Jonathan Lee Hensley (August 19, 1983 – June 1, 2015) was an American radio personality and artist manager. Best known as the host of the nationally syndicated Are You Ready for the Country? radio program, Hensley interviewed more than a hundred celebrities and entertainers from the launch of his radio career in 2002 until his death in 2015.
Hensley was born in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, and graduated from Muhlenberg North High School. At the age of 14, Hensley created the company "Web Pages R Us" with classmate Brad Turner to raise money for them to attend a Tom Petty concert. Hensley attended ITT Technical Institute college for two years after high school, and began broadcasting music and interviews from his studio apartment while studying. The internet radio station, DarkSide of the Radio, launched Hensley's career in broadcasting, becoming a highly popular online radio station. Hensley was also a very close friend of the internet personality Angry Grandpa.
Commercial radioedit
After dropping out of college in 2003, Hensley launched his first commercial radio show titled Are You Ready for the Country?. The show was eventually syndicated and picked up by over 20 commercial radio stations across the country, and by the age of 25, Hensley had interviewed rock icons such as Chris Robinson, John Paul Jones, Porter Wagoner, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson on the show. The show became known for its diverse content and styles of music, steering clear of popular and current songs while including rock, blues, bluegrass, country and what Gram Parsons used to call "Cosmic American Music."[2]
In 2005, Hensley began handling new media and online content/design for rockabilly pioneer Wanda Jackson. He played a role in helping raise awareness about Jackson not being a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, reaching out to Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan to see if they would help raise awareness of it. Costello complied by writing to the nomination committee, sparking a lot of interest for the campaign, while Dylan responded by questioning on-air why Jackson was not a member of the Hall of Fame during his popular radio show broadcast on SiriusXM. Following the successful attempt, Jackson was finally inducted in 2009.
Shortly after her induction, Jackson, her husband Wendell Goodman and Hensley were bouncing around ideas for a new recording project, deciding on an album made up of duets with other artists. One of the artists that Hensley reached out to was Jack White of The White Stripes, who accepted and offered to make the record on his Third Man Records label. The collaborative album, The Party Ain't Over, was eventually released in 2011.
Deathedit
In the early hours of June 1, 2015, Hensley was found unresponsive in his bedroom by a friend staying at his house, and declared dead soon after. Toxicology results showed alcohol and Xanax in his system and were attributed to his death. He was 31 years old.
Referencesedit
^. Archived from the original on 2019-06-02. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
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This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations June 2011 Learn how and when to remove this template message Jonathan Lee Hensley August 19 1983 June 1 2015 was an American radio personality and artist manager Best known as the host of the nationally syndicated Are You Ready for the Country radio program Hensley interviewed more than a hundred celebrities and entertainers from the launch of his radio career in 2002 until his death in 2015 Jon HensleyBornJonathan Lee Hensley 1 1983 08 19 August 19 1983Muhlenberg County Kentucky U S DiedJune 1 2015 2015 06 01 aged 31 Bowling Green Kentucky U S Occupation s Radio hostManagerYears active2002 2015Known forAre You Ready for the Country radio showWebsiteOfficial website Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Early life 1 2 Commercial radio 1 3 Manager 1 4 Death 2 References 3 External linksBiography editEarly life edit Hensley was born in Muhlenberg County Kentucky and graduated from Muhlenberg North High School At the age of 14 Hensley created the company Web Pages R Us with classmate Brad Turner to raise money for them to attend a Tom Petty concert Hensley attended ITT Technical Institute college for two years after high school and began broadcasting music and interviews from his studio apartment while studying The internet radio station DarkSide of the Radio launched Hensley s career in broadcasting becoming a highly popular online radio station Hensley was also a very close friend of the internet personality Angry Grandpa Commercial radio edit After dropping out of college in 2003 Hensley launched his first commercial radio show titled Are You Ready for the Country The show was eventually syndicated and picked up by over 20 commercial radio stations across the country and by the age of 25 Hensley had interviewed rock icons such as Chris Robinson John Paul Jones Porter Wagoner Loretta Lynn Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson on the show The show became known for its diverse content and styles of music steering clear of popular and current songs while including rock blues bluegrass country and what Gram Parsons used to call Cosmic American Music 2 Manager edit Hensley handled new media for a number of recording artists including Al Green and Percy Sledge He also handled artist management and promotion for acts such as Mark Collie Goose Creek Symphony Shooter Jennings and Shane Tutmarc In 2005 Hensley began handling new media and online content design for rockabilly pioneer Wanda Jackson He played a role in helping raise awareness about Jackson not being a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame reaching out to Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan to see if they would help raise awareness of it Costello complied by writing to the nomination committee sparking a lot of interest for the campaign while Dylan responded by questioning on air why Jackson was not a member of the Hall of Fame during his popular radio show broadcast on SiriusXM Following the successful attempt Jackson was finally inducted in 2009 Shortly after her induction Jackson her husband Wendell Goodman and Hensley were bouncing around ideas for a new recording project deciding on an album made up of duets with other artists One of the artists that Hensley reached out to was Jack White of The White Stripes who accepted and offered to make the record on his Third Man Records label The collaborative album The Party Ain t Over was eventually released in 2011 Death edit In the early hours of June 1 2015 Hensley was found unresponsive in his bedroom by a friend staying at his house and declared dead soon after Toxicology results showed alcohol and Xanax in his system and were attributed to his death He was 31 years old References edit Jonathan Hensley Obituary Greenville Kentucky Tucker Funeral Home Archived from the original on 2019 06 02 Retrieved 2019 06 02 Peter Cooper The Tennessean April 2003 Mollohan Melissa Kentucky New Era newspaper 2008 On The Air Greenville Man Hosts Syndicated Radio Show http www webpages r us net kynewera jpg Bartholomy Suzy Messenger Inquirer February 11 2004 Muhlenberg County Ky Teen Produces Internet radio Show Works for Haggard http www allbusiness com technology software services applications internet audio 10271384 1 html Bartholomy Suzy Messenger Inquirer June 16 2008 Hensley completes film on Los Angeles country music Cooper Peter The Tennessean April 28 2005 Are You Ready for the Country Hourigan Amy iSurf 2010 Our Town Entrepreneur and Radio Personality Jon Hensley http isurfmuhlenberg com local press release 6487 our town entrepreneur and radio personality jon hensley html Hourigan Amy Our Town Entrepreneur and Radio Personality Jon Hensley 13 August 2010 iSurf News Retrieved June 4 2011 External links editOfficial website Official website for syndicated radio show Jon Hensley discography at Discogs Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jon Hensley radio personality amp oldid 1175445202, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
