Bill Cody, a longtime personality at WSM Radio in Nashville and the “Voice of the Grand Ole Opry,” died Tuesday. He was 67.
WSM announced the death of Cody, who had been at the Tennessee radio station since 1994, WZTV reported.
“It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of our dear friend and beloved WSM voice, Bill Cody,” the station announced in an Instagram post. “A singular presence on WSM-AM Nashville for more than three decades, Bill welcomed listeners each morning on Coffee, Country & Cody with a broad smile, a conversational ease, and an unerring ability to make both artists and audiences feel at home.
“He built more than a morning show; he created a gathering place rooted in his deep love for country music and the people behind it.”
Cody’s daughter, Hannah Davis, said in late May that the radio icon was in critical condition and could only survive if he received heart and kidney transplants, Variety reported.
In addition to his work on WSM, Cody frequently served as a host for the Grand Ole Opry, according to WZTV.
Born Trent Clutts on Dec. 16, 1958, in Huntsville, Alabama, Cody spent most of his childhood in Lebanon, Kentucky, Rolling Stone reported. His radio name honored his childhood hero, Wild West entertainer Buffalo Bill Cody, according to the magazine.
Cody’s radio career began when he was 12 years old, Rolling Stone reported. Through the years, he interviewed celebrities and dignitaries, including Academy Award-winning actor Robert Duvall and former presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, the music news outlet reported.
Cody’s father was a preacher, and his sermons were played back on WLBN Radio in Kentucky, according to Rolling Stone.
Cody began his radio career at the station. The first record he played -- Wanda Jackson’s “We’ll Sing in the Sunshine” -- went out over the airwaves cued up at the wrong speed, he said.
Cody would be inducted into the Country Music DJ and Radio Hall of Fame in 2008.
“There might be someone somewhere in the world who loved country music as much, but nobody loved country music more than Bill Cody,” Garth Brooks said in a statement, according to Variety.
Country star Dierks Bentley remembered Cody as a “pillar” of country music, Rolling Stone reported.
“Bill was just as important as any artist, songwriter or musician,” Bentley wrote in a social media post. “No one loved country music, its history and its characters more than Bill Cody.”