Charlie Cook’s career in Country radio began in 1972 at WSDS in Ypsilanti, Mich. From there, his stops included KLAK, Denver, and WHN, New York. In 1980, he flipped KHJ in Los Angeles to Country before joining KLAC.
From there, he spent 12 years with McVay Media as the senior vice president of Country programming, consulting more than 40 stations. Cook also served as Westwood One’s vice president of Country Programming.
Most recently, he was Cumulus Media’s VP of Country, based in Nashville. He also served as cluster OM and Program Director for WKDF and WSM-FM 95.5 NASH Icon.
He was inducted into the Country Radio Hall of Fame in 2011. Cook retired from the business on May 31st of this year.
I caught up with him to discuss life after radio, reflect on his remarkable career, and look to the future of Country radio.
I started by asking what it was like to retire and step away from day-to-day operations after a 54-year career.
“So, my first thing would be don’t retire. And I don’t mean that 100%, but I will say that I miss the cowboys, but I don’t miss the rodeo. If you leave the town you were recently working in, you really do miss all the connections.”
“You miss the door jamb conversations, the coffee machine, just getting caught up about what you did over the weekend or what your friends did over the weekend, and I miss that.”
Cook and I shared time in Nashville, where invitations to concerts, showcases, and industry events could keep you busy every night. Does he miss that?
“It is special, but when you’re in the middle of it, I always thought, well, I’m not going to miss this because, for both of us, it could have something to do every single night if we wanted to. And so, I thought, well, I won’t miss that. I don’t miss the backstage access as much as I just miss the people and seeing in concerts or clubs; I miss the excitement on the listeners’ and viewers’ faces.”
“That’s what I miss. I miss seeing them loving this music so much and just kind of standing aside and watching them enjoy themselves.”
Cook remains bullish on radio and Country music but is surprised by recent radio ratings.
“I look at the ratings, and it looks to be pretty much flat across the country. I’m amazed at that because of the huge success of some of our superstars, like Jelly Roll and Lainey Wilson and Chris Stapleton.”
“When you see the huge concert success, I’m surprised that Country radio isn’t just exploding. But I guess radio’s being used differently today than it has been in the past, and maybe that’s why.”
Country radio has traditionally been an artist-driven format, but with the volume of music released on Music Row, does Cook see it becoming more song-driven?
“It is, yes. In the old days, there were nine acts. And you cycle through those nine acts on the radio, and you throw in a couple of new ones, and that’s how you get to your 14 songs an hour.”
“But that’s kind of gone, and the reason it’s gone away is because those nine acts broke down so many barriers that new acts said, oh, I want to be like so-and-so. This person led the way. I’ll just make an artist like George Strait my model. I love George Strait’s music, and that’s what I want to do.
“Well, if ten people say that, and we could do ten people right now that have said that, and all of a sudden, you’ve got 11 acts that are George Strait-like. I think that’s why, but who’s got the staying power of 61 number ones? Probably not those other 10.”
But will those ten young acts have the staying power to make it to a Nash Icon format, which Cook created for Cumulus?
“I can’t see Shaboozey on Nash Icon at any point, as an example. I can’t see even Dasha, who I love, and I love Austin; I think she’s a great talent. But some of these acts are going to be five-year acts, eight-year acts, and not 20-year acts because they don’t want to be. And I’m not holding that against them.”
“I just think they’re going to strike now, be hugely successful, and then move on to other things, or just the flame dies. And I don’t mean to pick out those two acts for that being a possibility. I just think they’re not doing the kind of music that might be around in 20 years. I may be 100% wrong.”
What is the biggest threat to Country radio?
“Probably DSPs, frankly. It’s interesting, and I’m a believer in tighter playlists. I’m not going to be a hypocrite and say, oh, I think Country radio should play 50 records on the current chart because I never did.”
“I believe that radio is an instant gratification. Somebody pushes that button; they want to hear what they want to hear.”
“DSPs have the advantage of allowing me to skip a song I don’t want to hear. The only way you skip a song on the radio is you go to another radio station, and that’s not the alternative you want to present.”
“When you look at DSPs and how many songs they’re playing on their current list, it’s 50 or 60 songs. It’s a whole different animal, and maybe somebody under 35 is looking for other things from their entertainment.”
Cook thinks there is at least one advantage that the DSPs can’t compete with.
“I think there’s nothing like the companionship that radio provides and even commercials. They’re a window to what’s going on in your town, and I think people want to know that. They want to know where the Cyber Monday sale in town is, which you don’t get from DSPs. And I think if you have a really good morning show or an afternoon show, or if you have a talent that provides companionship, friendship, and information, DSPs can’t beat that.”
I asked Cook about Patrick Thomas, who, until recently, hosted PickleJar’s “Up All Night With Patrick Thomas,” a show Cook developed.
“Love him. He was one of the most talented people on the radio because he loved talking to listeners and knew his listener base. The listeners were ecstatic about having someone live they could call in the middle of the night.”
“And a lot of people, and I’m not talking about guys leaving bars, I’m talking about people cleaning parking lots and moving trucks around, and they appreciated Patrick, and Patrick appreciated them. I think he’s as talented as anyone on the radio.”
I wondered if Cook could highlight one or two things from his remarkable career.
My highlights, seriously, are the friendships I made. It’s a fraternity, for sure, and I appreciated making all those friends. That’s probably the best part of the 54 years. Because some of them I am still friends with, going back 50 years.”
“Lon Helton and I have been friends for 50 years. He probably doesn’t want anybody to know that he would be my friend for that long. But he has been. So, yeah, I think that’s the highlight of my life.”
And what else is Cook working on these days?
“I thought this would be kind of funny – what am I doing in retirement? I am taking Spanish lessons at a local school. I can conjugate the hell out of a verb, but I can’t speak the language yet. I’m working on it.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
Jeff Lynn serves as Editor of Barrett Media’s Music Radio coverage. Prior to joining Barrett Media, Jeff spent time programming in Milwaukee, Omaha, Cleveland, Des Moines, and Madison for multiple radio groups, including iHeartMedia, Townsquare Media, NRG Media, and Entercom (now Audacy). He also worked as a Country Format Editor for All Access until the outlet shut down in August 2023.
To get in touch with Jeff by email, reach him at Jeff@BarrettMedia.com.
