ANI
16 Jan 2022, 17:57 GMT+10
Washington [US], January 16 (ANI): Ralph Emery, who became known as the dean of country music broadcasters over more than a half-century in both radio and TV, died on Saturday at the age of 88, his family said.
According to Variety, Emery died at the Tristar Centennial Medical Center in Nashville. He had been hospitalized for a week.
Beginning his career at small radio stations and then moving into television as well, Emery was probably best known for his work on the Nashville Network cable channel.
From 1983 to 1993, he was the host of the channel's live talk-variety show 'Nashville Now', earning the title 'the Johnny Carson of cable television' for his interviewing style.
From 2007 to 2015, Emery hosted a weekly program on RFD-TV, a satellite and cable TV channel. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007.
"Ralph Emery's impact in expanding country music's audience is incalculable," said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, in a statement Saturday.
He continued, "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 humour 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."Born on March 10, 1933, in McEwen, Tennessee, Emery attended broadcasting school in Nashville and got his first radio job at WTPR in Paris, Tennessee.
He later worked at radio stations in Louisiana and the Nashville area before signing on at Nashville's WSM in 1957.
His autobiography, 'Memories', came out in 1991, followed by 'More Memories' in 1993 and 'The View From Nashville: On the Record with Country Music's Greatest Stars' in 1998.
Emery hosted 'Pop Goes the Country', a syndicated TV show, from 1974 through 1980. From 1981 to 1983, he was the host of 'Nashville Alive', on cable station WTBS.
On the talk-variety show 'Nashville Now', Emery sat at a desk, interviewing country music stars and others, much as Carson chatted with celebrities on NBC's 'Tonight show'.
Emery also briefly had his own recording career in the early 1960s. "I'm not a singer and that was one of the major problems," he confessed in a 1990 interview, as per The Hollywood Reporter. (ANI)Get a daily dose of Broadcast Communications news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Broadcast Communications.
More InformationWASHINGTON, D.C.: New single-family home sales in the U.S. rose sharply in April to their highest level in over three years as builders...
VEVEY, Switzerland: Nestle is realigning its focus on its core food and beverage operations after expanding into areas like health...
DEARBORN, Michigan: Ford Motor Company has filed a lawsuit against several California lawyers and law firms, accusing them of cheating...
BRUSSELS, Belgium: U.S. drugmakers are charging significantly more for new treatments, particularly those targeting rare diseases,...
MINNETONKA, Minnesota: UnitedHealth shares took a sharp hit this week, after a report by the UK's Guardian alleged the healthcare giant...
HUNG YEN, Vietnam: A new US$1.5 billion luxury golf and residential project backed by the Trump Organization officially broke ground...
SHARJAH, 7th May, 2025 (WAM) -- The Sharjah Broadcasting Authority (SBA) recently took part in the 76th World News Media Congress,...
The Foreign Ministrys Tatyana Dovgalenko has emphasized that the media plays a key role in supporting the momentum in Russia-Africa...
SMPL New Delhi [India], May 27: India's media landscape just welcomed a powerful new entrant with the official launch of MKN News,...
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 22 (ANI): Veteran actor Mukesh Khanna lauded the central government and the armed forces for Operation...
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 21 (ANI): Actor Dalip Tahil praised the Indian armed forces and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for...
Immigrants vying for U.S. citizenship is being pitched for reality TV exploiting the migrant story is nothing we haven't already seen....