Eddie Stubbs
Encyclopedia
Eddie Stubbs is a radio disc jockey
broadcasting old-style country music
on WSM
, a radio station with a nighttime clear channel
signal broadcast from Nashville, Tennessee
. He is also one of two regular announcers for the long-running Grand Ole Opry
carried on WSM on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday nights.
He is on the air weekday evenings from 7 PM to midnight, Central Time, on WSM. WSM's powerful nighttime clear channel signal allows WSM to be heard in a large part of the US and Canada. As a result, Eddie has many regular listeners in all parts of the US and Canada in areas far away from Nashville.
A fifth-generation resident of Montgomery County
, Maryland
, he graduated from Gaithersburg (Maryland
) High School and became a fiddle player with traditional bluegrass
band The Johnson Mountain Boys. After a decade, the band split up and Stubbs only played sporadically after that.
Stubbs' first radio job was a weekly bluegrass show for WYII
in Williamsport, Maryland
in 1983 where he earned $20 per program. In 1984 he was hired by WAMU
in Washington, D.C.
and worked alongside veteran country deejay Gary Henderson. He received his own show in 1990 but continued to do odd-jobs such as house-painting to supplement his income. "No one gets rich in radio," he observed. The Eddie Stubbs Show on WAMU
was discontinued in April 2007.
He developed a friendship with country singer Kitty Wells
and her husband, guitar player and singer Johnnie Wright
, and played with them during D.C.-area appearances. They eventually convinced Stubbs to move to Nashville
in 1995 and join them full-time. But within seventeen days of arriving in the country music capital, he was hired by The Grand Ole Opry as a regular announcer. "Five people up for the job, and the new kid in town gets the gig? If that's not God, I don't know what is," said Stubbs.
A self-taught music scholar, he brings an exhaustive knowledge to his radio shows, working without notes during his aircast which regularly beats FM country stations in Nashville
in the Arbitron
ratings. In 2002, Stubbs was named the Country Music Association
's Large Market Air Personality of the Year. The alternative weekly Nashville Scene
named him Best Country Deejay, and he has also been listed in Nashville Life magazine's 100 Coolest People.
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
broadcasting old-style country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
on WSM
WSM (AM)
WSM is the callsign of a 50,000 watt AM radio station located in Nashville, Tennessee. Operating at 650 kHz, its clear channel signal can reach much of North America and various countries, especially late at night...
, a radio station with a nighttime clear channel
Clear channel
A clear-channel station is an AM band Radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. Usually known as class A stations since 1982, they are occasionally still referred to by their former...
signal broadcast from Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. He is also one of two regular announcers for the long-running Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
carried on WSM on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday nights.
He is on the air weekday evenings from 7 PM to midnight, Central Time, on WSM. WSM's powerful nighttime clear channel signal allows WSM to be heard in a large part of the US and Canada. As a result, Eddie has many regular listeners in all parts of the US and Canada in areas far away from Nashville.
A fifth-generation resident of Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, he graduated from Gaithersburg (Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
) High School and became a fiddle player with traditional bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
band The Johnson Mountain Boys. After a decade, the band split up and Stubbs only played sporadically after that.
Stubbs' first radio job was a weekly bluegrass show for WYII
WICL
WICL is an Oldies and Classic rock formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Williamsport, Maryland, serving the Martinsburg, West Virginia/Hagerstown, Maryland area. WICL is owned and operated by Prettyman Broadcasting Co.-History:...
in Williamsport, Maryland
Williamsport, Maryland
Williamsport is a town in Washington County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,868 at the 2000 census and 2,278 as of July 2008.-Geography: Williamsport is located at ....
in 1983 where he earned $20 per program. In 1984 he was hired by WAMU
WAMU
WAMU is a public radio station that services the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The station broadcasts on 88.5 FM, online at wamu.org, and on HD Radio at 88.5-HD1, 2 and 3. WAMU is on-air 24 hours a day. It is licensed to American University, and its studios are located near the campus...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and worked alongside veteran country deejay Gary Henderson. He received his own show in 1990 but continued to do odd-jobs such as house-painting to supplement his income. "No one gets rich in radio," he observed. The Eddie Stubbs Show on WAMU
WAMU
WAMU is a public radio station that services the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The station broadcasts on 88.5 FM, online at wamu.org, and on HD Radio at 88.5-HD1, 2 and 3. WAMU is on-air 24 hours a day. It is licensed to American University, and its studios are located near the campus...
was discontinued in April 2007.
He developed a friendship with country singer Kitty Wells
Kitty Wells
Ellen Muriel Deason , known professionally as Kitty Wells, is an American country music singer. Her 1952 hit recording, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", made her the first female country singer to top the U.S. country charts, and turned her into the first female country star...
and her husband, guitar player and singer Johnnie Wright
Johnnie Wright
Johnnie Robert Wright, Jr. , known professionally as Johnnie Wright, was an American country music singer-songwriter who spent much of his career working with Jack Anglin as the popular duo Johnnie & Jack, and was also the husband of Kitty Wells.-Early life and career:Born in Mount Juliet,...
, and played with them during D.C.-area appearances. They eventually convinced Stubbs to move to Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
in 1995 and join them full-time. But within seventeen days of arriving in the country music capital, he was hired by The Grand Ole Opry as a regular announcer. "Five people up for the job, and the new kid in town gets the gig? If that's not God, I don't know what is," said Stubbs.
A self-taught music scholar, he brings an exhaustive knowledge to his radio shows, working without notes during his aircast which regularly beats FM country stations in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
in the Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
ratings. In 2002, Stubbs was named the Country Music Association
Country Music Association
The Country Music Association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre...
's Large Market Air Personality of the Year. The alternative weekly Nashville Scene
Nashville Scene
Nashville Scene is an alternative newsweekly in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1989, became a part of Village Voice Media in 1999, and later joined the ranks of sixteen other publications after a merger of Village Voice Media with New Times Media early in 2006. In 2009 the paper was...
named him Best Country Deejay, and he has also been listed in Nashville Life magazine's 100 Coolest People.