Stan Hitchcock (Photo courtesy of MusicRow)
The country music world is mourning a former area resident partly responsible for the launch of the Country Music Television (CMT) cable channel. Stan Hitchcock died Jan. 4 at the age of 86.
According to Nashville music industry publication MusicRow, Hitchcock grew up on a farm near Branson, and by his teenage years, he became a disc jockey at two different radio stations in Springfield. He relocated to Nashville in 1967 after serving in the United States Navy and signed with Columbia Records. Hitchcock placed 14 tunes on the country charts through 1981. His biggest hit as a singer was “Honey, I’m Home,” which became a top-20 hit for Epic Records in 1969.
Hitchcock also became a television host while in Nashville. He hosted a local morning show on WLAC-TV, and the Stan Hitchcock Show aired in national syndication from Nashville between 1964 and 1970. In the 1980s, he became a member of the team that founded CMT (initially called CMTV) and headed the Nashville operation of the channel.
In addition, Hitchcock hosted Stan Hitchcock from the Ozarks on TV between 1979 and 1983. During this time, he also commenced his Heart To Heart show, taping most of its shows in Nashville. According to KYTV/KSPR, Heart to Heart introduced various artists to TV audiences, including Travis Tritt, Alabama, Reba McEntire, the Oak Ridge Boys, Keith Whitley and Garth Brooks.
After CMT was sold to Gaylord Entertainment in 1991, Hitchcock relocated to Branson and became founder, president and chairman of Americana Television Network. The cable channel presented roots-music programs featuring folk, country, gospel, bluegrass and blues. It later became known as BlueHighways TV.
In 1997, Hitchcock moved Hitchcock Productions to Hendersonville, Tenn., and continued producing programming for cable, broadcast and home-video distributors. He authored a book in 2009 called At The Corner of Music Row and Memory Lane about his life in country music.
Services for Hitchcock are scheduled for Jan. 28 in Gallatin, Tenn. Memorial contributions may be made to the Good Samaritan Boys in Brighton, Mo.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI