Country music fans are mourning the loss of one of the most familiar and beloved voices in the business.
Bill Cody, the longtime WSM radio personality and Grand Ole Opry announcer who helped wake up generations of country fans, has died. He was 67.
WSM Radio announced Cody’s death Tuesday in Nashville, sending shockwaves through the country music world.
For more than 30 years, Cody was a comforting voice to millions of listeners who tuned in from their homes, cars, trucks and workplaces. Since 1994, he had been a staple on Nashville’s legendary WSM-AM, where he hosted the popular morning show Coffee, Country & Cody.
He also became one of the voices most closely tied to the Grand Ole Opry, the legendary stage that has helped define country music for nearly a century.
No official cause of death has been released.
However, Cody’s health had become a major concern in recent weeks. Members of the country music community had been asking for prayers after his daughter revealed he was in critical condition and needed heart and kidney transplants.
After news of his death broke, tributes poured in from some of the biggest names in country music.
“There might be someone somewhere in the world who loved country music as much, but nobody loved country music more than Bill Cody,” Garth Brooks wrote.
Dierks Bentley called Cody one of the genre’s great pillars.
“Country music has lost one of its pillars,” Bentley wrote. “Bill was just as important to the fabric of our music and city as any artist, songwriter or musician. No one loved country music, its history and its characters more than Bill Cody.”
Ty Herndon also shared an emotional tribute, saying Cody did far more than simply work in country music.
“Bill Cody was one of those rare people who didn’t just work in Country Music — he lived it, protected it, and loved it with every fiber of his being,” Herndon wrote.
He praised Cody as a trusted voice, a champion of artists and a keeper of country music’s stories.
“Whether you were a superstar or a struggling songwriter with a dream, Bill made you feel like you mattered,” Herndon added.
Cody’s journey into broadcasting began when he was just 17 years old. According to Variety, he answered a help-wanted ad at a Kentucky radio station and launched a career that would eventually make him one of the most respected voices in country radio.
Born Trent Clutts, he later adopted the name Bill Cody on the air as a nod to his childhood hero, Buffalo Bill Cody.
Over the decades, Cody became more than a radio host. To many country fans, he was a trusted friend who knew the music, loved the history and respected the people behind the songs.
His work earned him major honors along the way. He was inducted into the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame in 2008 and received a star on Nashville’s Music City Walk of Fame in 2024.
Cody is also set to be inducted posthumously into the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame later this year.
The Grand Ole Opry will honor Cody’s memory during Saturday night’s live broadcast. WSM also plans to air a special marathon featuring memorable moments from Coffee, Country & Cody.
For country music fans, Cody’s death marks the end of an era.
He was not just a man behind a microphone. He was part of the heartbeat of Nashville.
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