weekly October 20, 2025, Issue 983
Brown, Carter Cash and Chesney Join Hall
Country Music Hall of Fame CEO Kyle Young called all gathered for this year’s Medallion Ceremony to the task of honoring “three ambitious children of Appalachia” Sunday evening (10/19) in Nashville, and the mix of music, stories and gratitude was, as is ordinary for the event, extraordinary. “This year’s class is bound by one word: driven,” said CMA CEO Sarah Trahern, and the night’s testimony bore that out on behalf of Tony Brown, June Carter Cash and Kenny Chesney. Press On: Each inductee was honored with a video bio, expository remarks from Kenny Chesney Young and musical performances. For the late June Carter Cash, the latter were Kacey Musgraves and Daniel Tashian on “Ring Of Fire,” Keb’ Mo’ and Ruby Amanfu on “Keep On The Sunny Side” and Lukas Nelson on “It Ain’t Me.” Emmylou Harris handled induction honors for “my beautiful friend June Carter Cash,” as she put it. Recounting a holiday visit to the Cash home in Jamaica, she said, “June was, of course, Tony Brown the ultimate southern hostess attending to our every need and comfort. That is until she brought out the Scrabble board – and then all bets were off ... Behind that sweet, innocent smile lurked a relentless competitor.” Emphasizing that June never put herself above her audience, Harris said, “June made it her business to celebrate, to encourage and lift up all of us. And she did it with her whole heart and with a rare and genuine grace.” John Carter Cash and Carlene Carter John Carter Cash and Carlene Carter accepted induction on their mother’s behalf. “My mother never met a stranger,” John Carter said. “Of course, she was a great artist, great entertainer, but it is her love that put her [in the hall]. An undying belief that the circle would endure. She sang that song around the (continued on page 7)
The Boys Of Hall: Tony Brown; June Carter Cash’s children, John Carter Cash and Carlene Carter; and Kenny Chesney (l-r) in the Hall of Fame Rotunda at last night’s (10/19) induction.
Q3 PPM Drivetime Leaders
Following the release of the September Nielsen PPM monthlies, Country Aircheck has analyzed Q2 numbers to determine the stations with leading shares and cumes in drivetimes. Quarterly averages eliminate the wobbles that can be present at a daypart level on a month-to-month basis. All figures are Persons 6+. Mornings: All of Q2’s leaders have repeated in Q3, except for morning drive cume. For the first time, KSCS/Dallas lands at the top with Mark “Hawkeye” Louis and Michelle Rodriguez pulling in slightly more than 300,000 listeners. That puts them 5,500 ahead of the secondplace Q Morning Show on KKBQ/Houston. Last quarter’s leaders, WUSN/Chicago’s Melissa McGurren and Austin Huff, slip to third place with 291,000. In terms of share, WWYZ/Hartford’s Damon Scott and Amanda Jo Parker solidify their lead with a 1.1 share increase. Just two tenths of a share behind them is KSOP/Salt Lake City’s Dave Gunderson and Deb (continued on page 3)
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