The Ralph Emery Show

During these uncertain times, I’ve found myself looking back on things that have brought fun and joy to my life. I spent hours the other night searching through YouTube and Google for even a clip from “The Ralph Emery Show.” It seems like, with the exception of a couple of videos featuring the performances of up-and-coming singers, it never made it on to the internet. I’m sure there’s a treasure trove of historic and hysterical video somewhere within the WSMV archives.

Amazing media, has always been and always will be based around personalities. Ralph Emery, from McEwen, Tennessee, had been a DJ at many middle Tennessee radio stations before beginning his lengthy tenure hosting overnights at WSM. Overnights, like AM radio, would become a throw-away in media in the decades to come, but from 1957 to 1972, Ralph Emery held court overnights on “The Air Castle of the South.” Beaming 50,000 watts, on a clear channel, 650AM. This meant, all other stations on that frequency across the country, signed off at sunset, giving one station a massive, almost nationwide audience in the evening hours. Ralph became known for having an open door policy with artists. This was during the time, when “The Music City” was earning its name. Country giants showed up, often unexpectedly to chat with Ralph. You never knew who might show up. Could be Tex Ritter, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, Marty Robbins, Merle Haggard and a host of others.

Again, personality has always been at the heart of great media, whether radio or TV. Unpredictability is another key component in great media. Ralph had shown that he could deliver both. In the decades to come, America would come to see Ralph Emery as the Dick Clark of country music. He’s been referred to as, “The Johnny Carson of cable TV,” and one industry poll named him, “Country radio’s greatest personality of the century.” America, at large, would know him as the host of “Pop Goes The Country” and the longtime host of “Nashville Now” on TNN. In addition to being a prolific radio personality, middle Tennesseans knew Ralph for his local morning television show.

“The Ralph Emery Show” was at one point, the highest rated local TV show in America, leading into NBC’s Today Show. Once again, that predictably, unpredictable format would act as a magnet, drawing middle Tennesseans to set their TV’s to Channel 4, to see what would happen next between 5:30 and 7 AM. This played out day after day between 1972 into the mid 1980’s.

The Channel 4 studios sat then, as they do now, on Knob Road, on a massive hill, amid an unassuming residential neighborhood, off White Bridge Road in west Nashville. One would hope that some how the magic and laughter would still hang heavy in the air, in the neighborhood, even all these decades after the show’s end.

The show offered everything one would expect out of morning radio or TV at the time, in terms of news, traffic and weather. From there, the format took a different turn from everything else out there, taking the road less traveled. Ralph, in effect was the straight man, the conductor or facilitator of the show. The show had a live band, which played all of the intros and outros into breaks, along with all of the many live musical numbers within the program. There was the ball cap wearing, sarcastic, Jerry Whitehurt, at the piano, Norm Ray played saxophone. He played an on-going character referred to as “The Mayor of the Boulevard,” a reference to high-brow, Belle Meade. I can’t remember all the band members, but there was a steel guitar, trombone, guitars, and drums played by a Metro Nashville school teacher, named Billy.

These musicians were part of the conversation and cut up nature of the show. They played as up and comers showed up to perform on this Nashville morning show, hoping to hit it big in country music. A couple, including Lorrie Morgan and the Judds, actually did make the big time. But, there had to be hundreds, who performed, while staying at low cost Nashville motels like Fiddler’s Inn on Music Valley Drive that would sing and be interviewed by Ralph. That possibly was as close as they got to fame. The regular performer was Tom Grant. Grant had talent and could sing well. He would play additional characters, bringing outlandish comical performances to the TV audience.

The live commercials centered around Ralph and the business owners, at “the desk.” Middle Tennessee business owners became semi- celebrities, in their own right, as they appeared daily on the show and became part of the act. Walker & Cullum Oldsmobile, Sloan’s Honda, Fluffo Mattresses, Mid South Aluminum, and D.T. Mcall and Sons, were just a few of the regulars. “Heyyyyy” is still a recognized reference in the D.T. Mcall commercials decades later. Who could ever forget “a microwave that can bake a biscuit,” or in the case of Mid South Aluminum, “Don’t put it off, put it on!”

Anyone and everyone in that basement studio was fair game on being in on the act. Floor Director, Tommy, was a frequent participant in the show, while wearing his headset, as were the other cameramen. You could expect him to promo, “The Bobby Jones Gospel Show” each Friday morning, for that Sunday morning. There were “bus reports” alerting Metro Nashville parents as to which school buses were running behind. Then there was Maude and Dorothy. These two elderly ladies, were the butt of many jokes and the center of some of some of Tom Grant’s craziest performances. They loved every second of it. If I recall correctly, they were sisters. They showed up as part of the studio audience for the show every day, bringing doughnuts with them. That’s right, they allowed people to show up and witness this madness, often with Ralph interviewing them on TV.

Without the Ralph Emery Show, the world would have never known “outhouse races” or “chalk offs.” It was pure mayhem at times, amid the short news and weather segments. And Nashville loved every second of it! It was like we lived in this bubble of silliness, entertainment, off the cuff humor and pranks. It was so popular, that for years, the other two main TV channels, put news shows up against it, but could never gain traction in the ratings. Somehow, as “the band” played out the theme song, and that gave way to the opening trumpets of NBC’s “Today Show,” the whole world would take on a different tone.

The TV station had for years, been the home of the WSM radio studios as well. FCC ownership changes at one point didn’t allow TV and radio to be co-owned in the same market. “The Waking Crew” had been a staple in Nashville morning radio for decades. When WSM-TV, yielded way to WSMV in 1982, the radio studios moved out of the Knob Hill facility and into a facility off Briley Parkway. Emery and many of the same band members, would make the drive across town to, then do a live radio show, with a somewhat same format, minus some of the antics. This originated from the Stage Door Lounge in the Opryland Hotel. This would be the place that I would be put on the radio for the first time as a child, by Ralph himself, but that’s another story for another day.

Ralph Emery was a media institution across America, doing syndicated radio, TV and daily cable shows. I think Nashvillians and middle Tennesseans had the feeling that, while Ralph was a star to the rest of the nation, he was a close personal friend to us.