James “Moby” Carney, the veteran morning host, announced last week that he is retiring December 30 from his syndicated radio show.

He posted a brief Facebook note:

If you haven’t heard, I’m retiring next Friday.
No 3:30 alarm clocks after 12/30/16.
Happy New Year beloved radio cousins!!
MOBY

Moby began his career in Crossville, Tennessee working for Warren and Jesse Dean at WAEW AM/FM.  He later went on to WKDF in Nashville, before landing in Houston and eventually Atlanta. Moby is best known in metro Atlanta for his successful run at Kicks 101.5 as morning host in the 1990s.

He was let go by Kicks in 2002. The program director at the time felt he was too rural cornpone in his style for the suburbanites the station was trying to reach.

Rhubarb Jones, who had a fierce rivalry with Moby while at rival 106.7, ultimately became friends with Moby. “He was the hardest working competitor I ever faced ever,” said Jones, who now works as a senior development director at Kennesaw State University. “His dedication to his show and his demanding of 150 percent of himself was why he was so successful… Moby was the first person to call me almost nine years ago when I lost my job at Eagle 106.7 after 23 years on the air in Atlanta. I will never forget that kindness.”

After a brief and strange time at rock station Z93, which included nine months doing traffic due to a contract quirk, Moby took advantage of his country appeal by starting his own syndicated operation and added stations in small towns across America, including many stations around metro Atlanta. His slogan: “The biggest small town in America!”

That’s what he has been doing the past 12 years. Since he runs his own shop, he is able to retire at his own discretion.

“Why am I hanging up the headphones, other than, ‘Because of my wife told me to?’ ” Moby texted. “It’s just come to be time where sleeping past 3:30 a.m. seems like a good idea. As Jerry Garcia said, ‘What a strange trip it’s been.’ ”  Moby has been in radio for more than 40 years, going back to his hometown of Crossville, Tenn. He was a big-time rock jock in Houston,which is why Z93 took a chance on him in 2003.

He is in the Country Radio Hall of Fame and the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame.