PAGES : He-e-e-re’s Ralph, a Regular Guy

He may have been dubbed the Johnny Carson of cable TV, but Ralph Emery, host of “Nashville Now,” a talk and music program that’s the Nashville Network’s most popular show, is really just a regular guy.

Emery, whose show reaches more than 1 million households daily, has been called one of the most influential men in country music by Johnny Cash.

In his recently published “Memories” (Macmillan), however, Emery discloses more about himself than about any of the celebrities he’s come to know over his 40-year tenure in Nashville.

“I hope it’s perceived as honest,” says Emery, 58, who admits he was skeptical about people’s interest in him when approached with the idea of writing his autobiography. “I didn’t think anyone would want to read about me. But I gave it to him (Tom Carter, who co-wrote the book) warts and all. I’m pleased and flattered by the positive response it’s gotten.”

Positive indeed. After more than five months on the New York Times bestseller list, it still ranks No. 11 and has sold close to 300,000 copies.

Emery writes about what he calls his “good and bad choices in life,” including his choices in women. He says he’s been a “victim of marriages” but has been married to his third wife for 25 years.

When he does talk about country music stars, Emery says he approached their lives with humor.

“I didn’t want to make a book that would cause me to lose friends,” he says.