Eddie Stubbs (born November 25, 1961) is an American radio

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

. Stubbs is best known for his work and promotion of

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

on WSM, a radio station with a nighttime clear channel signal broadcast from

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, United States. He was also one of two regular announcers for the long-running ''

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

'' carried on WSM on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday nights. He was on the air on 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, Stubbs 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 Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...

, he graduated from

Gaithersburg High School Gaithersburg High School (GHS) is located in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Part of Montgomery County Public Schools, the school was founded in 1904 as "Gaithersburg School" and offered grades K-12. Since 2013, the school resides at 101 Education Blvd a ...

and became a fiddle player with a traditional bluegrass band,

The Johnson Mountain Boys The Johnson Mountain Boys were a popular bluegrass band throughout the 1980s from the Washington, D.C. area. Their style favored a more traditional approach to bluegrass than some of their contemporaries. They released two 45 RPM single record ...

. After a decade, the band split up and Stubbs has only played sporadically since. Stubbs' first radio job was a weekly bluegrass show for WYII in

Williamsport, Maryland Williamsport is a town in Washington County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,868 at the 2000 census and 2,137 as of 2010. Geography Williamsport is located at (39.598496, −77.818464). According to the United States Census Bu ...

, in 1983 where he earned $20 per program. In 1984, he was hired by

WAMU WAMU (88.5 FM) is a public news/talk station that services the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. It is owned by American University, and its studios are located near the campus in northwest Washington. WAMU has been the primary National ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and worked alongside the 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

was discontinued in April 2007. He developed a friendship with the country singer

Kitty Wells Ellen Muriel Deason (August 30, 1919 – July 16, 2012), known professionally as Kitty Wells, was an American pioneering female country music singer. She broke down a barrier to women in country music with her 1952 hit recording "It Wasn't God W ...

and her husband, the guitar player and singer

Johnnie Wright Johnnie Robert Wright Jr. (May 13, 1914 – September 27, 2011) 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 country musi ...

, 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. In 2002, Stubbs was named the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...

'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". On July 21, 2020, Stubbs announced his retirement from WSM and the Grand Ole Opry, effective July 29, 2020. In October 2020, he was inducted into the

International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame Induction to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, called the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor from its creation in 1991 through 2006, is managed by the International Bluegrass Music Association, and the Hall itself is mainta ...

as a member of the Johnson Mountain Boys.

References

*Heim, Joe, "The Old Country - DJ Eddie Stubbs Won't Let Nashville Forget Its Roots", ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', July 27, 2003, pages N-1 and 7.

External links

WSM profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stubbs, Eddie American radio personalities 1961 births Living people People from Montgomery County, Maryland People from Nashville, Tennessee People from Washington, D.C. Grand Ole Opry Johnson Mountain Boys members Gaithersburg High School alumni