CMT Country Countdown USA - Success

Success

The success of Country Countdown USA and the continued boom in country music led to the creation of several other regular country shows at Westwood One. At the time, the company did a new release show for pop radio hosted by Joel Denver called Future Hits. So Norm Pattiz asked his staff to create a Country Future Hits. The show, also produced by CCUSA producer George Achaves, was named Country’s Cutting Edge, and it debuted in 1993. The first host was Brad Chambers, program director of the influential Dallas station KPLX. That same year, Lon Helton suggested to Norm that some highlights from CCUSA could be turned into a daily 90-second show. That show was named Country’s Inside Trak, and was launched as a companion to the weekly show.

Over the years, Lon Helton hosted numerous country specials for Westwood One. Country Takes Manhattan was a week-long live concert series broadcast live from venues in New York. The Country Freedom Concert was a live simulcast of the CMT concert special which raised funds for victims of 9-11.

In 2002 the show was renamed CMT’s Country Countdown USA, as part of the newly launched collaboration with CMT. When Radio & Records was merged into Billboard in 2006, CMT's Country Countdown USA continued using the Mediabase 24/7 chart, which is also used by Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40. Concurrently, in August 2006 Lon exited Radio & Records to launch his own Country trade publication, Country Aircheck.