Jimmy Carter, the Nashville entertainment reporter, has died at 73. His family confirmed to WSMV 4 that he died in his sleep. Country Insider reported that he died Tuesday, October 13.
Carter was a longtime presence in country-music broadcasting, known for celebrity interviews, red-carpet coverage and radio reports. He was the Nashville journalist, not the former U.S. president with the same name.
Jimmy Carter’s decades covering Nashville and Hollywood
Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Carter began working in radio as a teenager. He joined WSMV-TV in 1982 and spent 21 years as the station’s entertainment reporter, according to Country Insider.
His interviews ranged from Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson to Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone and Kevin Costner. His career also included television production and work connected to networks and programs such as TNN and Crook & Chase.
In recent years, he remained a contributor to WSM’s Coffee, Country & Cody. His reports also reached listeners through live call-ins to country-radio morning shows.
WSM remembers a friend and broadcaster
In a tribute quoted by The Music Universe, WSM remembered Carter as “a trusted source, a gifted broadcaster, and a friend to countless artists, listeners, and colleagues.”
The family statement describes him as having died in his sleep; the reports do not establish a medical cause of death. Country Insider said funeral arrangements were pending.
Sources: WSMV 4, Country Insider and The Music Universe. Featured image is a respectful editorial cartoon, not a photograph. See our Editorial Standards.
