Crook & Chase
Weekends 6AM to 10AM
Lorianne Crook
Birthdate: February 19
Hometown: Wichita, Kansas. Moved to Nashville with family at age 5.
Family: Father is a chemist, mother is an elementary school teacher. One older sister and one younger brother. Married television producer Jim Owens in 1985. No children, but they have three beautiful cats!
Education: McGavock High School, Nashville. Magna cum laude graduate of Vanderbilt University, Nashville. Bachelor of Arts degree in Russian and Chinese languages. Graduate of Indiana University, Slavic Language School.
Previous Jobs: In junior high and high school: babysitting, taking in neighbor's laundry. During college: waitressing, Hawaiian dance team, cheerleader for Nashville Sounds Baseball Team (she says 'don't laugh'...it helped put her through college!)
Extracurricular Activities: High School: Class President, Cheerleading Captain, Homecoming Queen, Russian Club, Gymnastics Team. College: Top Ten Finalist, Miss Nashville Pageant (country star, Lorrie Morgan was 1st runner up!), Dobro Slovo Russian Language Club.
Most Unusual College Experience: On the day of a difficult and scary Russian exam, only three students showed up in class...Lorianne and two other female language majors. The professor, Dr. Richard Porter, was so disappointed in the rest of the class that he automatically gave Lorianne and the other two ladies an A, then took them to a fancy lunch at the professor's club instead of giving them the test. During that lunch, he dubbed them "Dickie's Angels" for being brave enough to show up and face his most difficult exam.
Crook & Chase: Lorianne and Charlie first teamed up in 1983 to host the nationally syndicated This Week In Country Music. It was later seen every weekend on TNN, The Nashville Network . Soon, Lorianne and Charlie were hosting the daily Crook & Chase show, which was named Best Entertainment News Program by Cable Guide magazine, in 1988. In 1992, that same magazine named Lorianne one of the "Ten Most Beautiful Women on Cable Television". Crook & Chase later hosted TNN's flagship prime time live show, Music City Tonight. In 1996 and 1997, Crook & Chase again went into national syndication, doing their unique daily show for Universal Studios in Los Angeles, while continuing to host two shows a week for TNN. Crook & Chase remained with TNN until its demise as a country network in 2000.
Radio: Lorianne and Charlie host a long-running weekly radio show called "The Crook and Chase Countdown", as well as the weekday country news features "Crook and Chase Updates".
Books: In 1995, Lorianne and Charlie published their first literary work, "Crook and Chase: Our Lives, the Music, and the Stars". The book shares their insider's view of the industry, its stars, and themselves.
Hobbies: Lorianne is a big fan of Martha Stewart, and now spends her free time cooking, gardening, and decorating the house. In recent years, Lorianne has returned to college to study nutrition. She is also an avid reader, favoring autobiographies and inspirational books of all kinds. She and her husband also make time to relax at their 4-story chalet in the Smoky Mountains with a spectacular view of Mount LeConte.
Charlie Chase
Birthdate: October 19
Hometown: Rogersville, Tennessee. Moved to Nashville in 1974.
Family: Wife, Karen (married in December, 1971). One daughter, Rachael. One son, Dave. Three dogs and two grand-dogs.
Broadcast Career: Forty years and counting! Began radio career at age 13 in Rogersville, TN, working parttime. Later worked on-air jobs while serving as Program and Music Director in Kingsport, Knoxville, and, later, Nashville, landing at the world famous WSM Radio--replacing Pat Sajak when he decided to pursue television.
Path to TV: While working at WSM Radio, began doing music reports for Channel 4 in Nashville. This lead to being offered the host position for the station's long-running midday magazine program in 1982. It was during that stint that television producer Jim Owens connected with Charlie to begin This Week in Country Music, which debuted in 1983.
Other Television Credits: Hosted and produced the highly-rated series of specials: Funny Business with Charlie Chase. Served as host of local Easter Seals Telethon in Nashville for 18 years. Also served as a national host with Pat Boone in Hollywood for four years in addition to serving on the Easter Seals Board of Directors.
Hobbies: Golf. Plays regularly in tournaments that benefit a number of charities. Past playing partners include John Daly, Fuzzy Zoeller, Bob Murphy, Troy Aikman, former Vice President Dan Quayle, and other sports and music figures who also look at golf as a way to get out of the house. Also enjoys visiting historic sites and searching for antiques.
Check out the Crook & Chase webpage!
Great American Classic with Bill Cody
Sundays
Preacher Bill and Momma Helen’s baby boy, Bill Cody, was born in Alabama and raised in Kentucky. He started in radio at the age of 12 in his hometown of Lebanon, KY. After radio stints in Lexington, Louisville, Orlando and San Antonio, he fulfilled his childhood dream when he came to 650 AM WSM in April 1994. Bill is also seen as host of GAC TV’s Master Series and co-hosts Tennessee’s Wildside on PBS. Bill Cody’s Classic Country Weekend show is heard Saturday mornings on WSM and around the world in syndication. Bill and his wife, Rebecca live their lives somewhere between culture and agriculture on a rural route near Cross Plains, TN. All their money goes to pay for car insurance and tuition for their 3 young adult children and pet food for their 5 dogs and 3 cats.
Jeff Foxworthy
Sundays
Jeff Foxworthy is one of the most respected and successful comedians in the country. He is the largest selling comedy-recording artist in history, a multiple Grammy Award nominee and best selling author of more than 22 books. Widely known for his redneck jokes, his act goes well beyond that to explore the humor in everyday family interactions and human nature, a style that has been compared to Mark Twain’s.
Foxworthy is currently hosting the show Are Your Smarter Than A 5th Grader, which will air on FOX after American Idol. He was most recently seen in a show for CMT called, Foxworthy’s Big Night Out, which he executive produced and starred in. The DVD for the show will be released in April 2007 around the time Jeff hosts the CMT Music Awards. Prior to this show, Foxworthy starred in and executive produced the television series, Blue Collar TV, which he created for the WB network. Blue Collar TV came about due to the success of Blue Collar Comedy Tour, The Movie and the concert tour of the same name. The movie premiered on Comedy Central and was the highest rated movie in the channel’s history. It is available on DVD/VHS and to date has sold more than 4 million units. The soundtrack for this movie has been RIAA certified gold (more than 500,000 units) and continues to chart in the Billboard Comedy Chart’s top 10. Surf to Jeff's site...
