Bob Kingsley

Robert Gibson Kingsley[2] (March 19, 1939 – October 17, 2019) was an American country music radio personality. He was host of the nationally syndicated programs American Country Countdown (ACC) from 1978 to 2005 and Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40 from 2006 until his death in 2019.

Bob Kingsley
Born
Robert Gibson Kingsley

(1939-03-19)March 19, 1939[1]
DiedOctober 17, 2019(2019-10-17) (aged 80)
Weatherford, Texas, U.S.
OccupationRadio personality
Known for
Spouse(s)
Nan Kingsley
(
m. 1990)
AwardsNational Radio Hall of Fame member

Early career

Kingsley, while serving with the United States Air Force in 1959, began his radio career at TFK, the Armed Forces Radio Service station in Keflavik, Iceland. He jocked at Los Angeles country station KGBS from 1961 to 1969, and then in 1970 became program director at KLAC, which had just dropped MOR for a country format.

American Country Countdown

Kingsley rose to national prominence in 1974 when he became the producer of the nationally syndicated American Country Countdown[3][4] program started a year earlier by Casey Kasem and Don Bustany. Kingsley succeeded the program's original host, Don Bowman, beginning with the May 6–7, 1978 show.[5] Concurrently, Kingsley was providing voice-overs for Drake-Chenault Enterprises and its automated country music programming service.

Under Kingsley's watch, ACC became a top-rated syndicated radio program, winning numerous awards. That list includes Billboard's "Network/Syndicated Program of the Year: Country" for 16 years in a row, the only on air personality and music program in any format to achieve this continued success. Kingsley won Country Music Association National Broadcast Personality of the Year honors in 2001 and 2003.

Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40

In 2006, Kingsley signed a new distribution deal with Jones Radio Network (later acquired by Dial Global and which, in turn, was subsequently acquired by Cumulus Media). The new countdown program is called Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40. His two-minute program is called Bob Kingsley with Today's Hit Makers. In 2015, Kingsley-era "ACC" programs received new life when Nash Icon (the media brand and network of country music stations owned by Cumulus Media) announced it would begin distributing classic ACC programs for syndication under the name American Country Countdown Rewind With Bob Kingsley, starting that May.[6][7] With BKCT40 signing a distribution deal with Skyview Networks since Bob Kingsley's death, Cumulus/WW1 has discontinued ACC Rewind.

Illness and death

In October 2019, Kingsley was diagnosed with bladder cancer, forcing him to cede hosting duties for what was initially intended to be a temporary leave of absence to treat the disease.[8] Kingsley died at his home in Weatherford, Texas on October 17, 2019 at the age of 80.[9]

Honors

In 2010, Kingsley was nominated for the National Radio Hall of Fame.[10] In November 2016, Kingsley was elected into it in the Music Format On-Air Personality category.

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References
  1. "Remembering Bob Kingsley" (PDF). Country Aircheck. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  2. https://tasteofcountry.com/bob-kingsley-dead/
  3. http://www.allaccess.com/power-player/archive/10693/bob-kingsley
  4. Hall, Claude, "Vox Jox," Billboard, June 15, 1974. Via Google Books, accessed 04-24-2015.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2011-07-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "NASH Icon Partners With Bob Kingsley For ACC-Rewind," Media Confidential, April 17, 2015. Accessed 04-23-2015.
  7. "NASH To Launch 'American Country Countdown Rewind With Bob Kingsley'," All Access, April 17, 2015. Accessed 04-22-2015.
  8. "Bob Kingsley Takes Leave From Country Top 40 Due To Cancer Diagnosis; Top Female Artists To Guest Host". RadioInsight.com. October 9, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  9. "Bob Kingsley Dies At Age 80". All Access. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  10. http://www.dfw.com/2010/07/27/311602/country-dj-bob-kingsley-nominated.html%5B%5D
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