HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 1500
By Williams
A RESOLUTION to recognize and honor legendary radio and television personality Keith Bilbrey.
WHEREAS, we are proud to formally recognize those talented professionals who utilize the powerful media of radio and television broadcasting to provide both entertainment and information to the citizens of our State; and WHEREAS, Tennessee radio and television icon Keith Bilbrey is one such individual,
who has been delighting listeners over the airwaves for more than half a century; and WHEREAS, Mr. Bilbrey got his auspicious start in radio at WHUB in his native Cookeville, working there from 1968 to 1972; and WHEREAS, for thirty-five years, Keith Bilbrey was a beloved announcer with WSM
Radio, where he was a fan-favorite DJ and an announcer for the Grand Ole Opry, the Country Music Association Awards, Ernest Tubb's Midnight Jamboree, and multiple shows on The Nashville Network; and WHEREAS, Mr. Bilbrey's expansive career has also included serving as a historian for biographies on A&E, Great American Country, and Country Music Television, and he served as
the weatherman on The Ralph Emery Show, where he did skits with various individuals,
including the then-up-and-coming mother-daughter duo The Judds; and WHEREAS, he has also hosted the syndicated radio show Classic Country Today,
which aired over 175 stations nationwide, and in 2010, he and his wife, Emy Joe, were approached to host a cooking show called Nashville Country Cooking, in which Mr. Bilbrey interviews country artists and then he and Emy Joe teach them how to cook; and WHEREAS, Keith Bilbrey remains an important member of the country and Americana radio community; he has hosted the groundbreaking Music City Roots, which aired on PBS and HJR1500
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WMOT Roots Radio, and he is currently the announcer and sidekick on the syndicated Larry's Country Diner and the studio announcer for The Mike Huckabee Show; and WHEREAS, in due recognition of his importance to the radio industry, Mr. Bilbrey was inducted into the prestigious Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame in 2015, an honor reserved for Tennessee broadcasters who make a difference through their incredible leadership, integrity,
reliability, service over self, team-building, and mentoring across the State; and WHEREAS, his close, deep friendships with the likes of George and Nancy Jones,
Loretta Lynn, Marty Stuart, and Garth Brooks are a testament to how dear and special he is to
the country music community, and his forthcoming memoir will certainly be an exciting, welcome addition to the history of the genre; and WHEREAS, an accomplished member of his profession and a respected leader in his community, Keith Bilbrey is a Tennessean of whom we can all be proud, and it is highly appropriate that we recognize such an esteemed legend of broadcasting; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED
THIRTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE SENATE
CONCURRING, that we honor and commend Keith Bilbrey, paying tribute to his many years of
radio and television broadcasting excellence and extending to him our best wishes for every future success.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that an appropriate copy of this resolution be prepared for presentation with this final clause omitted from such copy and upon proper request made to
the appropriate clerk, the language appearing immediately following the State seal appear without House or Senate designation.
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