The Bob & Tom Show

The Bob & Tom Show

Genre	comedy, talk
Running time	6:00 A.M.-10:00 A.M.EST
Country	United States
Home station	WFBQ Indianapolis, Indiana
Starring	Bob Kevoian Tom Griswold Kristi Lee Chick McGee
Producers	Dean Metcalf
Air dates	since March 7, 1983
Website	bobandtom.com
Podcast	.../gen3/podcast_main.htm

The Bob & Tom Show is a syndicated US radio program established by Bob Kevoian and Tom Griswold at radio station WFBQ in Indianapolis, Indiana, March 7, 1983, and syndicated nationally since January 6, 1995.

Owned by Clear Channel Communications, a media conglomerate which owns 850 radio stations, the program enjoys extensive popularity. The program has frequently received recognition by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) as an exemplar in American radio.

About

The show is hosted by Bob Kevoian and Tom Griswold who originally teamed up in the early 1980s at the Petoskey, MI station WJML. In their current incarnation they are joined by Chick McGee who acts as sports commentator as well as comic foil, and by Kristi Lee who is the show's news anchor and occasional target of the show's humor. Dave "Gunner" Gunn also joins the show when any of the regulars are out, and has done so from the beginning of the show's syndication in January 1995. The show is a comedy-variety show. Each day, there are usually several guests on the show, including many comedians. During the show, live or pre-recorded comic songs and skits are often played, including many from a huge library of archived pieces. There are frequent impromptu calls from numerous "characters" voiced by various members of the show's staff. The show airs from 6 A.M. to 10 A.M. EST and is aired from either 6 A.M. to 10 A.M. or 5 A.M. to 9 A.M. locally on affiliated stations. There is a segment that airs between 10:00 and 10:15 EST, only on home station WFBQ. Bob and Tom would do a traveling show of their own, however those ended around 2003. They now organize and support the Bob & Tom Comedy All Stars Tour, which includes many of their frequent guests. Since January 31, 2011, The Bob & Tom Show has aired on the American Forces Radio Network as the morning show on AFN's Legacy Channel-The World's Classic Rock Station. The Bob & Tom Show repurposes their live morning show as an overnight show called Bob & Tom All Nighter. All Nighter airs 12 A.M. to 5 A.M. on a few terrestrial affiliated stations as well as SirusXM Channel 165.

Common characters and parodies

Many fictional characters and parodies of real-life people have sprung up during the show's history, some voiced by Bob Kevoian, Tom Griswold, Chick McGee, on-air producer Dean Metcalf, Steve Salge and Ron Sexton.

Fictional characters

• Donnie Baker (Ron Sexton)
• Floyd the Truck Driver (Ron Sexton)
• Jumbo the Elephant (Dean Metcalf)
• Kenny Tarmac (Ron Sexton)
• Ernie Furglar (owner of Furglar's Hardware Store) (Steve Salge)
• Randy (Donnie Baker's boss) (Matt Thompson)
• Herm Johnson (St. Petersburg snowbird) (Steve Salge)
• Hadji (Marc Much)
• Ian St. Ian (Dean Metcalf)
• Doc Whiskey (Tom Griswold)
• Dick Mango (Tom Griswold)
• Rick (Ron Sexton)
• Sid Gurney (Whit Grayson)
• Bart McAllister (Dave Dugan)
• Mr. Obvious and the Caller (Chick McGee and Dean Metcalf)
• Gary "Scooter" Barnes (David Tuck)

Parodies of real people and movie/television characters

• Sir Charles (Charles Barkley) (Ron Sexton)
• Jack Bauer (from the TV series "24") (Steve Salge)
• Joe Biden (Steve Salge)
• George H. W. Bush (Steve Salge)
• George W. Bush (Steve Salge)
• Bill Clinton (Steve Salge)
• Morgan Freeman (as his character Red from the movie The Shawshank Redemption) (Ron Sexton)
• James Gandolfini (as Tony Soprano) (Ron Sexton)
• Michael Imperioli (as Christopher Moltisanti) (Matt Thompson)
• Al Gore (Steve Salge)
• Jerry Jones (Ron Sexton)
• Ted Kennedy (Steve Salge)
• Larry King (Steve Salge)
• Dr. Phil McGraw (Ron Sexton)
• The Pope (always in a stereotypical Italian accent) (Dean Metcalf)
• Steven Seagal and his fan (Ron Sexton, Matt Thompson)

The show takes calls from actual live fans, plus miscellaneous "crazy fan" caricatures.

Other skits

• The Mr. Obvious Show (Chick McGee, caller Dean Metcalf)
• Belly Up w/ Sir Charles and Tony (Ron Sexton doing both voices)

Kenny Tarmac

Kenny Tarmac embodies that annoying traveling sales person on a flight with an over-inflated sense of self-worth who feels the need to demonstrate to everyone how important he is by loudly calling someone just as the plane lands. He always uses airport abbreviations while referring to his locations to further illustrate just how busy and important he is. He always calls Bob & Tom when he lands, and he always gets another call while talking to them. On a few occasions, while talking to Bob and Tom, he will run into a big-time client, whom Kenny cannot remember by name. During this time, he puts Bob and Tom on hold, while he tries to use his "Zig Ziglar bag of tricks" to get the client to reveal his name, usually failing.

Notable Quotes

• "Hey shooter!"
• "We just landed!"
• "Yeah, I'm at ATL."
• "Hang on, I got a phone call."
• "I know...I know"
• "Whoa, whoa, WHOA!"

Donnie Baker

Donnie regularly makes topical calls to the show and has a very authentic Kentuckiana accent. He relates anecdotes involving a good friend who had a semi-relevant experience, usually ending in a punch-line. Most of his calls are punctuated by a tagline like, "I swear to God" or "Look it up..." or "it's state law." Sometimes, Donnie is corrected, or told to get off the phone by Randy, his work supervisor, after which he always yells "Shut up Randy!" His calls usually and abruptly end, and always by him saying, "...I gotta go.". Donnie also appears with his band as "Donnie Baker and the Pork Pistols".

Notable Quotes

• "I swear to God I did..."
• "We got it on tape."
• "They have to, it's a state law"
• "...look it up."
• "Hey do you know (random name)?"
• "NO, IT AIN'T!"
• "Shut up Randy!"
• "Everybody knows it!"
• "I had Tommy Johns surgery on both knees!"
• "I probably know more about (whatever topic Bob & Tom are talking about) than anyone I know of"
• "I got a boat for sale!"
• "I'll say it right to your face!"
• "How about you, me and some of this pork?"

Mr. Obvious and the Caller

A recurring skit on The Bob & Tom Show, Mr. Obvious is portrayed as a radio personality with his own show, "The Mr. Obvious Show." He gives obvious and simple advice about whatever problem the caller may have. The caller always seems to be the same person, and opens the conversation with "Hi, Mr. Obvious. Long time listener, first time caller." From there, the caller will describe his issue and give symptoms to help Mr. Obvious figure out his problem. Most of the time, the caller's issue is something that anyone else can figure out, but he cannot.

Notable Calls

• "The Critter": The caller believes there's an animal in his sink, when it's really a garbage disposal.
• "New Neighbor": The caller thinks that his wife is allergic to a cat at the new neighbor's house after hearing what sounds like his wife who is about to sneeze, but Mr. Obvious figures out what's really going on, and doesn't tell the caller...
• "New Company Car": Our caller believes the new car is making him sick, as he feels hot and cold at the same time. After telling Mr. Obvious it begins after pressing the "seat indicator" button, Mr. Obvious realizes it's actually the seat warmer.
• "The Snake": Mr. Caller hears a loud hissing noise from behind the gas stove, thinking it's a snake. However, after using a lighter to see behind the stove, he finds it is not.

Notable Quotes

• "Hey, Mr. Obvious. Long time listener, first time caller."
• "Thanks, Mr. Obvious. You're a life saver!"
• "Huh. I never made the connection."

TV program

On November 3, 2008, WGN America began airing an hour-long TV show taken from the day's radio broadcast at Midnight ET Monday through Friday (as of November 2009, it was moved to 2 a.m. ET). The program ended its run on WGN America on September 10, 2010, as part of an extensive revamp of the network's schedule. As part of the deal, WTTV Indianapolis (another Tribune-owned station) would be the first to air the nightly one-hour telecast.

Discography

• Somewhere Over the Radio (November 2011)
• Hot Air (November 2011 - seventh USO Care Package troop-only album)
• Crushed Nuts (December 2010)
• General Static (October 2010 - sixth USO Care Package troop-only album)
• Dead Air (November 2009)
• Radio Waves (October 2009 - fifth USO Care Package troop-only album)
• As Big As a Hat (November 2008)
• Greetings from the USA (October 2008 - fourth USO Care Package troop-only album)
• My Job Sucks (June 2008)
• State Law (November 2007 - part of WJL package)
• We Just Landed! (November 2007)
• Radio Rations (October 2007 - third USO Care Package troop-only album)
• Please, Stand Up (album) (September 2007)
• Bob and Tom: Comedy All Stars Tour DVD (2006)
• Bob and Tom: Standup, Sitting Down DVD (2006)
• Bob and Tom: The Comedy Tour Volume 1 DVD (2006)
• Shut-Up Randy! (November 2006)
• Man Boobs (November 2006)
• Operation Radio (October 2006 - second USO Care Package troop-only album)
• Donkey Show (July 2006)
• The Donnie Baker Collection: Boat for Sale (November 2005)
• Happy Hour (November 2005)
• The Mr. Obvious Show (October 2005)

• A Radio Institution (July 2005 - first USO Care Package troop-only album)
• Sideshow (November 2004)
• Bob and Tom: Home Movie DVD (November 2004)
• Odd Balls (October 2004)
• Mistletoe (December 2003)
• Camel Toe (December 2003)
• Wild About Harry (October 2003)
• Uncensored (December 2002)
• Gone Wild (December 2002)
• Radiogram (December 2001)
• We're Still Standing Tall (September 2001)
• You Guys Rock! (December 2000)
• The Election Collection 2000 (November 2000)
• Take Off Your Clothes! (Fall 2000)
• Indiana Rocks (April 2000)
• Greatest Hits: Volume One (December 1999)
• Back in '98 (December 1998)
• Gimme an "F" (December 1997)
• Fun House (August 1997)
• It's a Wonderful Laugh (December 1996)
• Factory Air (June 1996)

• Planet Bob & Tom (December 1995)
• Checkered Past (May 1995)
• Canned Laughter (December 1994)
• Good Ol' Boys (August 1994)
• Air Bags (May 1994)
• Lollapaloozers (December 1993)
• Laugh in the Fast Lane (May 1993)
• We Three Kings (December 1992)
• Motorheads (Spring 1992)
• Air Heads (December 1991)
• Just Skiddin' (May 1991)
• Twin Geeks (December 1990)
• Good Morning Saudi Arabia (cassette) (November 1990)
• Find My Keys and We'll Drive Out! (May 1990)
• With a Little Help From Our Friends (December 1989)
• It’s A New Track Record! (May 1989)
• Last Train To Whiskeyville (December 1988)
• At The Race (cassette) (May 1988)
• I Spent The War In Indiana / Oh Danny Quayle (cassette single) (1988)
• Shabbey Road (December 1987)
• The White Album (December 1986)

Public service

• They are well known for their charitable work. Some of the albums they have produced since 1986 have been utilized to raise money for various charities. After the syndicated portion of their show ends at 10:00 a.m. Eastern they typically devote up to a half hour to further interviews, often about local events, bands, and charities.

• In October it has become tradition for Chick to get a prostate exam on the air to raise awareness for prostate cancer. Bob and Tom used to promote this exam as "Proctober"; however, this exam is now "Rectember". The latest exam was held on September 6, 2011 with Gunner doing it.

• The Bob & Tom Show has produced seven CDs for the USO to include in holiday care packages sent to troops stationed world wide.

• Bob and Tom had a friendly wager with Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday that if he ever got a touchdown they would donate $5,000 to the charity of his choice. During the 2006-2007 NFL season, they increased the wager to $10,000. They assumed that they were safe since offensive linemen rarely score in NFL games. In January 2007, the Colts were playing the New England Patriots. During one play, Dominic Rhodes carried into the middle of the line and fumbled. Saturday fell on the ball in the end zone for the touchdown. Bob and Tom made good on their wager and donated $5,000 each to People's Burn Foundation of Indiana, and Kid's Voice of Indiana, Inc.

Awards

• In 1993, 1995, 1997, 1999, and 2006, Bob & Tom were recipients of the Marconi Award from the NAB.
• From 1991 to 1998, Bob & Tom received The Billboard Magazine Radio Personality of the Year award.
• In 1994, Bob & Tom were named Sagamores of the Wabash, the state of Indiana's highest honor.
• In 1996 and 2000, the show was awarded the National Chairman's Citation Award from the Leukemia Society of America.
• In 2000, 2001, and 2003, Bob & Tom received the Radio & Records Classic Rock Personality of the Year Award.

External links

• Bob & Tom Official site
• Bob & Tom Store
• Bob & Tom Premiere Radio homepage
• Bob & Tom Affiliate List
• A Bob & Tom group on Yahoo!