Jo Walker-Meador (February 16, 1924 – August 16, 2017) was an American music executive who served as Executive Director of 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 ...
(CMA) from 1962 to 1991. During her tenure, she created the first
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amass ...
, which opened near
Music Row
Music Row is a historic district located southwest of downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Widely considered the heart of Nashville's entertainment industry, Music Row has also become a metonymous nickname for the music industry as a w ...
and ran from 1967 to 2000, developed the
Country Music Association Awards
The Country Music Association Awards, also known as the CMA Awards or CMAs, are presented to country music artists and broadcasters to recognize outstanding achievement in the country music industry. The televised annual presentation ceremony f ...
(CMA Awards), which first ran in 1967, and launched Fan Fair (now the
CMA Music Festival
The CMA Music Festival is a four-day music festival centered on country music, hosted each June by the Country Music Association (CMA) in Nashville, Tennessee. Beginning in 1972 under the name Fan Fair, the event now draws over 400 artists and c ...
) in 1972. In 1995, Walker-Meador was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.Bufwack, Mary A. (1998). "Jo Walker-Meador". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 570.
Early years
Born Edith Josephine Denning in
Orlinda, Tennessee
Orlinda is a city in Robertson County, Tennessee, Robertson County, Tennessee. The population was 947 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the community became a city in February 2001. The City of Orlinda conducted its own, independen ...
as one of eleven children on a family farm, her goal was to become a high school teacher and
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Denning had to get a job and save money to go to college. During World War II, she worked in the salvage department at the
Vultee Aircraft
The Vultee Aircraft Corporation became an independent company in 1939 in Los Angeles County, California. It had limited success before merging with the Consolidated Aircraft Corporation in 1943, to form the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporati ...
plant in
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
during the day, while going to the
Watkins Institute
Watkins College of Art at Belmont University is an art and design college of Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. It is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD) and offers Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degr ...
(now part of
Belmont University
Belmont University is a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporated in 1951 as Belmont College. It be ...
) for
night school
A night school is an adult learning school that holds classes in the evening or at night to accommodate people who work during the day. A community college or university may hold night school classes that admit undergraduates.
Italy
The Scuola ...
to learn how to be a
secretary
A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...
. Denning later attended
Peabody College
Vanderbilt Peabody College of Education and Human Development (also known as Vanderbilt Peabody College, Peabody College, or simply Peabody) is the education school of Vanderbilt University, a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. ...
in Nashville (now part of
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population was 68,205 as of the 2020 United States ...
(now part of the
University of Memphis
}
The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students.
The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...
).
Work with the CMA
When the CMA was formed in 1958, Denning (then known as Jo Walker) was hired as the first full-time employee to do secretarial duties for the first Executive Director Harry Stone, a former manager for WSM AM radio in Nashville.Country Music Hall of Fame Profile of Jo Walker-Meador. - accessed November 3, 2019.Rumble, John (1998). "Harry Stone". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. Paul Kinsgbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 511. Stone stayed in the position of executive director until 1960. Prior to her hiring with the CMA, Walker had never visited the
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 ...
.
In a meeting on who to replace Stone as CMA's executive director, CMA member and country comedian
Minnie Pearl
Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon (October 25, 1912 – March 4, 1996), known professionally as her stage character Minnie Pearl, was an American comedian who appeared at the Grand Ole Opry for more than 50 years (1940–1991) and on the televisio ...
stated, "Jo's doing all the work. Why don't we just hire her?" (Walker was not in attendance at the meeting when Pearl made the comments.) Walker took the position in 1962.
In the late 1950s, there were only 81 full-time country music radio stations in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Walker's efforts during her tenure was to increase the number of radio stations in the US, which increased to over 2,400 by the time of her retirement, when she was known as Jo Walker-Meador. Other country music-related items established under Walker during the 1960s were the first Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, with a national fundraising drive that helped complete the physical museum in 1967 (the Hall of Fame itself was established six years earlier), and the creation of the CMA Awards in 1967. In 1972, she helped establish Fan Fair (now the CMA Music Festival) for country music fans worldwide to meet their favorite stars in Nashville.
When Walker-Meador retired in 1991, she was honored at a retirement banquet of more than 1,000 attendees that included future Country Music Hall of Fame inductees
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...
(2012) and
Brenda Lee
Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed only ...
(1997).
Legacy
In 1994, the CMA established the Jo Walker-Meador Award in her honor. It would be given to individuals or organizations for supporting or advocating country music outside of the United States. She was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame the following year. Joining Walker-Meador in the Hall of Fame in 1995 was
Roger Miller
Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping Country music, country and pop hits "King of the Road (song), Ki ...
.
Other awards won by Walker-Meador include the City of Nashville Metronome Award in 1970, the Nashville Chamber of Commerce Board of Governors in 1977, the
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris Christensen. They wanted to promote country music ...
Jim Reeves
James Travis Reeves (August 20, 1923July 31, 1964) was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well known as a practitioner of the Nashville Sound. Known as "Gentleman ...
Memorial Award (for establishing a CMA office in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
) in 1983, and the first female President of the Board of Big Brothers in 1989.
Walker-Meador was also inducted into the
Music City Walk of Fame
The Music City Walk of Fame in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, is a walk of fame that honors significant contributors to Nashville's musical heritage and significant achievements in the music industry.Grimes, William "Jo Walker-Meador, 93, Dies; Raised Country Music's Profile". ''The New York Times''. August 18, 2017. Accessed November 3, 2019 That marriage would produce a daughter Michelle. The second marriage was to Bob Meador, and lasted from 1981 to Meador's death in 2015. Meador's marriage included two stepchildren, Rob and Karen.
Walker-Meador died of a stroke in Nashville on August 16, 2017.