06/22/2024
Jeremy Tepper—who died on June 14 of a heart attack at age sixty—will be remembered as an important figure in American music because of his impassioned and successful efforts to help roots-music and country artists reach listeners and build audiences. As the longtime program director for Sirius XM’s Outlaw Country, Willie’s Roadhouse, and other channels, he championed iconoclasts who didn’t fit commercial radio formats and veterans whose longevity aged them out of playlists and major label rosters.
He was a pillar of the Americana Music format and that community. He took the bold step of hiring recording artists without radio experience to host programs, including Elizabeth Cook, Steve Earle, Jim Lauderdale, Buddy Miller, Mojo Nixon, Ranger Doug of Riders in the Sky, Jeannie Seely, Dwight Yoakam, and others. He also spearheaded the popular Outlaw Music Cruise.
A native of New York state, Tepper worked as a music journalist while leading a country-rock band, the World Famous Bluejays, when he became frustrated by the lack of exposure given to music he loved. He co-founded Diesel Only Records, which found an audience with a series of country single releases and “Rig Rock Deluxe,” a 1996 various-artist album featuring trucking songs by the Bottle Rockets, BR549, Junior Brown, Bill Kirchen, Nick Lowe, Buck Owens, Don Walser, Kelly Willis, and more. In 2001, he programmed a CD compilation of classic country trucking songs for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and Audium Records: “Truck Driver’s Boogie: Big Rig Hits.”
As a journalist, Tepper served for two years (2002–2004) as editor of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s magazine, the “Journal of Country Music,” and contributed to “Pulse!” magazine and other publications. He joined the online music broadcast community in its pioneering days, working for eMusic and other websites.
More than his work, Tepper was renowned for his enthusiastic presence at concerts and music gatherings throughout the United States. Tributes in the wake of his death focused as much on personal relationships as on professional achievements. Tepper is survived by his wife of twenty-seven years, country singer and broadcast personality Laura Cantrell, and their daughter, Bella.
Pictured from left: Jeremy Tepper, Jeannie Seely, Bill Anderson.
