Emery passed away peacefully on Jan 15th

Country Music Hall of Fame broadcaster Ralph Emery has passed away at the age of 88. The former TNN Nashville Now talk show host “passed away peacefully” surround by his family on Saturday (Jan 15th) at Tristar Centennial Medical Center in Nashville.

“Ralph had a deep love for his family, his friends and his fans,” Emery’s family shared in a statement to the Tennessean.

No cause of death has been revealed. He leaves behind a wife, three sons, five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Emery was born March 10, 1933 in McEwen, TN and began his broadcasting career in small market stations before becoming a nationally known country music broadcaster. According to his bio at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Emery was known as “the Dick Clark of country music” and “the Johnny Carson of cable television.”

Emery began his Nashville career at WSIX radio in 1953 and started a year later at WSIX-TV as an announcer for live wrestling. In 1957, he started working at the famous WSM radio as an overnight personality. Due to the station’s 50k watt license and the signal bouncing off of the stratosphere at night, his voice could be heard around the country.

Emery made his mark on country music by giving early exposure to Lorrie Morgan and The Judds, to name a few, on The Ralph Emery Show from 1972-1991. He was also the announcer for the Grand Ole Opry from 1961 until 1964.

In 1983, he was tapped to host the The Nashville Network (TNN)’s primetime show, Nashville Now, for a decade. The show brought new stars and country legends for a relaxing setup of music and talk. In 2007, Emery returned to TV hosting Ralph Emery Live on RFD-TV.

With a career spanning more than half a century, he was a 1989 inductee into the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame and a 2007 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

“Ralph Emery’s impact in expanding country music’s audience is incalculable,” states Kyle Young, CEO, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “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.”

WSM, Mark Wills and many others shared their condolences on social media.