Country singer, fiddler, songwriter. Born September 15, 1903, in Maynardsville, Tennessee. Although his father, a Baptist preacher, was an amateur musician, Acuff didn't develop an early interest in music. Instead, he chose to pursue a professional baseball career. Upon his graduation from high school, Acuff was afforded the opportunity to play with the New York Yankees. However, while training in the minor leagues, he suffered from a series of debilitating sunstrokes, followed by a nervous breakdown, which forced him to abandon his promising baseball career.

While recovering from his illness, Acuff polished his skills as a singer and fiddler and began to play publicly in 1932 with a traveling medicine show. The following year, Acuff formed his own band, the Tennessee Crackerjacks. The group made regular appearances on local radio shows before changing their name to the Crazy Tennesseeans. In 1936, the band recorded what would become their two biggest hits—“Wabash Cannonball” and “The Great Speckled Bird,” which earned them immediate attention in the country music arena.

On the success of their songs, the band was invited to perform on Nashville's Grand Ole Opry radio program in 1938. Acuff's performance so impressed country fans that he was named the first broadcasting host of the radio show (a position he would retain for more than 50 years). The following year, the Crazy Tennesseeans changed their name to the Smoky Mountain Boys; and, as Acuff's individual popularity swelled, he became known as the “King of Country Music.” Acuff and the Smoky Mountain Boys released a number of hit singles. Among the most notable were “Wreck on the Highway,” “Fireball Mail” (both 1942), “Night Train to Memphis," and “Pins and Needles” (both 1943).

In the early 1940s, Acuff and songwriter Fred Rose founded the music publishing company Acuff-Rose, which became one of the largest of its kind. An active Republican, Acuff campaigned for the Tennessee governorship in 1948, but lost the election to Democratic incumbent Gordon Browning. Toward the end of his career, Acuff remained active in Tennessee Republican politics. Although his style of country music waned in popularity by the late 1950s, he continued to appear on the Grand Ole Opry. Acuff also appeared in several films and toured the United States, performing for troops during the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

Deeply rooted in the rural country tradition, Acuff's style of music influenced future country musicians such as Hank Williams and George Jones. In 1962, Acuff became the first living person elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 1987, he was presented with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, followed by a Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991.

In 1936, Acuff married recording executive Mildred Douglas, who died in 1981. On November 23, 1992, Acuff died of heart failure; he was 89 years old. He is survived by a son, Roy Acuff Jr.