John Boy and Billy

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Syndicated radio DJs John Boy and Billy are heard every weekday morning in many Southern US states on their popular comedy morning show, The Big Show.

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 from 6am to 10am eastern time in several Southern states via syndication through Clear Channel Communications. They can be contacted by calling 1-800 Big Show.

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 radio stations 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 white males in Southern and rural markets who are likely to be patriotic, republican, and bellicose. Broadcast States Include: North Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

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 in a variety of flavors which can be purchased in supermarkets in the South.

The Crew

Please click on each name to read that person's Wikipedia entry.

• John "John Boy" Isley - Host

• Billy James - Co-host

• Robert D. Raiford - Commentary

• Randy Brazell - Executive Producer

• Jackie Curry-Lynch - Assistant Producer

• Jeff Pillars - Show writer

• Marci Moran - Guest Coordinator

• Marty Lambert - Affiliate Sales & Syndication

• Jay Wilson - Senior account executive

• Steve Burgiss - Weekend Producer

• Donnie Presley - Director of Merchandising

• Barbara - Administrative Assistant

• Barry Hopson - Engineer

• Jeff Kent - Best of Segments

Former Crew Members

• Summer
• Lisa
• Lee Melvin: She read the news spots before Marci Moran came on as an intern.
• Jennifer

Catchphrases

• "Where y'all goin' later?"(John Boy)
• "Oowa oowa oowa!" (John Boy)
• "Duh huh!" (John Boy)
• "Where's my big bag?" (John Boy)
• "I care, I'm just not going to do anything about it." (John Boy)
• "Who said that? I said that!" (Robert D. Raiford)
• "Y’all keep ’em straight up thar." (Billy as Rev. Billy Ray Collins)
• "Nobody touch nobody."
• "Superstar!" (Marci)
• "Look at Youuuu!" (Marci)
• "Kill whitey!" (John Boy)
• "You love him." (Randy)
• "No, YOU hang up!" (John Boy)
• "I love YOU more!" (John Boy)
• "It eats ice cream." (Tennessee Fatboy's wife, in reference to their old pet parrot)
• "NOT TOO GOOD." (everyone; Billy as Hoyt)
• "I SAAAAAWWW that." (Randy, feigning amazement)
• "I'm in recovery." (Astronerd)
• "Cousins are good for practice." (anyone)
• "Oh, blow it out your ass." (soundbite from the film Blazing Saddles)
• "Not that there's anything wrong with that." (anyone, catchphrase from the TV show Seinfeld)
• "This... will end... badly." (Randy commenting on strange news items and Big Show situations, usually involving women)
• "Old folks doin' stuff." (Raiford, or people talking about Raiford or especially adventuresome senior citizens)
• "Is he/she gone? (pause) What a nut." (Randy)
• "All my life, wanna fight about it?" (Hoyt, when John Boy asks if it's him on the phone)
• "Stay classy, listeners." (Marci)
• "Good luck with all that." (anyone, mostly John Boy)
• "9 times 7? (long pause) Nevendy Flaven." (John Boy and Billy)
• "Stuuupid!" (recorded children's voice simulations)
• "Love ya, mean it!" (Murray, Jimbo's and Bobby's talent agent)
• "Puddin'! Puddin' puddin' puddin'! Puddin' head! Puddin' head!" (Outtake of Raiford goofing off)
• "Grab your scrips, cover your nips" (John Boy)
• "JOHN BOY" (said quickly in a deep voice)

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)

• Reverend Billy Ray Collins is perhaps the longest-running, most frequent, and most popular of all characters ever to have appeared on the Big Show. He is the archetype of the Deep South radio preacher. If any character deserves his own separate Wikipedia entry, it is indeed the Reverend Billy Ray Collins. He pastors the Sword Of Joshua Independent Full Gospel Pentecostal Assembly, which is located "just off State Road 23 on the Frontage Road" [Big Show cast chimes in with him for this line]. The S.O.J.I.F.G.P.A. was originally introduced in the "Haunted House" segment as the Sword Of The Lord Full Gospel Pentecostal Holiness Church, and Billy Ray Collins was called the "Right Reverend Billy Ray Collins" by John Boy during this segment. Based upon locales mentioned during his segments, the S.O.J.I.F.G.P.A. is most likely now located in the state of Alabama, although in the "Haunted House" segment, John Boy mentioned that the church was discovered locally in the Charlotte area. The Reverend is basically a parody of the evangelical, extreme fundamentalist Southern Baptist or Pentecostal ministers popular among churchgoers in the Southeast United States."Haunted House" was inspired by an incident occurring at a church-sponsored Haunted House at Abundant Life Christian Center in Arvada, Colorado. "Cartoons" was inspired by Reverend Jerry Falwell's infamous homosexual inference about the Teletubbies character Tinky Winky carrying a purse. Reverend Collins preaches fire and brimstone sermons against most everything, but particularly "homersexuals", "agnosticators", "transvertites" and sinful popular culture icons such as "Madonner", "Beavis And Butthole", "Okra Winfrey", "Christine Alligator", "Queen Levitra", "Harvey Potter", "Velmer", "Ozzy Osmond", and "Britney Shears". He always opens his segments with, "Good mornin' there, John Boy & Billy -- and good morning' to all our beloved friends out there in radio-land!" He always ends his segments with, "This here's the Reverend Billy Ray Collins, remindin' ya it's time to turn, so you don't burn. John Boy and Billy -- y'all keep 'em straight up thar." He can be frequently found issuing warnings to the Big Show listeners, such as "watch out for the World Wide Web of Deceit", and often invites Big Show listeners to the church for "a double dose of the God's honest truth". He was first introduced to the Big Show in a segment titled "Haunted House", and broke into the regular Big Show lineup with the very popular segment "Cartoon Homersexuals Exposed", where he admonishes listeners to "come on down, and watch us rip the lid off the hidden homersexual messages in yer kiddies' favorite cartoons", such as The Flintstones and Scooby Doo. When he invites Big Show listeners to his revival meetings, he often promises "admission is free; a love offering will be collected." Or in his vacation Bible school, Bibles will be given to kiddies with a love offering of $29.95. You may read a transcript of one of the Reverend's radio sermonettes, which appeared on the Big Show August 3, 2005, by clicking on this link (Played by Billy James)

• 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)

• 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 (introduction: "Mehhhhh-hello?" "Is this Hoyt?" "All my life, wanna fight about it?" "Nah, man, John Boy and Billy here!" "Well, whaddya say there, you big 'ol hairy, no-driving, poot-lighting, knuckle-dragging, Hee-Haw lookin' pervert?") 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." This "Goober" is the same Goober who appears with Reverend Earnest Lee Sincere. (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 frequent characters on the John Boy & Billy Playhouse. Ricky is the frequent butt of jokes involving his very short height. He can still ride almost all the rides at the county fair, including the ones with a height maximum. When he gets flustered, he begins using word fragments to express his frustration, such as in the sentence, "I was going up there to the god-dang-pee-bah-gee-doo-put-kot store!" His catchphrases are his distinct laugh when made fun of, as well as his favorite term of endearment ["pot-lickers"], and his distinctly delivered exclamation, "Son of a... !" (Ricky B. played by Jeff Pillars and Lucy R. played by Marci Moran)

• Brenda Sharpe-Buckner is Ricky B. Sharpe's sister who also lives in Dothan, Alabama. She's "Fred's husband" -- a fact that she reiterates constantly. Brenda usually appears in the John Boy and Billy Playhouse, usually appearing in court in front of Judge Frank "Fuzzy" Reinhold [played by John Isley], either standing trial or speaking on behalf of her husband. She speaks in a very baritone-to-bass voice. Brenda and Fred constantly engage in shoplifting and petty theft from Wal-Mart, usually for hams and other food items. (Played by Marci Moran)

• J.D. is the spokesperson for "J.D.'s 24 Hour Drive-Thru Pawn & Gun Auto Parts Bait 'n Tackle Pharmaceutical Adult Gift Discount Cigarette Outlet". A fast-talking Southern man, he advertises all manner of bizarre sales and specials that his store is offering. (Played by Randy Brazell)

• 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, part-time 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 "dumb 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)

• Frank Nelson is a friend of Murray. Whenever Ceil goes on vacation or ends up in some unfortunate mishap, Frank usually fills in. He's extremely sarcastic, and more than a little obnoxious -- that's why Murray thinks he's wonderful.

• 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, against such foes as his arch-nemesis Separated Man, who once kidnapped Married Man and all his sidekicks. 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, given to them by Homer Simpson. 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. At this same time Married Man traded his trademark mini van for a Subaru Forrester. (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, or less frequently, people who do seem gay, but actually aren't. (Played by Jeff Pillars)

• 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, such as the Jamaican one. The players usually break character and tease Marci at this point. (played by Marci Moran)

• Rabbi Shlomo is a rabbi with a very thick Jewish accent. He responds to most statements with his catchphrase, "What's that like?" (Played by Jeff Pillars)

• Al Qaeda & Al Jazeera, the owners of Taliban Motors. Al Qaeda and Al Jazeera are so determined to sell you a car that they would "call a jihad" to get your business. (Al Qaeda played by Jeff Pillars and Al Jazeera played by Billy James)

• Sherman Pratt the Big Show Brat (played by Will Lowe, son of Big Show business manager Ed Lowe).

• The Crocodile Stalker, a parody of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, an Australian man who, in his attempts to get closer to rare and unusual animals typically ends up getting mauled by them. (Played by Jeff Pillars with commentary lead in by Summer)

• Granny Klump, a surprisingly lusty old grandmother (she's older than 100) with a particular fetish for Robert D. Raiford. She's based on the grandmother in the Eddie Murphy remake of the film, The Nutty Professor. (Played by Jeff Pillars)

• Buzz Knuttley is the Big Show's own roving reporter. (Played by Jeff Pillars)

• Rev. Oral Rogers is loosely based on televangelist Oral Roberts. (played by Randy Brazell)

• Tarmac the Magnificent is based upon the "Carnac the Magnificent" skits played by Johnny Carson during his time as host of The Tonight Show. In it, John Boy gives the answer to a question, then Billy opens a letter and reads the question, always resulting in a punchline. (played by Billy James)

• Brady was played by Mike Pruitt, former cook outside of the Big Show studio. Something happened and he no longer comes around. He still shows up, occasionally, at the Grove Park Inn Comedy Classic in the audience.

• Dr. Feezly (Played by John Isley)

• Dr. John Cocktosen (Played by Jeff Pillars)

• White Boy Patrick Ike Turner's intern

• Patrick McGroin race fixer at Dublin Downs,Dublin, Ireland (Played by Jeff Pillars)

Minor Characters

Minor Character are heard going into a commercial break. All of these are played by Jeff Pillars.

• Matt Foley -- the counselor played by the late Chris Farley on Saturday Night Live who warned people that they would be living "in a van down by the river".
• Morris the Sling Blade Poet -- "I stand on the hill, not for a thrill, but for the breath of a fresh kill. Never mind the man who contemplates doin' away with license plates. He stands alone, anyhow, bakin' the cookies of discontent by the heat of the laundromat vent. Leavin' his soul!" Then like in poetry I go dot-dot-dot, you know, kinda off center, then I drop down and then I go: "Leavin' his soul! And partin' the waters of the medulla oblongata of - -brrrrrr! - -mankind!"
• Ed Sullivan Jr.
• Clark Gable -- "Not that there's anything wrong with that."
• Sean Connery
• Gary Busey
• Don Corleone -- "Would you rather sleep with the fishes or listen to John Boy and Billy?"

Show Segments

• Raiford Raves offers social commentaries during the show every hour. "Who said that? I said that! Robert D. Raiford on the John Boy & Billy Show".

• Dumb Crook News: Real world news, reporting arrests of criminals who managed to get themselves caught in hilarious ways.

• Dell's Den: Dell's Den is a real restaurant and bar in Valley, Alabama. John Boy and Billy frequently play recordings of the "Ad Talk Guy" who records their answering machine messages. He is a big fan of the Auburn Tigers -- his most common quote is, "War Damn Eagle!". Dell's Den has an "Ad Talk" line with often hilarious rambling messages about anything and everything. The number for this line is (334)756-3336.

• The John Boy and Billy Playhouse: Character-driven skits acted out by The Big Show cast. A good number of the skits are set in a fictional Southern town called Brushywood, though some have been set in such diverse places as Ireland, Dothan, Alabama, the Wild West, and Thibodaux, Louisiana.

• Ax Ike: 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)

• Karl Childers' Storytime: 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 usually features a well known story (some examples are Cinderella and Dracula) told in the twisted way that typifies the character of Karl Childers.

• Bro on Call: 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)

• Mr. Rhubarb's Storytime: 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)

• Willie P. Richardson: is a prank phone caller from Nacogdoches, Texas -- these are actually comedy skits by Willie P. Richardson, the Phone Prankster, who is not part of The Big Show cast.

• Top 10 List: A humorous list of the top ten reasons for something, similar to that on David Letterman.

• Letters to the Mailbag: John Boy & Billy read listener letters and e-mails on the air.

• Classic Bit of the Day, 9:45 AM EST run of a favorite bit requested by a listener

• Tatertainment News, Humerous look at the life and troubles of celebrities as written in several entertainment magazines that John Boy allows Tater to subscribe to.

• Yuck It Up Time, Raiford's term for the early (6:00 to 6:30 AM EST) comedy comments to get the mood going for the rest of the show.

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 (real name: Spencer R. Rackley IV) 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. Another running gag (recently) is John Boy sneaking Astronerd on for an interview about some obscure astronomy topic -- this is usually done for the sole purpose of exasperating Randy. Astronerd'sOfficial Website - Charlotte Amateur Astronomers Club Official Website - Winter Star Party (of Ax Ike fame) Official Website of the Winter Star Party

• Racing Fatboy is known as a NASCAR spotter. 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 (Gary Russell) 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.

• General Tom Sadler is a retired US Air Force general who regularly gives the audience updates and commentary regarding current events involving troop morale and the military as a whole.

• Sargie Wargie, also known as Sgt. Gary Parks of the US Air Force, is an occasional Big Show contributor. He has been deployed overseas and has commented most recently on the state of affairs in the Middle East.

• Spanky, Proprietor of John Boy's favorite "billiard parlor".

• Bradshaw, John Boy's friend and Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch) distributor who "clotheslined" a guy in Las Vegas for burning an American Flag. Soon afterwards, an urban legend popped up about Terry Bradshaw doing this.

• Air Lucas, John Boy's friend Joe Lucas. He owns an air conditioning/heating business (hence the nom de plume, Air Lucas).

• Mario, who says Please! Please! Please! -- it's Mario's tag line.

• Duh-Huh Fishing Team needs info

• Beach Billy needs info

• Sloopy, John Boy's former ex-brother-in-law (don't ask!)

• Captain Kit needs info

• Officer Thiggy, Police Officer Thigpin from Wilmington, North Carolina where John Boy has a 'Vacation Trailer'.

• 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.

Frequent Guests

• James Gregory
• Tim Wilson
• Killer Beaz
• Rodney Carrington
• Robert Earl Keen
• Franklin Graham
• Manchester Farms Quail
• 'Materette -- 'Mater Man's hot actress daughter.
• Bojangles' Catering
• Hooters Girls
• Paul Thorn
• Sam Bass
• Frank Caliendo
• Scott Angrave
• Winners of the Nascar Races during each week of the Season
• Plain or Fancy Catering
• Matt Yokum

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 ("We'll take caller nine and keep goin' 'til we get a winner."). 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 (repeatedly) 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.

• The Stupie Quiz: The Stupie Quiz was a quiz administered by former Big Show employee Summer. This was a competition between John Boy and a caller. The questions usually had glaringly obvious or easy answers, but John Boy would never seem to get them right. Callers would have to "buzz in" by pressing a number on their touch-tone phone and John Boy had a bell to signal his buzz-in. This game came back in March 2006. It will be played on Fridays. The Stupie Quiz is administered by Tater.

List of former contests:

• Wordy Word: Similar to the $25,000 Pyramid, originally had a very humorous format in which Billy had to use $5 words for a common phrase and the contestants had to buzz in to be the first to give the common phrase. Later versions featured hip hop language and other formats.
• "Beat the Blonde": The Blonde was originally Lisa, then later became Tater, and sometimes was another female guest. The Blonde is given a question and usually three choices of answers. Then the guest has to say whether they agree or disagree with her choice.
• Mayberry Trivia: This was a trivia quiz on the The Andy Griffith Show that was played on Fridays. Many of the questions were remarkably obscure. After John Boy became too successful against call-in contestants, they started requesting would-be contenders to Mr. Isley's title to submit their challenges in writing. It ended in a large tournament.
• Christmas Trumpet: This contest occurs only at Christmas time; a contestant attempts to identify a Christmas song that John Boy tries to play on a trumpet. Unfortunately for the contestants, John Boy's trumpet skills leave something to be desired.
• I Like Cheese!: A former contest in which the contestant is in a drive thru at a fast-food restaurant and must get the cashier to tell him/her to drive around after ONLY saying 'I like cheese!'. A variant of this game was done where the contestant could only say, "Pickles give me gas."
• "Redneck Idol": Three callers competed against each other and were judged by the Big Show version of the Idol judges.
• Dollywood Squares, Like Hollywood Squares, except that there were just one or two panelists to question and none of them represented a specific square on the board (the contestant chose the square he/she would attempt to win).

One of the "traditions" of The Big Show is that first time callers are always played a cow's "moo" sound effect.

Controversy

• During outburst John Boy used to offer a new car if the contestant could answer all nine questions in 5 seconds or less. A contestant did this and was sent a Matchbox car. This caused a little bit of a problem.

Frequent Contest Callers

• Sweet Ole' Bob(SOB)

Contest Prizes

• John Boy and Billy Grillin' Sauce
• John Boy and Billy Beef Jerky
• ZMAX Micro Lubricant
• John Boy and Billy Spring Water
• A choice of boots from the Georgia Boot Company
• A choice of pajamas from the PajamaGram Company
• A Teddy Bear from the Vermont Teddy Bear Company
• Walkman from BC Powders

Other Stuff & Charities

• John Boy and Billy have a "Comedy Classic Weekend" (On the Grove Park Inn Calendar of Events) every year at the Grove Park Inn (Official Website) 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.
• John Boy and Billy Comedy Golf Classic in Orlando, Florida
• The Big Show donates a $2,500 scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 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.
• Broadcast from Walt Disney World during the Daytona 500.

• United Service Organizations (USO)
• Samaritan's Purse
• Operation Christmas Child
• Victory Junction Gang
• Kyle Petty Charity Rides Across America
• Operation Phone Card for U.S. soldiers
• Speedway Children's Charities

Special Broadcast Locations

• Japan
• Norway
• Orlando, Florida

Comedy Albums

• Two For the Show (1993)
• Love Ya... Mean It. (1994)
• Dixie Diner (1996)
• Rocket Science: (October 27, 1998)
• Christmas Album: (October 27, 1998)
• John Boy & Billy's Country Race Tracks: (September 14, 1999)
• Radioland: (October 26, 1999)
• Freak Show: (August 21, 2001)
• Nerve Wrackin' Christmas 2 (October 23, 2001)
• Best of Twenty: A 20th Anniversary Double Album: (October 23, 2001)
• Rough Cuts: (October 22, 2002)
• Big Ol' Hairy Christmas (2005)

Sponsors

• Georgia Boot Company
• Holland Grill
• Eton America
• Blue Emu
• BC Powder
• Auto Zone
• TracFone
• Vermont Teddy Bear Company
• Elizabeth's Pecans
• Direct Sports

External links

• Official Website
• The Big Show Now!

Webcast stations:

• Richmond
• Orlando