time in the business. There were some very powerful women in the business, and we really didn’t realize it that much.”

Susan and Evelyn continued working together, forming Bandit Records in 2003 and adding Jones on the roster. In 2009, they launched Country Crossings Records, with artists John Anderson and Lorrie Morgan. By 2015, Susan and Evelyn were serving as a talent managers for the TV show Soundstage.

Susan Nadler and Evelyn Shriver’s first Shady Ladies of Music City podcast session. Photo: Courtesy Shriver & Nadler

Over the years, Evelyn and Susan have seen the Nashville music business grow and change, which they often discuss in their podcast.

“I think country music has more pride in itself now, even though it’s gotten so far away from country music. When I came to town, there was like this step-bastard child mentality. Nashville didn’t see itself as being competitive [to other genres],” Evelyn said. “But there was more of a sense of community. It was before everyone became a brand. I remember when people would have No. 1 records, everybody on the Row came. It was a big open family and that was the thing that really appealed to me. Though they had this bastard child mentality, they had a great sense of community. If one person had success, it felt like everybody had it.”

With all the adventures they shared through the ups and downs, the podcast is a perfect media for sharing the good, the bad, the ugly and the hilarious. Click here to stream the Shady Ladies of Music City, and hear about all the fun.

Pictured (L-R): Joel Katz Willie Nelson Evelyn Shriver at Farm Aid in 1993. Photo: Courtesy Shriver & Nadler

Pictured (L-R): Susan Nadler, KT Oslin, Evelyn Shriver in 2014. Photo: Courtesy Shriver & Nadler

LB Cantrell
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