Jim Reeves

It's more tragic when it's unexpected, as is the case with these country singers who died before their time.

May they rest in peace ...

Yes, it's cool to be brand new and everything, but it's even MORE cool to be one of the few stations in the US to go almost half a century without changing formats.Who can say THAT?   WGNA went on the air on December 5th, 1973 and still going strong. Now THAT's something to sing about!

July 31, 1964 Jim Reeves lost his life in a plane crash while traveling back to Tennessee in a thunderstorm. Sadly, Reeves was only 40 and at the peak of his career when he passed. Reeves went out on top with his 6th No. 1 single, 'I Guess I'm Crazy,' sitting at No. 1 on the charts when the plane went down.

Today is a special day on WGNA, as we honor the 60th birthday of Richie Phillips!

Every Sunday Morning, 6-9am, I host WGNA's Classic Country Hall of Fame Show. As I look through the records and compact discs I use every week, I'm reminded of how many of these great artists are no longer living. With this in mind, I decided to honor 10 singers that left us way too young, and in my opinion, still had some songs to sing!

This morning, Richie had us all laughing with his sentimental message to Hosni Mubarak.  In a classic smooth Jim Reeves style Richie changed the words to "He'll Have To Go" to "Mabarak Has To Go."  Well, he is going!