Our favorite event took place last week. It was the annual Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame banquet and awards night at the Nashville Convention Center. It was 1974 that I was blessed with a vision to start honoring the great radio people who have been the building blocks of country music entertainment. Entertainment starts at the radio so that fans can hear records by those artists that they want to hear more of. The disc jockey is a most important part of that link.

I’m sure you had a favorite DJ when you were growing up and you still have a favorite DJ today. Those honored were  Chuck Collier, a 36-year veteran of Cleveland’s WGAR, Gerry House, morning mainstay at Nashville’s WSIX-FM, legendary radio programmer/DJ Moon Mullins, currently residing in Owensboro, KY and longtime radio honcho in many major markets, Bob McKay. Shelia Shipley-Biddy, President of Stringtown Records was given the President’s Award.  The one and only Merle Haggard was the Lifetime Achievement Award honoree. All the speeches were great as the winners re-lived some career highlights. Merle Haggard’s speech was the shortest and funniest. Merle does his talking through his songs. He is indeed an icon in our business and it was a personal honor sitting next to him at the banquet. Merle was given a music tribute by Emmylou Harris and Jack Ingram.

As we use this evening to look back on history of country radio, it is a far cry from then to what radio has become today. In most towns, the shows are brought to your radio from syndicated shows that try to make you believe they are local. They are not individuals, but mainly pairs or trios of people who think it is their job to be funny and to hell with the music. To most of these radio entertainers, music is just filler. But to all of us, music is our lifeblood.