Since publishing the dissertation that became the eminently readable (and recently updated) book Country Music USA in 1968, Bill Malone has become a widely recognized and respected country music scholar.
For over 23 years Madison and South Central Wisconsin were fortunate to have Bill grace the WORT airwaves Wednesday mornings with ‘Back to the Country’; a show that brought together Bill’s talents as a musician, teacher, historian, and connoisseur of exceptional country music.
Bill’s wife Bobbie joined the Back To The Country crew after she retired from her job at the Wisconsin Historical Society in 2011. She sat across from Bill, quietly stitching, chiming in to help fill in the gaps of his many stories with a bubbly effervescence to her husband’s smooth style.
After 23 years our wonderful ride with the Malones comes to an end as Bill and Bobbie are returning to their beloved Texas at the end of June. They wanted to do one last live show from the WORT studios before they left. Please tune in Wednesday, June 17, from 9 am – 12 pm for farewell words and a specially selected playlist.
Unfortunately, the station will not be able to take calls during the show, due to our limited staffing during the Covid crisis. But we’ve created the special email address BTTC@wortfm.org. just for this occasion. Bill and Bobbie’s weekly presence has been a bright spot for so many of our listeners and we encourage you to send your thoughts, comments and well wishes to the dynamic duo as they sign off for the last time.
Everyone involved in WORT wishes our friends the very best as they head south for warmer days year ‘round.
We understand, they’ve gotta go, they’ve got Texas in their souls.
