Radio host Bob Kingsley dies

Thursday, October 17, 2019 – Country radio personality Bob Kingsley, who hosted several different countdown shows during his career, died today at his home in Weatherford, Texas, at 80, due to complications from bladder cancer.

Kingsley hosted the nationally syndicated programs American Country Countdown from 1978 to 2005 and Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40 from 2006 until his death.

Kingsley started his radio career while with the U.S. Air Force in Iceland. He later worked at Los Angeles country station KGBS from 1961-69, then in 1970 became program director at KLAC.

In 1974, he became the producer of the nationally syndicated ACC program started a year earlier by Casey Kasem and Don Bustany. Kingsley hosted the program beginning with the May 6-7, 1978 show.

ACC became a top-rated syndicated radio program. Kingsley won Country Music Association National Broadcast Personality of the Year honors in 2001 and 2003.

In 2006, Kingsley signed a new distribution deal with Jones Radio Network.The new countdown program was called Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40. In 2015, Kingsley-era ACC programs received new life when Nash Icon (the media brand and network of country music stations owned by Cumulus Media) said it would start distributing classic ACC programs for syndication under the name American Country Countdown Rewind With Bob Kingsley, starting that May.

Kingsley was diagnosed with bladder cancer earlier this month.