Growing up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, Cindy Baucom was surrounded by music. “My dad played and made instruments.” And Cindy listened to the radio—a lot.
While still in high school, she listened to a local bluegrass radio show. “I always paid close attention to detail,” she says. “I wanted to be sure the facts were straight.” One day, she was listening to the DJ announce a new album by Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver. The album was on the Sugar Hill Records label. “Apparently the DJ looked at the turntable and announced, ‘here’s a new band called Sugar Hill.’” Cindy couldn’t let that one get passed her.
The station’s owner had served as master of ceremonies at some of the shows and pageants Cindy was in. “My first job was as a receptionist and switchboard operator at a local hospital. After I heard that fiasco on the radio, the station owner came into the hospital when I was working. I told him about it, and he said he needed someone to produce and host that bluegrass show.”
While she had been on stage, Cindy had no idea how to run a radio board, but she was a quick learner. “I have had an interest in radio since I went to a career day at my school in the seventh grade. I went straight to the radio station table. I was a kid who always had a transistor radio with me and was intrigued by listening to stations in different cities and their on-air personalities.”
She learned every department of WKSK and the radio station she listened to growing up. “I did a live bluegrass show for three hours every Monday and Tuesday called The Bluegrass Spectacular. I recently found my playlists from 1983, and looking down the list, I was impressed with my song selections even as a teenager.”
She did that show her whole senior year of high school, and after graduation, she was offered a full-time job at the radio station. She worked during the day and attended Wilkes Community College at night.
In 1988, she was offered a job at an AM/FM combo, WKBC. “My dad’s band, The Tarheel Travelers, used to record a half-hour show there when I was young,” she said. While working there, MerleFest started, and for over thirty years, Cindy has hosted the main stage at the festival. “The original director of MerleFest, B. Townes, used to bring Doc Watson into the studio to sit in on my show. Doc shared stories about Merle and performed songs in our tiny studio.”
Cindy was also called upon to sing the National Anthem for four events at the Winston Cup races at the North Wilkesboro Speedway, covered on ESPN.
From there, she moved to Statesville, NC, in 1996 to work at WFMX, a powerhouse 100,000-watt station that covered a 60-county area. “It was a coverage area focused on the Charlotte, Greensboro, and Hickory, NC radio markets.” She co-hosted a morning and classic country show and did remote broadcasts for clients and special events.
Cindy spent eight years at the station, and then the opportunity to syndicate through the John Boy & Billy Network in Charlotte presented itself in 2003. “Ed Lowe was their CEO, and he had seen me on stage at MerleFest.” He also listened to her on the air. “It didn’t hurt that he was taking banjo lessons from Terry Baucom.”
The Knee Deep in Bluegrass show launched on 28 network affiliates. The reach has grown to 100+ network affiliates throughout the United States. "It’s so fun knowing there are FM stations in major markets that have never played bluegrass, and they report that their listeners love it.”
Cindy met Terry Baucom at various festivals over the years. “We got to know each other and found we not only had a passion for bluegrass but so many other things in common too - and we fell in love.” They married on March 21, 2003. “He picked the date - it was the first day of spring, and Terry says that was an ideal day for new beginnings.” Sadly, Terry, known as “The Duke of Drive,” passed away in December 2023.
While losing the love of her life has been difficult, Cindy continues to be energized by the music community. In late September, she spent two evenings as MC on the Red Hat Amphitheater stage in downtown Raleigh, NC, during the IBMA World of Bluegrass event. It’s obvious she loves what she does. Her strong desire to share great music with as many people as possible drives her always to be the best she can be.
“Life is like a road map,” Cindy says. “There are lessons to be learned along the way. There are sometimes gravel roads and hardships, the struggles we need to get us to our destination. I’ve had to do a lot of staying the course to do what I have a passion for.”
Cindy recently wrote a children’s book about Terry and their dog, Simon. “He was a shelter dog named Soloman, but Terry renamed him several times.” Proceeds from the book will be donated to Lewy Body Dementia research and dog rescue.
“It’s a great career,” she says. “I love the opportunity to interview so many talented people and share the stage with them as well. I am a firm believer in ‘if you dream it, you can do it.’ I look back at the things that have prepared me for this – from the cassette recorder I got from Santa Claus to reading articles from my dad’s copies of Bluegrass Unlimited. I don’t know what additions to my career my future holds, but I always keep my options open. I can travel and continue to broadcast the best music and share interviews. I’m open to challenges in the music world I haven’t explored yet. I don’t wait for the phone to ring and be reactive – I’m always looking for ways to be proactive.”
And, of course, she’ll always find time for her children and her grandson, who was twelve when Terry died. “He had a very special bond with Terry. I had three children under the age of ten when Terry got together. That worked for 23 wonderful years with lots of beautiful memories.”
Photo: Cindy with her children, Hunter, Houston and Molly, after receiving the IBMA Distinguished Achievement Award and Broadcaster of the Year (for the third time)
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