August 20, 2025 • 7 mins
Bobby Bones Reflects On The Very First Time He Cracked The Mic
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I remember the first time I ever cracked the mic.
I was seventeen years old in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and
the program director at the time had given me the
name Bobby Bones because Bobby is my real name. And
I remember I went on and I was so nervous.
It was overnight, two in the morning, and I said, hey,
this is and then I said my real name, not
my radio name. It was an epic failure, and for
(00:22):
most people it is an epic failure the very first
time they ever get on a microphone, whenever the pressure
is on. For me, the biggest high point of my
radio career, it was really cool to be put in
the Radio Hall of Fame. I was the youngest person
ever to be put in and that's quite the flex
so that was awesome. I think anytime that I'm able
(00:42):
to do anything based on the success of the radio show,
if it's a you know, I've had multiple television show,
its multiple successful books, but that's all credited back from
me to the radio show. So I think any of
those big things like that's all part of my radio
career and those will be my favorite moments. I think
one of the most un expected awesome guests was when
(01:02):
John Mayer came in. He came in and sat for
like half an hour, and he was just in town.
And there was this season Alive where John Mayer and
I were kind of friendly, Like when I was in California,
I'd go by and see him if he's playing, or
he came to an iHeart stage show once that was
hosting and he popped in here and he just came
in and we talked for like half an hour on
the air. Really didn't plan on it because I didn't
(01:24):
know he's coming by, and that thing has gone super
viral a few times. Another one was like an early
Christapleton before he was the artist Chris Stapleton, he was
the songwriter Chris Stapleton, and he came up and he
performed like a Josh Turner song that he had written,
and that was super cool because you know, that really
cemented Chris and ized relationship very early. And that video
has also gone viral many times over. Those are probably
(01:45):
my favorite. My favorite listener interactions were always when I
was doing like live stage shows. I'd be out touring
do and stand out, but it was all the listeners
of the radio show that would come and so I
would get to do these met and greets with listeners
and use that as a real life hey, what did
you like, what did you not like? What's funny, what's
not funny? And also to be able to tour, to me,
(02:05):
that was the greatest window into the lives of our
listeners because I said at this microphone and we talked
to people, or I see people out on the street
in my city that I'm in. But for the most part,
like touring allowed me to go to places from New
York to North Dakota to California. We could do it
all and actually see and meet listeners and see even
how they're different, you know, regionally. So that was probably
(02:26):
the coolest thing as far as tough on air moments go.
Anytime there's a disaster or a tragedy, you know, whenever
the shooting happened in Vegas, and that was during a
country music festival. I mean I'd played the festival the
night before the shooting, and I got got on a
plane that morning to come back, and so I wasn't
there that night, but a lot of my friends were
there that night, and so we had people come in
(02:48):
and play and talk, and that was super emotional. Also,
but on you know, the awesome part of that too
is being able to change lives in really wonderful ways.
We've built homes for members of the military, and so,
you know, it kind of hits the scale. Tragedies are
always the toughest, but being able to do things for
people are always some of the best. I had a
(03:09):
really bad oops moment on the air. It's way back
in the day. I was in Austin, Texas, and this
is before the delay, and so there wasn't a way
to hit a button and remove twenty seconds. And we
had a guest coming up to play with Sarah McLaughlin
and she was gonna play pianost we were to make
sure the piano sounded good. And I went into the
room and played the piano and came back and listened
to it recorded to see if it were And this
(03:32):
one I used to curse a lot, and I remember
going this sounds effing great into the microphone and I
didn't realize that I had recorded all that. And when
I was playing it back, I played me going, that
sounds efing great on the air, the F word on
the air. That's a pretty bad oop moment. Probably Hank
Williams Junior. If I were going to redo an interview,
I didn't know. They told Hank he couldn't smoke his
(03:52):
cigar in the building, which, by the way, that's fine.
I think you probably shouldn't be able to smoke your
cigar in the building. But he was on edge and
I didn't know that, and Hank william Junior came in
the studio and he's like, can I leave? And I'm like, leave,
and so I didn't know why he was so irritable.
I thought he was just super famous, and he left,
and that clip has gone viral. If I could redo it,
(04:14):
I don't know that I'd let him smoke in the building,
but at least I would know why he was so
irritated with the whole situation before he came in to
play a songs, So I'd probably redo that one. I
love playing games on the show. I love being competitive.
I think people also like to hear people having fun.
I think people like to play along. That's why game
shows have been so popular for one hundred years now.
(04:35):
And so we play a lot of games, and on
Fridays we always play the easiest trivia game ever. That's
called easy Trivia and I think our listeners like it
because they can play along. Our show likes it because
we like to play games. And that's probably the segment
that I love doing the most. If I could relive
one moment, I think I would enjoy it a little more.
Way back in the day, before I started to have
any success on television, I got picked to be on
(04:57):
when it was Regis and Kelly and Go and fill
in for And I found out while I was on
the air because Amy had her television on and she
was working from her house and started screaming, Oh my god,
you got it. That was a pretty cool moment. I
didn't know what was coming. I don't know that I
would want to relive it because of that moment was
so cool, But if I did, I think I would
enjoy it differently. That's special. I think one of the
(05:18):
great radio traditions is giving back the hosts, the stations.
I think it's a big part of the community in general.
Whatever that community is a local community. We work a
lot with Saint Jude and we don't even live in
the same city as at hospital, but that hospital takes
kids from all over the country, all equal. So I
(05:39):
think the tradition of giving back. I hope that doesn't
end on radio. I would describe radio on twenty twenty
five as being just a part of the overall product
that we have to produce, meaning we hope you listen
to us live. That'd be awesome. If you don't, then
hopefully you go and listen to the podcast, which I
still consider radio. I think anything coming from your phone
is radio, and I think you go listen to the
(06:00):
podcast if you missed anything, or maybe you just only
listen on podcasts, that's great too, maybe you go check
it on YouTube. It's so important to be available because
also we have to find ways to monetize the show
in ways that we are used to only traditionally monetizing.
So for me, how would describe radio anything that comes
out of your phone in anyway. I think my favorite
(06:20):
thing about being part of the iHeart family is I've
been in this company for over twenty years and I've
developed some really rich friendships and that's been fantastic. But
having the support of people who are in similar situations,
it's very easy to call Charlotten and the God and
be like, hey, I'm going through this, and he knows
(06:40):
exactly what I'm going through being in the company has
been fantastic, but also the resources, Like this is a
company that has resources in pretty much every major city,
so wherever I go across the country, I'm able to
call and be like, hey, I'm here. I'm also having
a sales team that knows how to sell the show.
I think that's fantastic. As you know, we provide, hopefully
(07:01):
the best for the people that want to buy our show,
and we can produce for them wonderful results. I think
that's probably the best part of being in the company.
I remember the first time I ever cracked the mic.
I was seventeen years old in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and
the program director at the time had given me the
name Bobby Bones because Bobby is my real name. And
I remember I went on and I was so nervous.
It was overnight, two in the morning, and I said, hey,
this is and then I said my real name, not
my radio name. It was an epic failure, and for
(00:22):
most people it is an epic failure the very first
time they ever get on a microphone, whenever the pressure
is on. For me, the biggest high point of my
radio career, it was really cool to be put in
the Radio Hall of Fame. I was the youngest person
ever to be put in and that's quite the flex
so that was awesome. I think anytime that I'm able
(00:42):
to do anything based on the success of the radio show,
if it's a you know, I've had multiple television show,
its multiple successful books, but that's all credited back from
me to the radio show. So I think any of
those big things like that's all part of my radio
career and those will be my favorite moments. I think
one of the most un expected awesome guests was when
(01:02):
John Mayer came in. He came in and sat for
like half an hour, and he was just in town.
And there was this season Alive where John Mayer and
I were kind of friendly, Like when I was in California,
I'd go by and see him if he's playing, or
he came to an iHeart stage show once that was
hosting and he popped in here and he just came
in and we talked for like half an hour on
the air. Really didn't plan on it because I didn't
(01:24):
know he's coming by, and that thing has gone super
viral a few times. Another one was like an early
Christapleton before he was the artist Chris Stapleton, he was
the songwriter Chris Stapleton, and he came up and he
performed like a Josh Turner song that he had written,
and that was super cool because you know, that really
cemented Chris and ized relationship very early. And that video
has also gone viral many times over. Those are probably
(01:45):
my favorite. My favorite listener interactions were always when I
was doing like live stage shows. I'd be out touring
do and stand out, but it was all the listeners
of the radio show that would come and so I
would get to do these met and greets with listeners
and use that as a real life hey, what did
you like, what did you not like? What's funny, what's
not funny? And also to be able to tour, to me,
(02:05):
that was the greatest window into the lives of our
listeners because I said at this microphone and we talked
to people, or I see people out on the street
in my city that I'm in. But for the most part,
like touring allowed me to go to places from New
York to North Dakota to California. We could do it
all and actually see and meet listeners and see even
how they're different, you know, regionally. So that was probably
(02:26):
the coolest thing as far as tough on air moments go.
Anytime there's a disaster or a tragedy, you know, whenever
the shooting happened in Vegas, and that was during a
country music festival. I mean I'd played the festival the
night before the shooting, and I got got on a
plane that morning to come back, and so I wasn't
there that night, but a lot of my friends were
there that night, and so we had people come in
(02:48):
and play and talk, and that was super emotional. Also,
but on you know, the awesome part of that too
is being able to change lives in really wonderful ways.
We've built homes for members of the military, and so,
you know, it kind of hits the scale. Tragedies are
always the toughest, but being able to do things for
people are always some of the best. I had a
(03:09):
really bad oops moment on the air. It's way back
in the day. I was in Austin, Texas, and this
is before the delay, and so there wasn't a way
to hit a button and remove twenty seconds. And we
had a guest coming up to play with Sarah McLaughlin
and she was gonna play pianost we were to make
sure the piano sounded good. And I went into the
room and played the piano and came back and listened
to it recorded to see if it were And this
(03:32):
one I used to curse a lot, and I remember
going this sounds effing great into the microphone and I
didn't realize that I had recorded all that. And when
I was playing it back, I played me going, that
sounds efing great on the air, the F word on
the air. That's a pretty bad oop moment. Probably Hank
Williams Junior. If I were going to redo an interview,
I didn't know. They told Hank he couldn't smoke his
(03:52):
cigar in the building, which, by the way, that's fine.
I think you probably shouldn't be able to smoke your
cigar in the building. But he was on edge and
I didn't know that, and Hank william Junior came in
the studio and he's like, can I leave? And I'm like, leave,
and so I didn't know why he was so irritable.
I thought he was just super famous, and he left,
and that clip has gone viral. If I could redo it,
(04:14):
I don't know that I'd let him smoke in the building,
but at least I would know why he was so
irritated with the whole situation before he came in to
play a songs, So I'd probably redo that one. I
love playing games on the show. I love being competitive.
I think people also like to hear people having fun.
I think people like to play along. That's why game
shows have been so popular for one hundred years now.
(04:35):
And so we play a lot of games, and on
Fridays we always play the easiest trivia game ever. That's
called easy Trivia and I think our listeners like it
because they can play along. Our show likes it because
we like to play games. And that's probably the segment
that I love doing the most. If I could relive
one moment, I think I would enjoy it a little more.
Way back in the day, before I started to have
any success on television, I got picked to be on
(04:57):
when it was Regis and Kelly and Go and fill
in for And I found out while I was on
the air because Amy had her television on and she
was working from her house and started screaming, Oh my god,
you got it. That was a pretty cool moment. I
didn't know what was coming. I don't know that I
would want to relive it because of that moment was
so cool, But if I did, I think I would
enjoy it differently. That's special. I think one of the
(05:18):
great radio traditions is giving back the hosts, the stations.
I think it's a big part of the community in general.
Whatever that community is a local community. We work a
lot with Saint Jude and we don't even live in
the same city as at hospital, but that hospital takes
kids from all over the country, all equal. So I
(05:39):
think the tradition of giving back. I hope that doesn't
end on radio. I would describe radio on twenty twenty
five as being just a part of the overall product
that we have to produce, meaning we hope you listen
to us live. That'd be awesome. If you don't, then
hopefully you go and listen to the podcast, which I
still consider radio. I think anything coming from your phone
is radio, and I think you go listen to the
(06:00):
podcast if you missed anything, or maybe you just only
listen on podcasts, that's great too, maybe you go check
it on YouTube. It's so important to be available because
also we have to find ways to monetize the show
in ways that we are used to only traditionally monetizing.
So for me, how would describe radio anything that comes
out of your phone in anyway. I think my favorite
(06:20):
thing about being part of the iHeart family is I've
been in this company for over twenty years and I've
developed some really rich friendships and that's been fantastic. But
having the support of people who are in similar situations,
it's very easy to call Charlotten and the God and
be like, hey, I'm going through this, and he knows
(06:40):
exactly what I'm going through being in the company has
been fantastic, but also the resources, Like this is a
company that has resources in pretty much every major city,
so wherever I go across the country, I'm able to
call and be like, hey, I'm here. I'm also having
a sales team that knows how to sell the show.
I think that's fantastic. As you know, we provide, hopefully
(07:01):
the best for the people that want to buy our show,
and we can produce for them wonderful results. I think
that's probably the best part of being in the company.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.