The Greatest Oldies Music

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Country

THEY HELD HIS FUNERAL AT THE GRAND OLE OPRY HOUSE. THE SERVICE BROADCAST LIVE ON WSM — THE SAME STATION WHERE HIS VOICE HAD WOKEN NASHVILLE UP EVERY MORNING FOR 32 YEARS. For three decades, Bill Cody was the first voice country music heard each day. Six-fifty AM on WSM, Coffee, Country & Cody — and just like that, the morning made sense. Every artist worth their salt had sat across from him. Every fan tuning in felt like they were already home. He announced the Grand Ole Opry the way other men say grace — like it mattered, like it always would. Inducted into the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame in 2008. A star on the Music City Walk of Fame in 2024. Posthumously inducted into the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame this year. Garth Brooks wrote: “There might be someone somewhere in the world who loved country music as much, but nobody loved country music more than Bill Cody.” Dierks Bentley said it plainly: “He was just as important to the fabric of our music and city as any artist, songwriter or musician.” The Opry stage held thousands of legends over the years. On June 15, it held the man who introduced them all.

Country Oldies Musics

THREE YEARS AFTER JEFF COOK’S PASSING, ALABAMA’S GREATEST LEGACY ISN’T FOUND ON A RECORD LABEL, BUT IN A BILLION-DOLLAR PROMISE THAT KEEPS CHILDREN ALIVE. In 1989, Danny Thomas looked at Alabama’s frontman, Randy Owen, and delivered a simple request: “I need your people.” At the time, the scope of that ask was unclear, but Randy took it to heart. Standing before the Country Radio Seminar, he made an unfiltered plea to his peers and listeners. That single moment sparked “Country Cares for St. Jude Kids.” Nobody expected a boy from a cotton farm to architect the most successful fundraising campaign in the history of radio, but the movement grew into a juggernaut. By 2024, the initiative had raised over $1 billion—every cent dedicated to ensuring that no family ever sees a bill while their child fights for their life. St. Jude eventually honored Randy and his wife, Kelly, by naming a room after them, but the recognition meant nothing to him compared to the mission. To Randy, the true measure of success was never platinum records or industry accolades; it was the simple, profound gift of allowing a parent to spend five more years with their child. Alabama may have claimed forty-three number-one hits, but those charts will eventually fade. Yet, tonight, somewhere in a hospital wing, a child is still breathing because a man from Lookout Mountain had the courage to ask his people to care. Songs eventually fall silent, but a billion dollars of hope changes everything.

Country

CARL SMITH AND GOLDIE HILL HAD THE COUNTRY MUSIC WORLD AT THEIR FEET, BUT THEY CHOSE TO TRADE THE APPLAUSE FOR THE QUIET OF THEIR OWN LAND. By the 1950s, Carl Smith was “Mister Country”—a Grand Ole Opry titan with a string of Top Ten hits that defined the decade. His wife, Goldie Hill, was equally monumental; when her song “I Let the Stars Get in My Eyes” hit No. 1 in 1953, she shattered a glass ceiling, proving that a woman could command the top of the charts when the industry barely wanted them there at all. They married in 1957, standing at the absolute summit of their profession. But even as they toured together, the frantic energy of the business began to feel smaller than the life they were building elsewhere. Goldie stepped back from the road first, followed by Carl, who found that his passion for horses was rapidly outgrowing his desire for the stage. By the late 1970s, they had walked away entirely. While many stars only leave when the audience stops listening, Carl and Goldie walked out while their names were still gold. They settled onto a ranch near Franklin, Tennessee, turning their focus to raising and working cutting horses. Their exit was total and intentional. Even when Carl was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2003, he refused to use the moment for a revival; he didn’t need the spotlight anymore. They had realized that the most satisfying sound wasn’t the roar of a stadium, but the steady rhythm of hoofbeats on their own soil.

Country Oldies Musics

THE MAN WHO WROTE THE RIVER THAT WILLIE NELSON RODE TO STARDOM NEARLY DROWNED IN IT HIMSELF. Johnny Bush was the “Country Caruso”—a Texas-born force of nature with an operatic range that made him a favorite of his peers and a rising star in Nashville. In 1972, he signed with RCA and released “Whiskey River,” a song he penned on a bus ride from Nashville back to Texas. As the track climbed the national charts, Bush looked destined for the top tier of country music. Then, at the height of his ascent, his greatest asset began to fail him. In April 1972, Bush’s throat would uncontrollably slam shut when he tried to sing or speak. The terror was all-consuming; he feared he was being punished for his past. Doctors were baffled for years, leading to misdiagnoses and a spiral of anxiety, drugs, and performance failures. By 1974, RCA dropped him. As his career stalled, his friend Willie Nelson recorded the song, eventually making it an iconic concert staple and a fixture of his own legacy. It wasn’t until 1978—six years after the symptoms began—that Bush received the correct diagnosis: spasmodic dysphonia, a rare neurological disorder where involuntary muscle spasms interrupt the vocal cords. While there is no cure for the condition, Bush refused to give up. After years of struggling, he began working with a vocal coach in 1985 and eventually found a lifeline in Botox treatments, which weakened the spasming muscles in his larynx. He fought his way back, regaining much of his voice and launching a career revival that lasted until his passing in 2020. He didn’t just survive the diagnosis; he became a tireless advocate for others suffering from vocal disorders. Johnny Bush may have been forced to watch another man turn his song into a worldwide anthem, but he stayed “Texas” until the end—rougher, wiser, and proving that while his voice had been stolen, his spirit was never silenced.