Arguably nobody had a more recognizable voice in country music over the last 30+ years who wasn’t a singer himself. He might have not penned the tunes that send shivers down our spine, or sing them with grand eloquence…
Beloved and long-time DJ Jeff Hoag is out at radio station WSM in Nashville. As the weeknight host of “WSM At Night” as well as the Opry warm up show, Jeff Hoag became a familiar and beloved voice to many fans.
It was the stars of Nashville and beyond that performed the music that made country music famous. But it was Ralph Emery who served it up all to the public in a way that made made it so easy for everyone to invite it into their homes, and into their hearts.
The Eddie Stubbs departure left many open questions about who would replace him in the evening weeknight slot, and if it would even be filled by country music since format changes and show cancellations have been a regular occurrence at WSM lately. But luckily, the evening slot will endure with Jeff Hoag.
A titan of the airwaves and our generation’s voice of country music, Eddie Stubbs, has announced that after 25 years of service at The Legend WSM-AM in Nashville as a DJ and announcer at the Grand Ole Opry, he is retiring. Stubbs announced the retirement on Tuesday night (7-22) during his regular weeknight radio show.
Over seven years of full-time labor on the part of numerous people, over 101 interviews conducted, countless hours of archival work digging up old photographs, audio, video, and other vintage material, and an elongated year-long promotional effort finally culminated in the broadcast of the debut episode for the Ken Burns Country Music epic.
After the demo of “Too Late to Save The World” was played to the audience, the song received rousing applause and a standing ovation. “You may have just set a record Daryle Singletary,” Eddie Stubbs said. “That’s the first time we ever played a demo that got a standing ovation. True story. You know it’s one thing to sing a song live and get a standing ovation. But a demo…”
Out of the 67 current members of the Opry, only 25 of them fulfilled their 10 appearance obligation, and three of those died during the year. 11 members didn’t make any appearances at all. But what may be more interesting is who is appearing on the Opry to take up the slack. Of the Top 11 performing members at the Grand Ole Opry in 2014, the average age was 79-years-old.
Cumulus Media officially launched their “NASH Icon” brand to radio on Friday (8-15), changing two Georgia radio stations over to the new format that favors country music released from a 25-year “classic” period. Atlanta’s Oldies 98.9 W255CJ has changed over to NASH Icon 98.9, and Sports Radio 102.1 in Savannah will now be known as NASH Icon 102.1.
In 1951 Hank Williams recorded no less than 143 songs for radio station WSM in Nashville, 72 of which were pre-recorded to run while Williams was on tour, and 40 of which he had never been known to perform. Those recordings, known by bootleggers who’ve traded partial and complete collections for years as the “Mother’s […]
Nashville was lucky. During the early 20th Century, many cities could have ended up with the “Music City” moniker. Tulsa had a bustling music scene, with Bob Wills playing weekly at Cain’s ballroom. Bakersfield, CA had the best recording studios west of the Mississippi and was a magnet for the Southern talent that had migrated […]
I found this on Charlie G’s page. It’s about as poignant and true as it gets. Sure, these old farts are straining to harmonize and the whole thing seems a little contrived, but the verses are so true it hurts. Charlie G. pointed out in the comments of my last blog that the Grand Ole […]