John Isley and Billy James, known as John Boy and Billy, are radio morning show hosts based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their flagship station is 99.7 WRFX "The Fox." Their comedic morning show, "The John Boy and Billy Big Show," can be heard in several Southern states via syndication through Clear Channel Communications.
John Boy and Billy are very popular, especially in North Carolina. Their broadcasts cater to a "redneck" crowd, and is often simulcast on both classic rock and country music stations. Their format consists of talk segments intermixed with contests and skit-based humor, albeit rarely as offensive as The Opie and Anthony Show, or Howard Stern. The target audience is young to middle age males in Southern and rural markets who are likely to be patriotic and bellicose.
The duo frequently interview musicians, comedians, NASCAR drivers, professional wrestlers, and other public figures. Robert Earl Keen, Killer Beaz, Tim Wilson, and Rodney Carrington are occasional guests. They also market a "special" grilling sauce that is sold in supermarkets in the South.
The Crew
- John Isley- Before comedy, he prided himself as a gas station attendant, but got his start in radio by running the tapes on his hometown radio station in 1975. Isley has been married for over 20 years and has three teen-aged sons. His contributions to the Great American Lexicon include "Oowa oowa oowa," "Where's my big bag?" and "I care, I'm just not going to do anything about it."
- Billy James - Billy serves as the co-host for the show. He is from Gastonia, North Carolina. He attended a technical school in Atlanta. His first radio job was at WADA-AM in Shelby, North Carolina. Billy has been married since 1986 and has two sons.
- Robert D. Raiford offers political and social commentaries during the show. He is from Concord, North Carolina and majored in communication at the University of South Carolina. Raiford got his start in broadcasting in 1944 by calling play by play at baseball games. His first real radio job was at WEGO in Concord, North Carolina. Raiford has played in 28 movies -- he usually plays judge characters. He is best known for his quote "Who says that? I say that!", which is also the title of his book containing excerpts from his commentary from the show.
- Randy Brazell is the Executive Producer and takes care of the technical side of things on the show. He is from Gastonia, North Carolina and attended the same high school as Billy. Randy is married with one daughter. He can frequently be heard participating in many of the Big Show's skits. Randy's background in radio goes back to his childhood: his father owned a radio station. "Radio," comments Brazell, "is all I've ever known." He's occasionally teased by rest of the cast for being "the pretty one" or for being a "geek".
- Jackie Curry-Lynch is the Assistant Producer. She is from Weyers Cave, Virginia. She originally began as the Front Desk Receptionist, but she's become a regular part of the crew. She participates in a number of the skits. Referred to frequently by JB&B as "Jackie and the Twins". The twins are, in fact, her breasts, as she has breast implants. She is the sister of former Toronto Raptors shooting guard, Dell Curry.
- Jeff Pillars is a writer for the Big Show. He's acted in quite a few movies and television shows, most recently Pirates of the Plain (1999) and Ernest in the Army (1998) -- the latter of which he co-wrote the screenplay for. He writes many of the skits for the show and performs in a significant number of them as well. Favorite vegetable: "Pie." Favorite type of female: "Hot & Creepy."
- Marci Moran is also from Gastonia, North Carolina. She is the Guest Coordinator on the Big Show, but frequently finds herself on-air alongside the others, especially in the John Boy and Billy Playhouse skits. She is nicknamed "Tater" by the others. Her favorite Christmas song, as revealed in December 2004, is Dominick the Donkey by Lou Monte.
- Marty Lambert is from Charlotte, North Carolina, and he is in charge of Affiliate Sales & Syndication. Whenever Marty is mentioned on the show, a musical jingle is usually played of a chorus singing: "Smarty Marty, the One Man Party!" He is frequently made the subject of jokes on the show by John Boy and Billy, most particularly about his choice of clothing, and about an incident where someone at a Big Show public appearance commented to John Boy, "I didn't know Marty was gay!" Marty, for the record, is happily married.
- Steve Hopson is from Charlotte, North Carolina. Formerly known as Steve the Idiot Intern by John Boy and Billy, Steve is now no longer an intern and has become the Weekend Director for the Big Show. John Boy and Billy used to frequently tease Steve about his usage of the expression, "Dude!"
- Donnie Presley is from Charlotte, North Carolina, is a former police officer and current Director of Merchandising for the Big Show.
- Barbara is from Gastonia, North Carolina is the big show Administrative Assistant.
Characters
John Boy & Billy have many characters (played by them and their guests) who come on the show to offer commentary on various topics, or who perform in the John Boy & Billy Playhouse skits. Some of these characters include:
- Oliver is a soft-spoken, gentle sounding intellectual gentleman whose facade of quiet pleasantness is far overshadowed by his wickedly sarcastic personal attacks on anyone and everyone, especially the Big Show crew. Oliver responds to fan mail, a job he took over from "Mr. Taylor", an obvious caricature of the main character of The Andy Griffith Show. He always introduces his segments with his calmly spoken trademark, "Well, well, well..." accompanied by gentle violin music. In late summer of 2005, after lambasting women in general, Oliver's wife appeared to offer a rebuttal against men and demonstrated that she's even more caustic and insulting than he is, not to mention that he's completely subject to her whims. (Played by Jeff Pillars)
- Lipless was a former character who used to show up infrequently. Lipless's trademark was that his lips did not touch when he talked, making him unintelligible (Though Billy seemed to understand him). Lipless mainly told simple jokes, and Billy would be the straight man in these skits by correctly answering the joke. This would cause Lipless to utter his catchphrase "That's a lot better than the one I had", and then Lipless would give his own answer to the joke. (Played by John Isley)
- Ike Turner performs in the segment "Ax Ike". He is supposed to be the same Ike Turner who was married to Tina Turner. He offers advice on interpersonal relationships -- most particularly he advises people that they should administer (or that they might receive) "breaking their foot off in the crack of yo' butt". Ike is known to have trouble with the pronunciation and definitions of big words. He always introduces his segment with, "YO! What's up?" and ends with, "Peace out." (Played by Jeff Pillars)
- Reverend Billy Ray Collins is a Southern preacher who represents the Sword of Joshua Independent Full Gospel Pentecostal Assembly, which is located "just off State Road 23 on the Frontage Road". Reverend Collins preaches fire and brimstone sermons against most everything, but particularly "homersexuals" and sinful popular culture icons, such as "Madonner," "Christine Alligator" and "Britney Shears". He always ends his segments with, "This here's the Reverend Billy Ray Collins, remindin' ya it's time to turn before you burn. John Boy and Billy -- y'all keep 'em straight up thar." (Played by Billy James)
- Mr. Rhubarb is a soft spoken kid's show host not unlike Captain Kangaroo or Mr. Rogers. He has a segment called "Mr. Rhubarb's Storytime" in which he tells stories and jokes that are usually incredibly corny. (Played by John Isley)
- Hoyt and Delbert are John Boy's friends, and are a pair of rednecks who share a trailer in the mobile-home park known as "Casa de Double Wide". Delbert has never actually been heard on the show, but John Boy frequently calls Hoyt and is told a story about some terrible calamity that's going on in Delbert's life. Usually this calamities involve Delbert's new girlfriend of the week. When asked by John Boy how something went for Delbert, the answer is invariably the distinctly pronounced catchphrase: "NOT TOO GOOD." Hoyt always closes his segment by asking John Boy, "Are you going to see Goober later on? Well, you tell him I said 'duh huh' -- he'll know what you mean." (Played by Billy James)
- Ricky B. Sharpe and his wife Lucy R. Sharpe are a married couple that live in Dothan, Alabama, and are, as their names sarcastically suggest, not too sharp. They are frequently characters on the John Boy & Billy Playhouse. Ricky is the frequent butt of jokes involving his very short height. His catchphrases are his distinct laugh when made fun of, as well as his distinctly delivered exclamation, "Son of a... !" (Played by Jeff Pillars)
- Mad Max is mad at the world in general. Every time he calls John Boy & Billy, he has something new to be angry about, and he rants -- at length -- about it. His catchphrases are "My big 'ol butt!" when he talks about something he finds ridiculous. He signs off all of his segments with, "John Boy and Billy? Y'all have a nice day," though he has been known to replace that with, "John Boy and Billy? Shut up!" from time to time. (Played by John Isley)
- Reverend Ernest Lee Sincere and Goober also known as the Rev and Goob, frequently call to chat with John Boy and Billy. The Rev is a reference to African American Southern church pastors, and has a very high pitched voice. He tells stories of faith and humor from his church. Goob, on the other hand, is Rev's friend (and the same Goober to whom Hoyt always wants to say, "Duh huh"), and usually tells corny jokes. (Played by John Isley)
- Woodrow Boudreaux is a Cajun man from Thibodaux, Louisiana. He, his wife Elizabeth, and his friend Justin LeBlanc frequently get into weird and humorous situations in the bayous of rural Louisiana. They appear exclusively on the John Boy & Billy Playhouse. (Played by John Isley, Marci Moran, and Jeff Pillars)
- Phil McCracken is John Boy & Billy's lisping gay receptionist. He's a parody of the flamboyant gay lifestyle. Usually his segments involve conversations with the Big Show's phone receptionist, Babs, a stereotypical blonde, as well as conversations with his boyfriend, Marcelle. He ends every one of his segments with a shouted, "Carry on, straight people!" (Played by Jeff Pillars)
- Murray is John Boy & Billy's fictional agent at Red Hot Talent Inc. He's characterized by an inability to remember John Boy and Billy's names (he calls them Jimbo and Bobby), as well as his catchphrase "Love ya, mean it!". His receptionist, Ceil Dipesto, is stuck with the job of trying to manage him, as well as trying to ditch John Boy and Billy every time they call. (Repeated quote: "Is this Ceil?" "No, THIS is.") (Played by Billy James)
- Married Man is a pseudo-superhero featured in the Married Man segments. He has a shrewish wife who calls him at the most inopportune times, particularly when he's trying to fight crime. He has a super team made up of friends Drinking Buddy and College Chum. In 2005, a fourth member of the super team was added: the deep-voiced lesbian, Indigo Girl. For a short time in 2005, the four were granted extremely poor quality super powers. Married Man gained the power to telepathically use his cellular phone ("The Human Cellphone"), Drinking Buddy could shoot webbing out of his butt ("Spider Pooper"), College Chum could shoot cocktail weenies out of his eyes ("Meat Vision"), and Indigo Girl turned into a Hulklike man ("Indigo Guy"). Eventually, these economy quality powers wore off, leaving them their old selves again. (Played by Billy James, John Isley, Jeff Pillars, and Marci Moran)
- Gaydar O'Reilly is a man who has developed the amazing ability to detect with 100% accuracy whether or not someone is gay. He's always pointing out various people who don't seem gay, but are. (Played by Jeff Pillars)
- Karl Childers is the main character from the movie Sling Blade, a character played by Billy Bob Thornton in the movie. This version is imitated by Big Show crew member Jeff Pillars. The segment is always called "Karl Childers' Storytime" and usually features a well known story (some examples are Cinderella and Dracula) told in the twisted way that typifies the character of Karl Childers. (Played by Jeff Pillars)
- Marvin Webster is a black man that visits the show to commentate on race issues in a comedic fashion. He has commentated on things such as Star Wars, NASCAR and Hurricane Isabel. His parting catchphrase is "Y'all think about it, I'm Marvin Webster." (Played by Billy James)
- Fujikawa Yakisoda or やきそだ 富士川 is the Japanese president of a fictional megacorporation that "purchased" The Big Show. He appears infrequently, but can usually be identified by his broken English, his inability to pronounce anything with the letter "L" in it, and his slyly spoken introduction, "Herro." He's usually included in skits whenever a male Asian character is needed. (Played by Jeff Pillars)
- Cadbury is John Boy's much-abused, unlucky butler. Cadbury is a prim and uptight English gentleman who is constantly given demeaning tasks to perform by John Boy. Cadbury almost constantly ends up in fights, most of which are provoked by John Boy.
- Dub was both a character and a real person. Dub Starnes appeared as a regular member of the John Boy & Billy Playhouse skits until he passed away in early 1998 after gall bladder surgery. He is well remembered and missed by both the crew and the fans. In fact, a tribute to Dub is now made in every Playhouse when Billy says, "Tune in next week when you'll hear the crusty old _____________ say..." and then Dub's final line ever delivered on the show is given: "Hey, big man! Lemme hold a dollar!" (played by Dub Starnes)
- Sister Mary Marci is an infrequently recurring character who appears whenever a nun character is needed. She has an Irish accent, but oftentimes, when Marci is performing her, she'll accidentally shift into other accents. The players usually break character and tease Marci at this point. (played by Marci Moran)
Entourage
John Boy & Billy have many eccentric friends who drop by the show to offer commentary on various topics. Perfect fodder for comedic comments, some of these characters include:
- Condor is an entrepreneur for Blue Emu and Energy Fizz who jumps in his motorcoach and drives from Raleigh, NC to the Big Show studio -- the running gag is that he "thinks Dolly Parton might be there". When the characters or crew say "Helloooooooooooooooooo..." in a drawn out tone, they're referring to Condor's catchphrase.
- Astronerd is a nerd from Charlotte, NC who enjoys astronomy and computers. The running gag with him is that John Boy and Billy find his scientific information overly nerdy, so Astronerd is occasionally the subject of nerd jokes. Ike (on Ax Ike) once spent an entire segment making jokes about Astronerd.
- Racing Fatboy is known as a huge NASCAR fan. He sometimes swings by the Big Show during the racing season. One of the running gags involving Racing Fatboy in the Phil McCracken skits is that Phil always hangs up on him.
- Tennessee Fatboy is John Boy's old friend from Tennessee. When Tennessee Fatboy is in the studio, John Boy will often reminisce of past good times he and Fatboy had in the years they were roommates in Nashville, TN. Whenever Tennessee Fatboy's wife is on the show, the couple's old pet parrot is mentioned with the phrase, "It eats ice cream."
- Mater Man is John Boy's friend and Big Show gardener. He plants and keeps John Boy's tomato plants healthy just outside of the studio. He's been known to take care of tomato worms too.
- NONtourage is a term coined by Jeff Pillars, regarding potential Entourage members who apparently try to impress John Boy in any way possible to be included in the bunch.
Contests
The Big Show has a number of call-in contests where callers have a chance to win an assortment of prizes (the "prize package"), usually donated by the show's sponsors. Here is a list of some of the contests, past and present:
- Outburst is the first of the morning trivia quizzes. It is based on the "Dates in History" that John Boy goes over between the top of the hour and the contest time. He gives the contestant five seconds to name three items from a category included in the "Dates in History". If the contestant is successful in all three of the "Dates in History" categories, they win the prize package.
- John Boy Jeopardy is a daily trivia quiz. John Boy and Billy ask a question, and callers take turns calling in with their guesses. After each guess, a sound bite of John Boy shouting "Survey says!" (a reference to tv game show Family Feud) is played. A correct answer earns a ding, a musical fanfare, and the prize package. Incorrect answers, however, receive a buzzer.
- The Current Events Quiz is a daily quiz on the latest news. Each bit begins with John Boy asking, "You ready, girls?" and a sound bite of the "John Boy and Billy Pep Squad" -- a group of cheerleaders -- announces: "Ready? OK! Comb your hair and take a whiz, it's time for the Current Events Quiz! Taaaaaaake C! Yay!" The Current Events Quiz is simple in format: Billy asks the caller a question and provides three answers. The first two are realistic sounding answers, but the "C" answer is always a "comedy option" punchline. The caller must choose C to win the prize package, even if it is the wrong answer. There have been instances where people, despite the fact that they are told to take C, will choose A or B. This results in a buzzer, and allegedly their name is put on the "Wall of Shame", a wall which has a list of names of people who have failed the Current Events Quiz. On "Reverse Angle Friday" of each week, instead of callers calling in for the Current Events Quiz, listeners can email or fax their phone number to The Big Show, and they will choose one and call them back.
- This Old Spouse is a new game for 2006. Similar to The Newlywed Game, John Boy and Billy take calls from two married couples, with the stipulation that the husband and wife may not be in the same location at the same time. JB&B ask both husband and wife personal questions about themselves on different lines so that they cannot hear each others' answers, and each person takes turns trying to give the correct answer to what their spouse replied. This often results in some kind of argument between the couples. The couple with the highest number of points wins the prize package.
List of previous contests
- Stoopie Quiz
- Mayberry Trivia
- Christmas Trumpet (only at Christmas time)
- First time callers that get through, get a Moo sound effect.
Other Stuff
- John Boy and Billy have a "Comedy Classic Weekend" every year at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina where they make public appearances along with the crew and many famous comedians. This year it will be March 10, 2006-March 12, 2006.
- The Big Show donates a $2,500 scholarship to the University of North Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communication. It is awarded to students in the electronic communication sequence of courses, particularly those with an interest in radio.
Comedy Albums
- Big OL' Hairy Chrstmas
- Rough Cuts: (October 22, 2002)
- Nerve Wrackin Christmas 2 (October 23, 2001)
- Freak Show: (August 21, 2001)
- Radioland: (October 26, 1999)
- Best of Twenty: A 20th Anniversary Double Album: (October 23, 2001)
- John Boy & Billy's Country Race Tracks: (September 14, 1999)
- Rocket Science: (October 27, 1998)
- Christmas Album: (October 27, 1998)
- Love Ya...Mean it