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 personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

. Stubbs is best known for his work and promotion of

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

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

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

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

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

'' 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 (United States), county in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat is Rockville, Maryland ...

, he graduated from

Gaithersburg High School Gaithersburg High School (GHS) is a public high school in Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States. Part of Montgomery County Public Schools, the school is located at 101 Education Boulevard and consists of grades 9–12. Its feeder schools are Fo ...

and became a fiddle player with a traditional bluegrass band,

The Johnson Mountain Boys The Johnson Mountain Boys were a popular bluegrass music, 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 ...

. After a decade, the band split up and Stubbs has only played sporadically since. Stubbs's 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 According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land. William ...

, 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, DC metropolitan area. It is owned by American University, and its studios are located near the campus in northwest Washington. WAMU has been the primary Nati ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, 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 for women in country music with her 1952 hit recording " It Wasn't God ...

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 music ...

, 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) is an American trade association with the stated aim of promoting and developing country music throughout the world. Founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee, it originally consisted of 233 members and was the f ...

'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 For a professional in the bluegrass music field, election to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame is the highest honor the genre can bestow. An invitation can be extended to performers, songwriters, promoters, broadcasters, musicians, a ...

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'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

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

External links

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