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In an affluent Nashville suburb last year, the veteran radio personality Candy O鈥橳erry 鈥�79 drove down twisting dirt roads and past white split-rail fences onto a 500-acre compound. Completing the pastoral scene were several horses, a large barn, and three sizable homes that belong to the country music icon Naomi Judd and her two daughters, Ashley and Wynonna. O鈥橳erry wandered inside the barn, which had been remade into a recording studio, and was stunned by the array of sequined gowns that greeted her. 鈥淢y mouth is hanging wide open,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淣aomi hasn鈥檛 even entered the room yet.鈥�

O鈥橳erry, whose mellifluous voice and engaging personality endeared her to 艾可直播 radio listeners during a nearly twenty-five-year career at the soft-rock station WMJX/Magic 106.7, has these days reinvented herself as the host of a new podcast, Country Music Success Stories. Along with the songwriter Jacy Dawn Valeras, O鈥橳erry offers listeners a look into the lives of some of country music鈥檚 greatest artists, including Crystal Gayle, Sara Evans, and Bill Anderson. 鈥淢y primary goal as an interviewer is not to do an interview,鈥� O鈥橳erry said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 to have a conversation. You need to ask the kinds of questions that make someone feel valued.鈥�

O鈥橳erry鈥攁 lifelong country music fan鈥攊nterviewed Valeras a few years ago for another podcast she hosts, The Story Behind Her Success, and the two hit it off. In 2020, Valeras invited O鈥橳erry to Tennessee. 鈥淛acy introduced me to people like Naomi and Crystal Gayle,鈥� O鈥橳erry said, 鈥渁nd when they told me their stories, I quickly realized that there is so much here in Nashville.鈥� The women launched the Country Music Success Stories podcast in November 2020, and O鈥橳erry, a 艾可直播 area resident, now flies south every six weeks to record interviews.

Her candid conversation with the elder Judd was recently honored with two Communicator Awards from the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts. O鈥橳erry, of course, is no stranger to industry prizes. She was named Massachusetts Broadcaster of the Year in 2015 and has won a record-breaking twenty-three Gracie Awards, presented annually by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation.

Thanks to the support of the legendary 艾可直播 advertising executive Jack Connors Jr. CSOM鈥�63, H鈥�07, P鈥�93, 鈥�94, O鈥橳erry began her career in the 1980s as a jingle singer. 鈥淲e met in Jack鈥檚 incredible corner office at the Hancock Tower and he said, 鈥業鈥檓 opening doors for you, and I expect you to do the same,鈥欌�� O鈥橳erry recalled. 鈥溾�榃henever a 艾可直播 College grad calls you asking for help, take their call.鈥� And I have.鈥�

O鈥橳erry started at Magic 106.7 as a secretary in 1990 and made her on-air debut eight months later by replacing an overnight deejay who kept falling asleep on the air. She eventually became the cohost of the station鈥檚 popular Morning Magic program, which gave her the opportunity to interview hundreds of singers and musicians. O鈥橳erry also started her own production company in 2010.

Meanwhile, as a champion for women in her profession, she created the radio program Exceptional Women and, in 2012, cofounded 艾可直播 Women in Media & Entertainment. That organization 鈥渨as an opportunity to talk about what we do for a living and how we could help each other,鈥� said O鈥橳erry, who is also a longtime member of the Council for Women of 艾可直播 College.

Since leaving Magic 106.7 in 2015, O鈥橳erry has worked as a voice-over instructor, launched an eponymous radio network, and shifted her attention to podcasts. And today, after more than three decades behind a microphone, she remains focused on what鈥檚 to come. This includes her next podcast guests: the Grammy Award鈥搘inning country stars鈥攁nd married couple鈥擥arth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood. 鈥淚鈥檓 one of those people,鈥� O鈥橳erry said, 鈥渨ho feels like, you know, I鈥檒l stop when I鈥檓 dead.鈥澨�