Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Jude Hospital.This article needs additional citations for verification. of Veterans Affairs, the Wounded Warrior Project, The Palliative Unit of Cook’s Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth, and St. He served as Master of Ceremonies at the National Veterans Day Ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery in both 20, one of many national and regional events to which he had volunteered time and energy, and he had helped get information on benefits to countless veterans through vehicles like his Veterans Day 2005 radio special, “Bob Kingsley Salutes America’s Veterans.” His many charitable endeavors include work for Disabled American Veterans, the Dept.

He had also given tireless service to veterans’ groups and the VA itself. Bob had long been dedicated to serving the industry as a whole, having been for many years a member of the board of directors of the Academy of Country Music. He continued to produce and host specials like his highly popular “Christmas in America” and an annual year-end countdown show. In January 2006, Bob launched The country Top 40. Then, in April 1974, Bob took a job producing “American Country Countdown.” Four years later, he took over as host, propelling the show to its place as a national and international institution. The combination would carry him to legendary stations like KFOX, KGBS, KFI and KLAC in Los Angeles. When he was 18, Bob joined the Air Force and served in Keflavik, Iceland, where he jumped at a chance to become an announcer on Armed Forces Radio.Īs he learned the ropes as an announcer, he also developed an appreciation for the country music he was playing. I didn’t realize the imprint it was making, but it obviously stayed with me.” It was complete escapism and entertainment. I would listen to the radio, and certain shows became really important to me. “When I was 7,” he says, “I had an illness that kept me in bed for a year. I’m sharing stories I find fascinating, and if I do my job right, hopefully they’ll share my passion.”īob’s love for radio and for music dated back to his childhood. “I focus on that one person, maybe with a cup of coffee at the kitchen table or in a car driving down the road, and talk directly to him or her. “It’s always one listener at a time,” he said. Bob had also received the ACM’s National Broadcast Personality of the Year Award in 2007 and, perhaps most tellingly, he was inducted in 1998 into the Country Music DJ Hall of Fame.įor Bob, the path to such success had been straightforward. He had twice been named the CMA’s National Broadcast Personality of the Year and his show received Billboard’s Network/Syndicated Program of the Year award no fewer than 16 times. Fitz will be featuring audio from the Kingsley Archives, so we’ll be able to hear Bob Kingsley’s voice for years to come.īob Kingsley’s love for the genre, its people and its history had always been evident in that warm, rich voice, and the combination had given him both a vast and loyal audience and legendary status within the industry. Since Bob Kingsley’s cancer diagnosis and ultimate passing in October 2019, country music superstars have been sitting in for the late National Radio Hall of Famer. The Texas native is only the third host in the 45-year history of country music’s biggest, most-honored and longest-running national radio show. Sunday’s 7:00 am – 11:00 am & our encore presentation Sunday’s 7:00 pm – 11:00 pmįitz is now the permanent host of Bob Kingsley’s Country Top 40.

Top 40 country countdown