Bob Kingsley, beloved as the radio voice of country music, died Thursday in his home in Texas after succumbing to cancer.

The 80-year-old broadcast legend and passionate country fan was the voice of “Bob Kingsley’s Country Top 40,” a show that runs on more than 320 stations.

A National Radio Hall of Fame member, his warm baritone voice has been announcing country radio since the 1970s, when he became a producer of the “American Country Countdown” show, TasteofCountry.com reported.

Kingsley’s career in radio spanned six decades, beginning at age 18, when he served as an announcer on Armed Forces Radio while stationed in Iceland, Billboard.com reported.

“I love the music and the people who make it,” he once told Billboard. “And I want our listeners to have as much insight into both as I can give them, and to make the experience as enjoyable as possible.”