The John Boy and Billy Big Show

#1
VolsSportsFan

VolsSportsFan

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#1
I'm pretty sure there has been a thread about this show before but I can't find it.

I saw the other day that 12/31/2025 was the last day of their show. I used to listen to it back in the 90s through early 2000s on originaly 104.5 The Arrow and then 105.9 The Rock in Nashville. Eventually I stopped listening for various reasons, the biggest being I felt like the show got pretty monotonous and stale.

I haven't listened in probably 23 years but decided out of nostalgia I'd try to find their last broadcast. It's on iHeartRadio and found out that their show isn't even live anymore, they pre-tape the show in the afternoons and usually do a weeks worth of shows in a few days of recording and apparently it's been that way a good 10 years now.

I fired up the final show and it was like going back in time to 1997. The show was almost exactly the same. It was very generic and it was basically then reading off stuff from the internet but some of the bits I swear are the same you could have heard 20 years ago. Then they would play "classic" bits which was maybe half the broadcast and again you couldn't really tell the old stuff from the new, which is kind of both good and bad I guess.

And finally the weirdest part was....there was absolutely no mention of it being their final show. Nothing at all, only in the notes on the app did it say "Thanks for 45 years!" They didn't mention anything in the actual broadcast and even funnier, John Boy's last line was "see you tomorrow!".

Anyway, tip of the hat to a show I used to love, it was way past its prime but I have to admit listening to it it still made me laugh a few times, especially John Boy messing up words.
 
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#2
#2
Yeah, its probably been about that long for me since I've listened to them. It brings up nostalgia of going to high school every morning and listening to them. I loved the show as a kid. Hard to beleive they have been on the air as long as they have and jusr now went off.
 
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#4
#4
Pennheel said:
Yeah, its probably been about that long for me since I've listened to them. It brings up nostalgia of going to high school every morning and listening to them. I loved the show as a kid. Hard to beleive they have been on the air as long as they have and jusr now went off.
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Yeah and honestly that last show, you could have played one from 20 years ago and that one and I'm not sure I could tell you which was the newer one. I dont' think they referenced anything in the new parts that would tell you it was 2025, like they would tell a story but I don't think they gave a date or anything, just vague parts.

Even their bumpers between breaks where they would play clips of celebrities and impersonaters were old, they played the Ric Flair promo and I know for a fact that is the same one from the late 90s when Nitro was still on.
 
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#5
#5
Never really cared for them that much. The sling blade stuff was fun a few times.


I was always favored Bob and Tom show, but stopped listening to that right before Bob retired
 
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#6
#6
12/23/2025 was the final live show. 12/31 was a rerun.

I haven’t listened to 12/23 yet. It’s on Spotify.

I read that Billy hasn’t been involved for several years now. Just John Boy and the rest of the cast.

They’ll still be on social media and the Big Show dot com now and then.

I haven’t heard ManCow for over a decade. I wonder if he’s still actively stirring it up.
 
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#7
#7
Thunder Good-Oil said:
12/23/2025 was the final live show. 12/31 was a rerun.

I haven’t listened to 12/23 yet. It’s on Spotify.

I read that Billy hasn’t been involved for several years now. Just John Boy and the rest of the cast.

They’ll still be on social media and the Big Show dot com now and then.

I haven’t heard ManCow for over a decade. I wonder if he’s still actively stirring it up.
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That makes sense then, because that "final" show sounded like it could have been literally anytime in the past 25 years.

Also I now remember that back when I listened they would do a show before Christmas and then take off the rest of the year and it was "Best of" so that tracks.
 
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#8
#8
vols 30 said:
Never really cared for them that much. The sling blade stuff was fun a few times.


I was always favored Bob and Tom show, but stopped listening to that right before Bob retired
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They were funny for about 5 years, but towards the end of the 90s into the 2000s it felt like they got really stale and they started to repeat bits and half the show became "classic" bits.

I remember one time they actually played the same end of the show for about 3 days.
 
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#9
#9
Also I wasn't a big Bob and Tom fan but I did get into Free Beer and Hot Wings when they took over 102.9 FM in Nashville. I listened to them about 10 years before they got kinda stale and had a lot of public breakups with on air staff (Eric Zane and Producer Joe).

I remember one thing FB&HW would talk about a lot was how they didnt' understand how JB&B were so popular and made so much money because it was a known thing in the industry how lazy they were. Some would say it came across as sour grapes and they admitted that is fair but I found it interesting.
 
#11
#11
Never had heard of JB&B till I moved to NE GA in '96 and picked them up on the Greenville, SC classic rock station. Cracked me up. But, the one thing I noticed right off the bat is that they totally played off each other. If one was out on vacay or whatever, the other was a dud by himslef, even with the rest of the crew. They had to have each other. My favorite though in the show was the old grumpy man, Robert D Raifort.
 
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#12
#12
Thunder Good-Oil said:
I think that Eric Zane and Phil Williams had a physical altercation at WIMZ.
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Zane had several incidents from what I remember, which made it funny to me that the one that got him fired seemed tame. I remember it was something like he made a joke about the owner of the Delta Plex because he did PA work for the then Grand Rapids Drive. I think the owner had ownership of the radio station or something like that and he got Zane pushed out.
 
#13
#13
vols 30 said:
Never really cared for them that much. The sling blade stuff was fun a few times.


I was always favored Bob and Tom show, but stopped listening to that right before Bob retired
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Agreed. JB&B wasn’t funny imo. Tried too hard to be funny. Here in past year I’d flip them on just to see if it was any better. It wasn’t. Sometimes I wondered if it was AI doing the show. I say to myself I cant believe people listen to this sh**.
they were a half step better than Rick and Bubba.

I still listen to B&T. They don’t have nearly the amount of comedians as they used to. Chick kinda stepped into the #2 spot left by Bob. Josh had to grow on me but he’s ok now. Pat Godwins song are always great.

Ps. I am a two time Bob Zany fix the joke baby winner.
 
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#14
#14
Anyone listen to Lex & Terry? I listened to them quite a bit when their show aired here in Chattanooga but it hasn't aired here in a long time.
 
#15
#15
I’d listen to John Boy and Billy on my drive in to high school in the late 90s (tuning in to Gulf 104 out of Tallahassee), and they were hilarious to me back then. Glad they are hopefully getting to enjoy retirement and all.
 
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#17
#17
malinoisvol said:
Wadja kill Billy fer?
Wadja kill Billy fer?

RDR Armageddon news story was the GOAT.
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Man, that brings back some memories. At the small office I worked when I lived in Florida, that was a running joke. Somebody would randomly holler out “Armageddon!” and all of us out in the open office would bust out laughing.
 
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#18
#18
Funny story; I was probably around 8-9 years old or so. Living in Concord right outside of Charlotte. We got that ice storm that Knoxville got hammered with. I remember going to Shoneys, we get out and I remember this older gentleman helping his wife out of the car, we start towards the door. The older gentleman said “young man you plan to play in this mess tomorrow morning, don’t you?” I vividly remember mom grabbing my arm real tight which meant I best answer with a yes sir or no sir. I answered “yes sir I sure do” I opened the door and held it for him. He said thank you and proceeded through the door I answered with another quick “yes sir”

Little did I know I had met the legend himself Robert D. Raiford.

Mom and Dad were JB&B listeners and were for years, next day he did a skit on kids and manners LOL.
 
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#20
#20
I finally got around to listening to the final real show (12/23/25).

It wasn't bad but funny enough it really didn't sound any different than the shows I listened to 20 something years ago. Billy showed up, apparently he's been retired for 2 years, and Jeff Pillars showed up and he apparently hasnt' been on in 2 years either. Other than that it was kinda just them going "Yeah we're retiring". And seemed like half the show was classic clips, one being they played the Christmas Married Man they play every year. ANd then they played a classic game segment that I remember hearing live almost 30 years ago lol.
 
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#24
#24
tbh said:
I’d listen to John Boy and Billy on my drive in to high school in the late 90s (tuning in to Gulf 104 out of Tallahassee), and they were hilarious to me back then. Glad they are hopefully getting to enjoy retirement and all.
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Grew up on Gulf 104. Well, when we could get it. Were on the edge of the coverage area.

"In this, the capital city, a new hour begins on the new Gulf, Gulf 104!"
 
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