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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nJ.\u2019s family, originally from Manchester, has bred, owned, and shown Tennessee walking horses for generations. When he was 2 months old, J. attended his first Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration (TWHNC), so he holds fond memories of watching with his family from their box at G-55.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His great-great-grandfather, James R. Brantley, purchased a registered trotting horse named \u201cAllan F1\u201d in the early 1900s, which later became the sire that formed the foundation of the Tennessee walking horse breed. He and J.\u2019s great-grandfather, J. French Brantley Sr., were founding members of the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders and Exhibitors Association. According to J., all current Tennessee walking horses\u2019 lineage traces back to Allan F1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the years, Larry Bright became J.\u2019s mentor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have heard him play all of my life, but in 2003, I met him in person, and a friendship formed over the years. He has been a great help to me as I learned how to be a better horse show organist. In my opinion, Larry is the best there ever will be. His style and ability are unmatched. I try to emulate his style while also trying to create my own, but nobody will ever outplay him.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bright, who lives in Southern Mississippi, spent over 35 years as the organist for the TWHNC and similar shows. In the late 1970s, he wrote the song \u201cFlat Walk Boogie,\u201d which is regularly performed during the Celebration. J.\u2019s childhood dream came to fruition in 2015 when Larry asked him to fill in so he could take a break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI started playing for other horse shows in 2011, and in 2016, I was asked to play for the Celebration Spring Fun Show and the Celebration Fall Classic, which used to be called the Tunica Fall Classic Show. I\u2019ve been playing for these ever since. I\u2019ve also served as ring escort during the evening performances, as well as the presentation coordinator for the morning performances, and I\u2019ve helped Charles McDonald set out trophies and awards in the center ring. In 2021 and again in 2023, I was asked to fill in for Larry Bright during the evening performances. And this year, I was honored to have been asked to serve as permanent organist for the evening performances of the Celebration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n J. says it\u2019s difficult to choose a favorite song, but his top choices are \u201cNevertheless,\u201d \u201cWhispering,\u201d and, since he\u2019s a huge Tennessee Vols fan, \u201cRocky Top.\u201d At the end of each show, J. always plays \u201cThe Tennessee Waltz.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n “There are actually three reasons I play \u2018The Tennessee Waltz\u2019 as my closing song. First, when I was a kid, I had a fascination with the Mighty Wurlitzer organ at the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville. My mother took me there often, and as the organ was descending back into the orchestra pit, the organist always played it. Second, I attended UTK, and it\u2019s always been a tradition for the band to play it after every home game. And third, it\u2019s a nod to my home state. So, whether I\u2019m playing in Tennessee or in another state, I always end with \u2018The Tennessee Waltz.\u2019\u201d GN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" TEN-YEAR-OLD J. French Brantley IV scooted to the edge of the seat and gazed toward the organist in the center of the arena. The melodies flowing from Larry Bright\u2019s fingers carried J. to an imaginary arena where he was surrounded by hundreds \u2014 no, thousands \u2014 of people. He squeezed his eyes shut to see […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":22834,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/shelbyville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/08\/1-2-1024x683.png\")
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