R.I.P.: Nashville Music Veteran Roy Wunsch

Roy Wunsch

Longtime Nashville music executive Roy Wunsch, who helped further the careers of a number of acclaimed country music stars, has died after a decade-long battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Wunsch, 75, led a 30-year career in the music industry, working with and promoting the careers of country artists like Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Earl Scruggs and others.

He spent most of his career working for CBS/Sony Music on their Columbia and Epic labels.

Wunsch was brought on to lead the Nashville division of CBS in 1975, when the company decided to place more emphasis on Columbia and Epic Records' work in Music City.

After working his way up through Columbia's Nashville office, in 1990 he was named president of the Nashville division of Sony Music, which had acquired CBS Records.

Wunsch was known for using marketing strategies that shifted away from the country music industry's traditional imaging to embrace modern styles to grow audience, such as the marketing of Willie Nelson's "Stardust" album, a collection of pop songs.

He chaired the boards of both the Country Music Association and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Wunsch, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2008, according to The Tennessean.