Ralph Emery is a dynamic entertainer whose career range from being a country disc jockey (DJ) to being a television host and appearing as an actor. He also made a career making a hit single Hello Fool, hosted radio program Take Five For Country Music and hosted other TV shows such as Pop! Goes the Country, Nashville Now and Ralph Emery Live among others. His contributions in the entertainment industry have won him an induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame and National Radio Hall of Fame.
He Was Born To An Abusive Father and Mother Who Had Gone Through Nervous Breakdown
Now 91 years old, he was born Walter Ralph Emery in Mcewen, Tennessee on March 10, 1933. In his childhood days, he spent a good deal of it on his grandparents’ farm.
Growing up nonetheless was not totally easy for him as his father was an accountant in the profession but back home, he was abusive and alcoholic. Ralph later had a stepfather who was unloving to him. On the other hand, his mother ran several jobs to make ends meet but later had a mental breakdown.
Although it is not certain of the schools he attended in his early years, he later attended the Tennessee School of Broadcasting after saving up money from his jobs as a movie theatre usher and a stock boy at Kroger.
His Career Started in the 1950s and Lasts More Than 5 Decades
Nicknamed the dean of country music broadcasters, Emery started a job in the broadcasting industry tiny WTPR in Paris, Tennessee in 1951 after a recommendation by Richbourg. He moved to WNAH and later WAGG.
Having built himself and found more love in his radio job, in 1953, he got his full-time job in radio with a Nashville radio station WSIX. Still, with WSIX, he started his first job on TV in 1954.
Although he has gone to work with many other stations on different shows, his fame became massive when he started as a DJ on Nashville’s WSM on a night show. His fame nationally increased when he started Nashville Now.
In his career, his rich voice became his trademark but how he delivers his work won him all the attention he needed.
Shows Ralph Emery Hosted
Emery Had a Career in Music and Movies
The America Ralph Emery took music into consideration in terms of career and released Hello Fool in 1961. The song made it to stay 8 weeks on Vancouver’s CKWX chart.
Subsequent to that, he released an album called Songs for Children with Shotgun Red.
In his acting career on the other hand Emery, he appeared in Nashville Rebel (1966) where he played the role of Grand Ole Opry Announcer in comedy, music, and romance film. Still, in 1966, he appeared as Blinky, the Hit-Man in Girl from Tobacco Row.
He Was Inducted Into 2 Halls of Fame
In his more than 5 decades of work, it is safe to go by his words “he brought dignity to his craft… he brought class to the business”. These among the many other things he brought to the table in his disk jockey and hosting career couldn’t have let him go unnoticed. It is as such that he was inducted twice into different Halls of Fame in 2007 and 2010. The awards include:
- National Radio Hall of Fame (2010)
- Country Music Hall of Fame (2007)
- He also won the Midsouth Emmy Awards, Nashville, US, Governors Award (1991)
He is a Bestselling Author
Back in the 1990s, Ralph Emery took to writing and decided to give an account of himself and his career through his autobiography, The Autobiography of Ralph Emery. The book at first had 50,000 copies printed and later, there was an addition of 275,000 copies on print.
The book made its massive name when it was listed as the No.2 on the New York Times nonfiction list.
Ralph Emery Net Worth
Emery made wealth from his career on TV, radio, music, and books which include a bedtime seller. The net worth is estimated above $1 million.
He Has Been Married Twice
He Was Married to Skeeter Davis For 4 Years
Born Mary Frances Penick in 1931, Skeeter Davis was an American country singer who died of breast cancer in 2004 at the age of 72. Before then, however, she was married to Emery from 1960 to 1964. Clearly, their marriage was not a bed of roses as they didn’t have good tales to say about each other.
On his part, Emery thought Davis’ family were leeches who wanted to take advantage of him. He added that she only married him to help skyrocket her career.
Emery nevertheless didn’t see it from that aspect as she claimed that the marriage was not a happy one and claimed that she made a huge sum which was used for the payment of a house she didn’t even want. This claim conflicted with that of her ex-husband who allegedly paid all their household bills.
The disaster of their marriage ended in both their autobiographies (Memories: The Autobiography of Ralph Emery, 1992 by Emery and Bus Fare to Kentucky: the Autobiography of Skeeter Davis by Skeeter Davis). In their individual works, they claimed that the marriage was a regret.
Davis later married Joey Spampinato, a musician and founding member of NRBQ. The marriage later ended and Spaminato went on to settle with singer Kami Lyle.
See Also: Songs About Winning- 20 Top Songs To Celebrate Your Victories
Ralph Emery Married Joy Emery in 1967
3 years after his marriage with Skeeter crashed, Ralph became married to Joy Emery in 1967. Joy keeps a low profile will little to no details about her.
Does Ralph Emery have kids?
As regards children, there is no available information as to whether the TV host cum DJ has any children. But his ex-wife in her autobiography claimed that he did not mind if she paid for his child support but would frown at her sending stipends to her parents. This may or may not necessarily suggest that he had a child or more before he was married to her.
He Had A Cosmetic Surgery
In his autobiography Memories where he spilled many details about his personal life, he exposed how he opted for cosmetic surgery when he felt he needed it. The surgery dealt with a radical facelift, removal of buckle fat pads in his jaw, and a nose lift. After the surgery and he was back to his TV job, he said many people thought he had a stroke.
