Russ Penuell Joins Billboard as Country, Christian and Gospel Chart Analyst

He’s worked successful radio, written stories for a broadcasting commercialized mag and conducted information investigation for the U.S. Air Force and the National Security Agency (NSA).

His beingness acquisition to day has prepared Russ Penuell to go Billboard’s country, Christian and gospel charts and information expert connected Sept. 16, replacing elder illustration manager Jim Asker, who concluded 10 years of full-time enactment successful the relation successful August.

“I don’t cognize that there’s been thing other that I’ve done that seems truthful fitting,” Penuell says. “It conscionable benignant of each came together.”

A autochthonal of Logansport, La., Penuell’s gramps published a concatenation of newspapers successful the state, and young Russ emulated his elder by hawking information sheets and abbreviated stories astatine the broadside of the roadworthy overmuch arsenic different kids would merchantability lemonade. By his teens, Penuell was obsessed with different signifier of media, listening regularly to play countdown shows and taking them an other step.

“I had a notepad and wrote down the songs, trying to foretell wherever they would onshore connected the countdown, not knowing what was going connected down it,” helium recalls. “I was ever fascinated with that.”

As a teen, Penuell badgered a section vigor presumption for a occupation until absorption yet fto him haul trash, and it grew into on-air work. When helium landed a gig astatine KXKS Shreveport, La., the clump included Country Radio Hall of Fame subordinate Frank Page, whose 58-year tenure astatine KWKH included introducing Elvis Presley when The King debuted connected the historical Louisiana Hayride in 1954. Penuell learned from Page’s enactment habits and stories connected a play gospel show, processing a passionateness successful the process for aggregate formats of Christian music.

He moved connected to jobs with WCKT Fort Myers, Fla.; WFUS Tampa, Fla.; KPLX Dallas-Fort Worth; and WSM-FM Nashville, wherever helium served arsenic PD. That led to a five-year stint arsenic vigor exertion for commercialized work Country Aircheck and consequent enactment with CMT.

Penuell transitioned into nationalist work from there, becoming an quality expert with the U.S. Air Force and the NSA. It was, perhaps, an antithetic vocation move, but it heightened his fascination with data.

“They enactment you done aggravated grooming successful signifier recognition, trying to beryllium nonsubjective and reasoning extracurricular of the box,” Penuell recalls. “If it taught maine anything, it’s the value of trying to look astatine a information acceptable from each angles. Very often, it was worldly that you conscionable didn’t adjacent deliberation was related, and past you commencement putting the puzzle pieces unneurotic and you recognize you recovered important accusation done a much holistic approach.”

His extended inheritance volition payment Penuell — and Billboard — arsenic helium takes connected the caller position.

“We’re excited to invited Russ to the Billboard family,” says Billboard enforcement vp of charts and information partnerships Silvio Pietroluongo. “His wide scope of experiences with state and spiritual euphony genres, on with his information analytics skills, volition bring a unsocial position to the role. Russ is lone the 4th idiosyncratic to clasp this presumption successful the past 35 years, pursuing Lynn Shults, Wade Jessen and Jim Asker, and I’m definite he’ll beryllium to beryllium a worthy successor to that legendary trio.”

Asker, who volition thatch assemblage courses aft leaving Billboard, volition proceed with the institution connected a part-time ground to assistance successful the transition.