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Wink Martindale, who had success as a DJ, radio personality, game show host and TV producer, died in Rancho Mirage, California, on Tuesday (April 15). He was 91.
Martindale was best-known for hosting Gambit from 1972 to 1976 (and again from 1980 to 1981), Tic-Tac-Dough from 1978 to 1985, High Rollers from 1987 to 1988 and Debt from 1996 to 1998.
He also had a short-lived career as a recording artist. His spoken-word hit “Deck of Cards” reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959. The song had been a No. 2 hit for “T” Texas Tyler in 1948 on Billboard’s Best-Selling Retail Folk Records chart, a forerunner to Hot Country Songs.
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Martindale landed just one other Hot 100 hit, “Black Land Farmer,” which reached No. 85 in 1961.
The future broadcaster was born Winston Conrad Martindale in Jackson, Tennessee. He began his career as a DJ at age 17 at WPLI in Jackson, earning $25 a week. After moving to WTJS, he was hired away for double the salary by Jackson’s only other station, WDXI. He next hosted mornings at WHBQ in Memphis while attending college at Memphis State University.
In 1959, he became morning man at KHJ in Los Angeles, moving a year later to the morning show at KRLA and finally to KFWB in 1962. He was a regular presence on Los Angeles radio into the 1990s. He had lengthy stays at KGIL (AM) from 1968 to 1971, KKGO-FM/KJQI and Gene Autry‘s KMPC (now KSPN-AM) from 1971 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1987, a brief stint on KABC during 1989, and KJQI from 1993 to 1994.
Martindale’s first break into television was at WHBQ-TV in Memphis, as the host of Mars Patrol, a children’s series. While at that station, Martindale became the host of the TV show Teenage Dance Party, where Elvis Presley (who would become a friend) made an appearance in June 1956.
Martindale’s first game-show hosting job was What’s This Song?, which he hosted for NBC (credited as “Win Martindale”) in 1964-65. In 1970-71, he hosted a similar song-recognition game show, Words and Music, again on NBC.
While Martindale’s greatest claim to fame is as a game-show host, he periodically returned to music programming. Martin filled in as guest host for Casey Kasem on American Top 40 in October 1975.
In the 2000s, Martindale had a daily three-hour show on the syndicated Music of Your Life format. In 2012, Martindale hosted the nationally-syndicated The 100 Greatest Christmas Hits of All Time.
On June 6, 2021, Martindale began hosting the syndicated The History of Rock ‘n’ Roll, a two-hour weekend review of music from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The production was created by Martindale, producer/engineer Peter Jay Gould of The Intervale Group, and writer/producer Gary Theroux.
Martindale was one of the hosts featured in the 2002 NBC special Most Outrageous Game Show Moments, alongside four other game show mainstays – Bob Eubanks, Jim Lange, Ben Stein, and Peter Marshall.
Martindale’s last program was the GSN original series Instant Recall, which premiered on March 4, 2010.
On June 2, 2006, Martindale received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It is located at 7018 Hollywood Boulevard, adjacent to the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel – site of the first Academy Awards ceremony. On Oct. 13, 2007, Martindale was one of the first inductees into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame in Las Vegas.
Martindale married Madelyn Leech in 1954, with whom he had four children; the couple divorced in 1972. He married his second wife, Sandy (née Ferra), on Aug. 2, 1975.
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Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz
Quavo and Lil Baby have been in the game long enough to know a thing or two about balling out of control, so it’s only right that the two artists show and prove that they about that lavish life even though we were all pretty sure they live it up wherever they go regardless of who’s around to witness it.
Linking up for the visuals to “Legends,” Quavo and Lil Baby pull out the big boy trucks and whips to play with while accompanied by a team of thick young women who are definitely down to ride with your favorite rappers wherever they go.
Back in Jamaica, Vybez Kartel doesn’t need a team of women for a good time in his clip for “Dreams Are Made Of” but does enjoy the company of one exotic beauty who feeds him fruit and twerks on his bed and turns up with him on his couch. Nothing better than finding a beautiful homebody to kick it in the crib with.
Check out the rest of today’s drops including work from C3 The Prince, Tee Grizzley, and more.
QUAVO & LIL BABY – “LEGENDS”
VYBEZ KARTEL – “DREAMS ARE MADE OF”
C3 THE PRINCE – “I’M ALRIGHT”
TEE GRIZZLEY – “THEY SHOT AT TRUMP”
KWAVVY – “BRAINSTORM”
ITSHOLY FT. BIG HOMIIE G – “PICTURE PERFECT”
SPANK MURDA FT. GRITTY MAC & PESO PACHINO – “ELEVATION”
22ND JIM – “INTRO”
SADA BABY & LAKEYAH – “TO THE MONEY”
Neither country star Bailey Zimmerman or rap hitmaker BigXthaPlug had ever hit the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 before — but now they both have together, with their new team-up “All the Way.”
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The relationship-gone-bad trap ballad bows at No. 4 on the Hot 100 (Apr. 19) this week, and features BigX taking on the rap verses in between Zimmerman’s sweet-and-sour sung hook. The combination has proven particularly irresistible for streaming audiences, with the song debuting atop the Streaming Songs chart this week.
Whose career does the song’s early success mean more for? And what other country-rap star pairs could do even bigger things on the charts? Billboard answers these questions and more below.
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1. BigXthaPlug and Bailey Zimmerman’s new collab “All the Way” debuts at No. 4 on the Hot 100 – higher than either artist has ever peaked before. On a scale from 1-10, how surprised are you by the song’s immediate success?
Christopher Claxton: In terms of surprise, I would rate my level at a 2. The fusion of country music and hip-hop is not a new phenomenon, and its popularity is well-established and is making a comeback. For example, consider the chart success of Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” — a genre-blending track that is neither strictly hip-hop nor country, but a crossover that resonated strongly with American audiences, which spent a record-tying 19 weeks atop the Hot 100.
Kyle Denis: 8. On paper, this collaboration makes complete sense. My surprise stems from the fact that I didn’t know this song was even coming out last week – and I certainly didn’t expect such a splashy first week since neither artist is known for lofty single debuts.
Elias Leight: 4 — while BigXthaPlug had never hit the top half of the Hot 100 before, he’s quietly been earning more than 50 million on-demand streams a week in the U.S. for most of the last two months. When an artist has that kind of dedicated fan base, he’s poised for this kind of explosive moment. It doesn’t hurt that he teamed up with Zimmerman, who is already an established country hitmaker.
Jason Lipshutz: A 9. Obviously popular music is preoccupied with the intersection of country and hip-hop right now — we’re only a few months removed from one country-rap hybrid, Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” tying the all-time Hot 100 record set by another country-rap hybrid, Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Old Town Road” — but neither of those smashes scored a top 5 debut on the chart, instead riding to the upper tier. “All the Way” is an anomaly, not just because of its high-powered debut but because BigXThaPlug had never scored a top 10 hit before, while Bailey Zimmerman had once before with a song that sounds nothing like this collaboration. I could have foreseen “All the Way” eventually growing into a crossover hit, but a No. 4 debut is genuinely startling.
Andrew Unterberger: An 8. I certainly thought there would be a good chance for BigX to score his biggest hit with one of the country collabs he’d teased, but I thought it would be with a slightly more proven crossover hitmaker than Bailey Zimmerman. But I’m sure that in retrospect it won’t actually seem that surprising at all.
2. Which of the two artists do you think the song’s impressive debut means more to, BigX or Zimmerman?
Christopher Claxton: The chart success of “All the Way” likely holds greater significance for Zimmerman. While he currently has seven tracks on the Hot 100 not including “All the Way”, only two are from 2024, with the others dating back to 2022 and 2023. In contrast, BigX has experienced substantial momentum, charting five tracks on the Hot 100 in 2024 alone. That said, BigX still has reason to celebrate — this marks his first top 10 hit, whereas it is Zimmerman’s second.
Kyle Denis: Probably BigX. Zimmerman at least has a handful of Hot 100 top 40 hits – including the No. 10-peaking “Rock And a Hard Place.” BigX has only hit the Hot 100 thrice before, and none of those entries broke the chart’s top 60. Your first top 40 hit doubling as a No. 4 debut must feel pretty special.
Elias Leight: For BigX, who’s been flying under the radar despite his enviable streaming numbers, “All the Way” is a mainstream breakthrough — a level-up moment. And while Zimmerman has already had a top 10 hit with “Rock and a Hard Place,” “All the Way” shows that wasn’t a one-off, while also introducing him to an audience of hip-hop fans that probably hadn’t heard him previously.
Jason Lipshutz: BigX — simply because, unlike Zimmerman, “All the Way” is now by far his biggest hit. “Mmhmm” served as a breakthrough for the Dallas native, but that single only peaked at No. 63 on the Hot 100, a hip-hop radio staple that couldn’t quite muster a full-blown pop crossover. While that moment could have defined his career for a bit, the No. 4 debut for “All the Way” suggests that BigX is quickly moving on to bigger hits and a greater national profile; Zimmerman will continue to rise in the country world, but BigXThaPlug might have just punched his ticket to rap stardom.
Andrew Unterberger: I think it might actually be Zimmerman — it introduces him to a new audience and proves he has the juice in a way beyond what people probably expected of him. Though I guess you could say the same of BigX, so it’s pretty close to a draw here.
3. Does this single’s runaway success tell you something new or interesting about the commercial potential of hip-hop and country collabs right now – or is it more just about these artists and this song?
Chris Claxton: The strong debut of “All the Way” further supports the idea that the fusion of hip-hop and country is making a resurgence — one that has been building momentum over time. We witnessed a major breakthrough with Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Old Town Road” remix, which spent 19 weeks at No. 1 in 2019, mirroring the success of Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy).” Even in the early 2000s, we saw the success of the fusion in tracks like Nelly’s “Country Grammar (Hot S**t).” The data reflects what listeners are gravitating toward, and it seems likely that we’ll see a continued rise in this hybrid sound — especially with the upcoming release of BigX’s hip-hop-country project, which has strong potential for success.
Kyle Denis: I’m inclined to say it’s just these artists and this song. It’s hard to tell how invested consumers are in country crossovers after such a jam-packed 2024. Chappell Roan’s “The Giver” isn’t exactly lighting the charts on fire and Lana Del Rey’s “Henry, Come On” didn’t have an explosive debut, but Shaboozey and Morgan Wallen still have songs in the Hot 100’s top 10. I think BigX and Zimmerman are both buzzy artists with a lot of social media pull and relatively young fanbases – and Bailey’s backwards cap-over-cowboy hat style pairs well with BigX’s Texan rap bravado. Their union just made sense, and it doesn’t hurt that the song is catchy.
Elias Leight: Hip-hop country collaborations have been commercially potent for more than a decade. Many of these are one-offs — Tim McGraw and Nelly, Moneybagg Yo and Morgan Wallen — or the work of newcomers: Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus, Breland and Sam Hunt. BigX’s trajectory is more unusual, in that he is a successful rapper pivoting to put out a project dedicated to country hip-hop fusions. Considering that the two longest running Hot 100 hits both have one foot in rap and one in country, it’s clear that this combination remains formidable.
Jason Lipshutz: Five years separated the chart runs of “Old Town Road” and “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” with some country-rap hits in between but nothing close to those songs’ respective scales. The top 5 debut of “All the Way” hints that a greater wave is about to crash down, though, to satisfy a wide swath of listeners that is clearly interested in the combination of rap verses and country hooks. BigXThaPlug and Zimmerman were both on upward trajectories upon the release of “All the Way,” but its immediate success has less to do with their journeys and more to do with what pop listeners are generally looking for at the top of their streaming playlists these days. I’d expect an influx of songs like this over the next 6-12 months.
Andrew Unterberger: I think the song’s success does demonstrate the potency of a rap-country combo right now — though I would caution artists and execs from putting too much stock in there being a consistent X + Y = Z formula here. We will see some rappers and country singers team up to great returns in the next couple years, I believe, but not as many as we’ll see making similar attempts and ending up just looking kinda silly and desperate.
4. If you had to guess one of these two artists to have another top 10 Hot 100 hit before the end of the year, which would it be?
Christopher Claxton: BigXthaPlug is the obvious pick for me. As previously mentioned, he has a country-inspired project on the way, featuring notable artists such as Shaboozey, Jelly Roll, Morgan Wallen and more. BigX has already collaborated with Shaboozey on the track “Drink Don’t Need No Mix,“ which I personally enjoy. The song charted on both Billboard’s Hot Country Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts — not quite the Hot 100, but still a noteworthy first collaboration. The performance of that track could serve as valuable feedback to help shape a true Hot 100 hit in the future. Plus, with several other unrevealed collaborations on the upcoming project, there’s no telling what surprises might be in store.
Kyle Denis: The smart bet is probably Zimmerman given his track record, but I feel like BigX has one or two more eye-popping collabs in the tuck.
Elias Leight: BigX: The high-flying debut of “All the Way” gives him a lot of momentum as he moves towards the release of the full project, and last year, he said he was recruiting other heavy-hitters as collaborators, including Luke Combs, Jelly Roll and Post Malone.
Jason Lipshutz: BigXThaPlug because, while Zimmerman has proven to be adept at connecting with casual country listeners, songs like “Mmhmm” and “All the Way” demonstrate that BigX has a canny sense of pop sizzle. His rumbling flow can be magnetic even when he’s not trying to engineer a hit single, but BigX has a keen ear for flashy production and major hooks, understanding exactly how to fit his delivery into a song that could take off outside of his core listenership. “All the Way” may center Zimmerman’s chorus, but BigX knows exactly what he’s accomplishing with a track like this.
Andrew Unterberger: Definitely BigX with all those collabs coming — but I’m also pretty bullish on Zimmerman’s stock, so I’d say it’ll likely be both by the end of 2025.
5. Without naming either Kendrick Lamar or Morgan Wallen, who would be your perfect star rap/country pairing in 2025 for maximum commercial impact?Christopher Claxton: This may be a hot take, but I would love to see a collaboration between A$AP Rocky and Jessie Murph. Jessie has already demonstrated her ability to flow on hip-hop–influenced production, as seen in her collaboration with Jelly Roll on “Wild Ones,” which was an exceptionally well-executed track. Her work with BigX on “Holy Ground” further proves her versatility. A$AP Rocky, known for his adaptability and consistent delivery, could bring a unique energy to a country-inspired beat. He’s proven time and again that he’s a skilled rapper, and a country-hip-hop blend could offer a refreshing, playful twist to his sound, and offer him a moment to have fun with his music.
Kyle Denis: Drake and Jelly Roll – let’s hope it never happens.
Elias Leight: Doechii and Megan Moroney.
Jason Lipshutz: Let’s go with Tyler, The Creator and Kacey Musgraves, a pair of A-listers who have a long history of coloring outside of their respective genre lines. A Musgraves hook on a Tyler song, a la “Like Him” with Lola Young, would absolutely crackle.
Andrew Unterberger: J. Cole and Zach Bryan.
If a Mount Rushmore-like attraction commemorating white rappers is ever built, Machine Gun Kelly thinks his face should definitely be carved into the rock — despite what a recent viral mockup of the concept dictates.
Days after a seemingly AI-generated image of a fake “White Rapper Mt. Rushmore” started going viral on social media, the “My Ex’s Best Friend” musician spoke out against his omission from the choice of hip-hop stars featured in the picture. In place of the real-life monument’s lineup of past United States presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, the faux Caucasian-rapper iteration showed stone-like renderings of Eminem, Mac Miller, Paul Wall and Russ.
“me not on the white rapper mt rushmore is blasphemy,” MGK wrote on X.
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In evidence of why he should have been included, the rapper-turned-punk-rocker also reposted a video of him freestyling in his home city of Cleveland while guesting on Gillie Da Kid and Wallo267’s YouTube series MILLION DOLLAZ WORTH OF GAME in August. “I made 10 mil with someone, and we ain’t talking now/ F— the money, I just want the loyalty we talked about,” he spits in the clip as his posse cheers him on. “It’s no other side, it is only us/ I get cross-eyed watching y’all switch up.”
Though he’s earned a reputation for trying out different genres in recent years, MGK got his start in rap. His sophomore album, General Admission released via Bad Boy Records, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Since 2020’s Travis Barker-produced Tickets to My Downfall, however, the musician has been more focused on flexing his pop-punk and rock capabilities — most recently doing so on last month’s single “Your Name Forever.” Collaborating with Jelly Roll in 2024 on both “Lonely Road” and “Time of Day” after covering The Chicks’ “There’s Your Trouble” for Spotify Singles in July, he’s also been dipping into the country space.
But his music isn’t the only thing that’s experienced change lately. In March, MGK also welcomed a baby girl with ex Megan Fox, making him a father of two. He also has a teenage daughter named Casie from a past relationship.
“She’s finally here!! our little celestial seed,” the artist wrote on Instagram last month to announce the birth.
Wale recently took to X and opened up about how he once dealt with writer’s block, revealing that a fellow rapper once suggested meditation. “Music friends, how do y’all cure writers block,” he asked. “Over the years I’ve had different methods. Curious what y’all do.” Fans responded with a ton of suggestions that ranged from […]
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Whether it was Cardi B spraying Whipshots into the crowd or LISA shutting things down just by showing up, these were our favorite moments in the desert.
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Toby Gad, a German-born musician who made a name for himself in America as a hit songwriter, recently celebrated the deluxe edition of Piano Diaries – The Hits, a collection of his biggest songs (including two co-writes that topped the Billboard Hot 100, Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and John Legend’s “All of Me”) reimagined as collaborations with 17 fresh artists. The collection afforded the songwriter-producer the opportunity to look back on a career that has found him wearing many different hats; lately, he’s been donning a reporter’s cap, interviewing musicians about their careers, work habits and inspirations on his new podcast, Songs You Know with Toby Gad.
The podcast’s latest episode, which posted on Tuesday (April 15), finds Gad chatting with producer Jeff “Gitty” Gitelman about everything from growing up in Moldova to learning English through hip-hop to working with Hozier.
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Gitelman served as a producer on the Irish singer-songwriter’s 2023 album Unreal Unearth and its follow-up, the 2024 EP Unheard. Both projects were inspired by Dante’s 14th century classic Inferno, but Gitelman says he and Hozier initially bonded over a different part of the literary canon.
Meeting up during quarantine to work on new music in rural Ireland, Gitelman says he and Hozier spent “the first day or two just talking about James Joyce” (Gitelman says he’s a fan of Joyce’s Dubliners in particular). For the producer, those discussions were key to finding a trust that helped them as they worked on songs that bridged the gap between Irish folk and soul music (styles that Van Morrison, another artist the two discussed in detail prior to recording together, was especially adept at combining). “A lot of times it’s like, Andrew [Hozier], I don’t know what it is you’re saying in Gaelic, but let’s do,” Gitelman recalled.
The two also went deep on Gitelman’s time working with Mac Miller on Swimming, the final album released during the late rapper’s lifetime, as well as hitting the top 10 on three Billboard producer charts in the same week (Hot 100 Producers, R&B Producers and Country Producers) in November 2023 for his work on Jelly Roll & Jessie Murph’s “Wild Ones” and Victoria Monét’s “On My Mama.”
“It’s a cool statistic, I like numbers,” Gitelman says of the Billboard chart coup. “Coming up from an artistic, musical world, it’s nice. I’ve been shouting from the rooftops, like, ‘Hey I’m pretty good…’ To have the numbers do all the talking is really nice. I don’t think music is a competition… but man, the numbers sometimes give you the freedom to make the art you want to make.”
Check out the new episode of Songs You Know with Toby Gad below.
Olivia Wilde has chimed in on the controversial all-female space expedition helmed by Jeff Bezos‘ space exploration company Blue Origin. The Don’t Worry Darling actress took to her Instagram Stories on Monday (April 14), shortly after the NS-31 rocket completed its 11-minute journey. She shared a meme featuring two photos of passenger Katy Perry exiting […]
Coi Leray has announced the sex of her baby with Trippie Redd, sharing the exciting news on Instagram. Sporting a cute pink outfit on Tuesday (April 15) that perfectly showcased her baby bump, Coi Leray announced to the world that she is having a girl with her ex-boyfriend Trippie Redd. “GIRL MOM,” Coi wrote in […]
Sean Kingston will soon be out on bond after getting hit with a guilty verdict last month related to a fraud scheme alongside his mother. On Tuesday (April 15), Kingston posted $100,000 bond. The agreement stated if the “Beautiful Girls” singer paid the bond, he could spend the months leading up to his July 11 […]
