ROOTS of Country Music

The Professional Work of Ralph Emery

Long considered the dean of country music broadcasters, Ralph Emery was born in McEwen, Tennessee, on Mar. 10, 1933. Emery began his broadcasting career in 1951 with a 15-minute newscast at WTPR (Paris, Tennessee). From there, Ralph moved to WNAH (Nashville, Tennessee) and WAGG (Franklin, Tennessee) where he met and interviewed country musicians.

After graduating high school, Emery enrolled in the Tennessee School of Broadcasting, where he took classes with WLAC radio star John Richbourg. Ralph was hired by WTPR management in 1951 at the recommendation of Richbourg. After stops at WNAH and WAGG, Emery joined WSIX in Nashville, Tennessee (TN) where he had a successful country music radio show.

Emery went on to work at stations in Nashville and Baton Rouge before joining Nashville powerhouse WSM in 1957 as host of Opry Star Spotlight. Within months, Emery made the show successful and turned it into an important vehicle for aspiring artists In 1961, Emery became an announcer for Nashville’s long-running musical showcase the Grand Ole Opry.

Ralph launched a successful morning television program on sister station WSM-TV (later WSMV). Ralph had a memorable live radio program with western movie star Tex Ritter; and he established popular radio and television syndication programs.

In 1982 WSM established The Nashville Network, a national cable channel devoted to country music. Emery naturally was one of the broadcasting stars and his nightly interview and performance program, Nashville Now, made Emery famous across the nation. It ran on the network from 1983 to 1993.

The show won several Emmy awards during its run. A frequent guest and substitute host was Shotgun Red, a puppet performed by bandleader Steve Hall. It originated from TNN's studio (Gaslight Theater) at Opryland USA in Nashville, Tennessee which, as of 2009, is the only remaining standing structure from the Opryland Themepark.

Ralph had a brief recording stint with Liberty Records and charted the single, Hello Fool (No. 4, 1961).

It was during his 25 years at WSM that Emery found his true niche, as his literal open-door policy, combined with a relaxed and informal studio atmosphere; led some of country music’s biggest names to drop by his show for music and conversation.

Ralph Emery was inducted into the Country Music D J Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007.

Researched and written nby Richard Bell, Roots of country music, Nov 18, 2011.