Chronicle: Country Music Hall of Famer, National Radio Hall of Famer and Country Radio Hall of Famer Ralph Emery passed away today (1/15) at the age of 88. Born Walter Ralph Emery on March 10, 1933 in McEwen, TN, Emery began his career in small-market stations within the state before going on to become one of only six current country-related members of the NRHoF. According to his biographical information at the Country Music Hall of Fame, “In one industry poll, Emery was voted Country radio’s greatest personality of the century, [and] he has been called ‘the Dick Clark of country music’ and ‘the Johnny Carson of cable television.’”

Emery launched his career in 1951 with a 15-minute newscast at WTPR-AM/Paris, TN before moving on to WNAH-AM/Nashville and WAGG-AM/Franklin. In late 1953, Emery returned to Nashville at WSIX-AM and spent a month at WLCS-AM/Baton Rouge in 1956. He joined WSM-AM/Nashville in 1957 as host of Opry Star Spotlight. During his tenure with WSM, Emery found his niche combining an open-door policy with relaxed and informal studio atmosphere. In 1961, Emery added announcer chores for the Grand Ole Opry, and in 1963, he began working with WSM-TV (now WSMV-TV) in mornings. By 1972, he was producing and hosting The Ralph Emery Show – a program of music and conversation – which ran in various forms until 1995, and between 1966-1969, he was also hosting the afternoon Sixteenth Avenue program. Emery became a fixture on television, hosting his first syndicated show, Pop! Goes Country, from 1973-1979 and serving as announcer for Dolly Parton’s syndicated series in 1976. When cable television rose to prominence in the 1980s, Emery jumped on board hosting Nashville Alive for Ted Turner’s TBS channel from 1981-1983. A decade-long stint as host of the TNN series Nashville Now, which brought musicians together to talk and play, started in 1983. From 1986 to 1991, Emery also launched into radio syndication with Take Five For Country Music and Goody’s Present Ralph Emery, carried on more than 400 stations nationwide. He left Nashville Now in 1993 but continued to hosting specials for the network before returning full-time to cable with Ralph Emery Live on RFD-TV in 2007. By the time the show wrapped in 2015, it had been renamed Ralph Emery’s Memories.

More than just a broadcaster, Emery was also signed to multiple recording contracts. In 1961, he earned his only Top 10 single with “Hello Fool,” an “answer record” to Faron Young’s “Hello Walls.” In 1989, Emery released two records, Songs For Children and Christmas With Ralph & Red, with his Nashville Now puppet co-host Shotgun Red. And, Emery also penned a total of four books containing memories and photos from his life and career. Throughout the 1960s, Emery was also featured in four movies.

“Ralph Emery’s impact in expanding country music’s audience is incalculable,” says CMHoF CEO Kyle Young. “On radio and on television, he allowed fans to get to know the people behind the songs. Ralph was more a grand conversationalist than a calculated interviewer, and it was his conversations that revealed the humor and humanity of Tom T. Hall, Barbara Mandrell, Tex Ritter, Marty Robbins and many more. Above all, he believed in music and in the people who make it.” Emery was inducted into the Country Radio Hall of Fame in 1989, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007, the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame in 2012. Service information is pending.