Country Countdown USA
Encyclopedia
CMT
Country Countdown USA is a nationally syndicated weekly country music
top-30 chart countdown program hosted by Lon Helton.
Chairman Norman J. Pattiz
who assigned the project to his programming VP, Gary Landis. Although Westwood One had several country programs, mainly through its co-owned Mutual Broadcasting System
, the company didn’t have a weekly country countdown show.
At the time, the leader was American Country Countdown
with Bob Kingsley
(now hosted by Kix Brooks
). It was a traditional countdown show modeled after Casey Kasem
’s American Top 40
. Other shows on the air at the time included Unistar’s Weekly Country Music Countdown with Chris Charles (no longer on the air) and TNN
’s Crook & Chase
Top 40 (still on the air). The latter two included pre-recorded interview clips with artists, while ACC was strictly a scripted show.
' Country Editor, Lon Helton. Gary called Lon directly and offered him the job. The country star was a more difficult decision. No single country star was willing to commit to a 52-week schedule. So the decision was made to have a different country star act as co-host every week. It would be a three-hour show, playing the week’s Top 30. Unlike other syndicated shows at the time, the show featured only three commercial breaks per hour, and a music sweep at the top of the hour, based on the formats of most country radio stations.
Landis then looked for a producer to oversee the program. Mutual Broadcasting System Senior Producer George Achaves quickly jumped at the chance. George had worked with Lon on a short-lived weekly country show called “Listen In.” He also did Mutual’s holiday country specials with WHN
DJ Lee Arnold. Lon’s office manager, Jo Pincek, was tapped to handle artist relations. The show became the first Westwood One show to be delivered exclusively on compact disc.
and KLAC Los Angeles
. The first co-host was Steve Wariner
, who was enjoying his first hit on the new Arista Records Nashville label, “The Tips of My Fingers.” The song ultimately went to #1. Other co-hosts during the shows first year included Reba McEntire
, Trisha Yearwood
, and Brooks & Dunn
. The show’s unique live sound and funny conversation quickly made it a favorite with the “hot new country” stations that were becoming popular. It wasn’t long before the show became one of the biggest country shows in the USA, and one of the most popular syndicated shows in Westwood One’s line-up.
One popular new element in recent years has been taking tape clips of previous co-hosts talking about artists in the chart, and playing them for those artists. This allowed listeners to get unique insights into their favorite stars.
The last two weeks of December feature CCUSA's annual year-end countdown. A "Top 70 program" split in two parts (songs 36-70 in Week 1, the top 35 in the following show), Helton features interview highlights from the past year, plus a "live" interview with the artist having the No. 1 song of the year. Stations can play each three-hour program separately, while many often will play both parts -- as a six-hour program -- during at least one of the two weekends.
of the influential Dallas station KPLX. That same year, Lon Helton suggested to Norm that some highlights from CCUSA could be turned into a daily 90-second show. That show was named Country’s Inside Trak, and was launched as a companion to the weekly show.
Over the years, Lon Helton hosted numerous country specials for Westwood One. Country Takes Manhattan was a week-long live concert series broadcast live from venues in New York. The Country Freedom Concert was a live simulcast of the CMT
concert special which raised funds for victims of 9-11.
In 2002 the show was renamed CMT’s Country Countdown USA, as part of the newly launched collaboration with CMT. When Radio & Records was merged into Billboard
in 2006, CMT's Country Countdown USA continued using the Mediabase 24/7 chart, which is also used by Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40
. Concurrently, in August 2006 Lon exited Radio & Records to launch his own Country trade publication, Country Aircheck.
in 2002 and 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010. He won the same award from the Academy of Country Music in 2009. In 2006, Lon was inducted into the Country DJ Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee
.
Country Music Television
Country Music Television, or CMT, is an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming includes music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies of country music stars, game shows, and reality programs...
Country Countdown USA is a nationally syndicated weekly country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
top-30 chart countdown program hosted by Lon Helton.
Debut
The show premiered in April 1992. The program began as the brainchild of Westwood OneWestwood One
Westwood One was an American radio network and was based in New York City. At one time, it was managed by CBS Radio, the radio arm of CBS Corporation, and Viacom and was later purchased by the private equity firm The Gores Group...
Chairman Norman J. Pattiz
Norman J. Pattiz
Norman J. Pattiz is an American broadcasting executive. He is a founder and former chairman of radio industry giant Westwood One.He is also a member of the University of California Board of Regents and used to sit on the board of the Broadcasting Board of Governors...
who assigned the project to his programming VP, Gary Landis. Although Westwood One had several country programs, mainly through its co-owned Mutual Broadcasting System
Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System was an American radio network, in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the golden age of U.S. radio drama, MBS was best known as the original network home of The Lone Ranger and The Adventures of Superman and as the long-time radio residence of The Shadow...
, the company didn’t have a weekly country countdown show.
At the time, the leader was American Country Countdown
American Country Countdown
American Country Countdown, also known as ACC or American Country Countdown with Kix Brooks, is an internationally syndicated radio program which counts down the top 30 country songs of the previous week, from No. 30 to No. 1, according to the Mediabase country chart...
with Bob Kingsley
Bob Kingsley
Bob Kingsley is an American country music radio personality and host of the nationally syndicated programs "Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40" and "Bob Kingsley with Today's Hit Makers."...
(now hosted by Kix Brooks
Kix Brooks
Leon Eric "Kix" Brooks III , is an American country music artist, best known for being one half of the duo Brooks & Dunn.-Early life:...
). It was a traditional countdown show modeled after Casey Kasem
Casey Kasem
Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
’s American Top 40
American Top 40
American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs. Originally a production of Watermark Inc...
. Other shows on the air at the time included Unistar’s Weekly Country Music Countdown with Chris Charles (no longer on the air) and TNN
The Nashville Network
The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows...
’s Crook & Chase
Crook & Chase
Crook & Chase is an American television talk show hosted by Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase, focusing primarily but not exclusively on country music....
Top 40 (still on the air). The latter two included pre-recorded interview clips with artists, while ACC was strictly a scripted show.
Format
Landis' concept was simple: A DJ and a country star co-host would count down the week’s top 30 and talk about the songs and artists in the chart. Gary first began looking for talent. Numerous DJs were considered, before they decided on Radio & RecordsRadio & Records
Radio & Records was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It originally started out as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006, up until its final issue in 2009.-History:The company was founded in 1973 and...
Landis then looked for a producer to oversee the program. Mutual Broadcasting System Senior Producer George Achaves quickly jumped at the chance. George had worked with Lon on a short-lived weekly country show called “Listen In.” He also did Mutual’s holiday country specials with WHN
WHN
WHN was a radio station in New York City located at 1050 kHz. Its best known format was country music, which the station played from 1972 to 1987...
DJ Lee Arnold. Lon’s office manager, Jo Pincek, was tapped to handle artist relations. The show became the first Westwood One show to be delivered exclusively on compact disc.
History
When Country Countdown USA began on April 4, 1992, the show had about 75 affiliates, including WYNY-FM New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and KLAC Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. The first co-host was Steve Wariner
Steve Wariner
Steven Noel "Steve" Wariner is an American country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. He has released eighteen studio albums, including six on MCA Records, and three each on RCA Records, Arista Records and Capitol Records...
, who was enjoying his first hit on the new Arista Records Nashville label, “The Tips of My Fingers.” The song ultimately went to #1. Other co-hosts during the shows first year included Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire
Reba Nell McEntire is an American country music artist and actress. She began her career in the music industry as a high school student singing in the Kiowa High School band , on local radio shows with her siblings, and at rodeos. As a solo act, she was invited to perform at a rodeo in Oklahoma...
, Trisha Yearwood
Trisha Yearwood
Patricia Lynn Yearwood, professionally known as Trisha Yearwood , is an American country music artist. She is best known for her ballads about vulnerable young women from a female perspective that have been described by some music critics as "strong" and "confident."Trisha Yearwood signed with MCA...
, and Brooks & Dunn
Brooks & Dunn
Brooks & Dunn was an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, who were both vocalists and songwriters. They were paired by record producer Tim DuBois in 1990. Before the duo's foundation, both members of the duo were solo recording artists...
. The show’s unique live sound and funny conversation quickly made it a favorite with the “hot new country” stations that were becoming popular. It wasn’t long before the show became one of the biggest country shows in the USA, and one of the most popular syndicated shows in Westwood One’s line-up.
Features
Regular features in the show include The Week’s Hottest Song, which was originally based on a feature in Radio & Records. The newspaper eliminated the feature in the late 90s, but it was kept in the radio show, basing it on the song in the Top 5 with the most increased points. During the early years, the show also featured disc jockeys from the show's affiliates talking about upcoming concert attractions in their area before introducing a hot-breaking song at their station (always a song that had yet to reach the top 30).One popular new element in recent years has been taking tape clips of previous co-hosts talking about artists in the chart, and playing them for those artists. This allowed listeners to get unique insights into their favorite stars.
The last two weeks of December feature CCUSA's annual year-end countdown. A "Top 70 program" split in two parts (songs 36-70 in Week 1, the top 35 in the following show), Helton features interview highlights from the past year, plus a "live" interview with the artist having the No. 1 song of the year. Stations can play each three-hour program separately, while many often will play both parts -- as a six-hour program -- during at least one of the two weekends.
Success
The success of Country Countdown USA and the continued boom in country music led to the creation of several other regular country shows at Westwood One. At the time, the company did a new release show for pop radio hosted by Joel Denver called Future Hits. So Norm Pattiz asked his staff to create a Country Future Hits. The show, also produced by CCUSA producer George Achaves, was named Country’s Cutting Edge, and it debuted in 1993. The first host was Brad Chambers, program directorProgram director
In service industries, such as education, a program director or programme director researches, plans, develops and implements one or more of the firm's professional services...
of the influential Dallas station KPLX. That same year, Lon Helton suggested to Norm that some highlights from CCUSA could be turned into a daily 90-second show. That show was named Country’s Inside Trak, and was launched as a companion to the weekly show.
Over the years, Lon Helton hosted numerous country specials for Westwood One. Country Takes Manhattan was a week-long live concert series broadcast live from venues in New York. The Country Freedom Concert was a live simulcast of the CMT
Country Music Television
Country Music Television, or CMT, is an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming includes music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies of country music stars, game shows, and reality programs...
concert special which raised funds for victims of 9-11.
In 2002 the show was renamed CMT’s Country Countdown USA, as part of the newly launched collaboration with CMT. When Radio & Records was merged into Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
in 2006, CMT's Country Countdown USA continued using the Mediabase 24/7 chart, which is also used by Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40
Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40
Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40 is an American country music radio countdown show hosted by former American Country Countdown host Bob Kingsley. The show is produced by Kingsley's KCCS Productions and distributed by Dial Global. It uses the Mediabase Country Singles chart as its source...
. Concurrently, in August 2006 Lon exited Radio & Records to launch his own Country trade publication, Country Aircheck.
Awards
CCUSA host Lon Helton was named the National Air Personality of the Year by the Country Music AssociationCountry Music Association
The Country Music Association was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of only 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre...
in 2002 and 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010. He won the same award from the Academy of Country Music in 2009. In 2006, Lon was inducted into the Country DJ Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
.