Former Atlanta and Houston morning host James Smith ‘Moby’ Carney passed away this morning at the age of 69 following a bout with stage 4 liver cancer.
The Crossville TN native gained his nickname when he almost drowned in a lake as a child and someone said he looked like Moby Dick splashing around in the water. He began his radio career at the age of fifteen at 1490 WCSV Crossville TN. After college he spent time at multiple stations in Nashville including WAMB, WKDF and WKQB. After a brief stint at “98 Rock” WQXM Tampa in 1981, Moby joined “97 Rock” 96.5 KSRR Houston as morning host for a five year run. He then moved to Dallas to host mornings on “97.1 The Eagle” KEGL in 1986 before returning to Houston as afternoon host on 101.1 KLOL in 1988.
Moby would come to Atlanta in the early 1990s to host mornings at Country “Kicks 101.5” WKHX-FM, which included a five year run in syndication by ABC Radio Networks, until departing in 2002. Following a brief run in mornings at Classic Rock “Z93” WZGC Atlanta, he would complete his career with a self-syndicated morning show focused on small southern towns that lasted for twelve years until his retirement at the end of 2016.
Moby is a member of the Country Radio Hall of Fame, Georgia Radio Hall of Fame, and Texas Radio Hall of Fame. He was a five-time winner of Billboard’s “Major Market Country Morning Show of the Year”.
This story first appeared on radioinsight.com