Bill Cody, one of the nation's most revered country radio personalities from his decades-long roles as an announcer for the Grand Ole Opry and WSM morning show host, died Tuesday in Nashville. He was 67.

In recent days, much of Nashville's country music community had sent out calls for prayer on behalf of Cody, after his daughter said in late May that he was in critical condition and could only survive if he received heart and kidney transplants. In sharing news of his passing Tuesday night, David wrote on Facebook,  We will never be able to thank everyone for the outpouring of love and the sincere prayers over the last few weeks. We know God heard them and we feel a deep peace that one day we will understand why God chose to still take him. 

Cody had been on the air with the station that airs the Opry, WSM-AM, since 1994 (apart from a brief detour to sister station WSM-FM in the late '90s), He hosted the popular morning show  Coffee, Country   Cody,  which few country stars worth their salt had not made appearances on over the last 32 years.

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He was inducted into the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame in 2008. Cody also received a star on the Music City Walk of Fame in 2024, and he will be posthumously inducted into the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame later this year.

A number of country stars issued statements saluting Cody soon after word of his death got out.

Said Garth Brooks,  There might be someone somewhere in the world who loved country music as much, but nobody loved country music more than Bill Cody. 

Wrote Dierks Bentley:  Country music has lost one of its pillars. Bill was just as important to the fabric of our music and city as any artist, songwriter or musician. No one loved country music, its history and its characters more than Bill Cody. Prayers to his family and Charlie and Kelly and everyone that knew and loved him at WSM and the Opry. 

Said Carly Pearce,  Bill Cody devoted his life to telling the story of country music. With a legacy spanning decades, he will be marked as one of the greatest of all time. For me, he was so much more than that

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