After being diagnosed with cancer in 1951, Lowery began publishing music on his own through the Lowery Music Company. By 1953 the company had its first hit, the gospel song “I Have but One Goal,” which was written by Cotton Carrier. Accompanied by the Smith Brothers, Lowery recorded the song, which sold more than 150,000 copies and became a gospel standard. As a result of this successful partnership, Carrier began to work for Lowery’s company, where he remained until his death in 1994.
Three years later, the Lowery Music Company published its first single that would sell a million copies, the Gene Vincent song “Be-Bop-a-Lula” (1956). In 1957 Lowery published “Young Love,” written by Atlantans Ric Cartey and Carol Joyner. “Young Love” remains the Lowery Music Company’s best-selling song, having achieved number-one rankings on the country and pop charts with recordings by Tab Hunter, Sonny James,and Donny Osmond.
A second part of the Lowery enterprise was the National Recording Corporation, which recorded and pressed albums. Although this portion of the business folded in 1961, Lowery maintained a studio for recording, which is known today as Southern Tracks. Together Lowery’s publishing, recording, and management businesses were known as the Lowery Group, and their headquarters were moved to Clairmont Road in Atlanta."--New Georgia Encyclopedia.
