Rick and Bubba are two
redneck syndicated radio morning
DJs based in
Birmingham, Alabama. They are self-proclaimed as "The Two Sexiest Fat Men Alive." WYSF 94.5 FM in Birmingham serves as their
flagship station. Their show can be heard on over 20 radio stations in
Alabama,
Kentucky,
Missouri,
Mississippi, and
North Carolina.
History
Rick Burgess and Bill "Bubba" Bussey went to rival high schools and knew of each other through athletics. They became friends at Jacksonville State University. At the college's radio station Rick was the afternoon DJ and Bill was the promotional director and engineer.
After college, Bill got a job as engineer for a radio station in Gadsden, Alabama, and recommended Rick for the station's morning show personality. The two began to work together to find ideas for the show. One of the ideas was to have Bill read Shakespeare in his deep southern accent. Rick proclaimed that Bill sounded like his uncle Bubba. The "Bubba" nickname stuck for Bill. Bubba worked more and more with Rick and eventually became a regular part of Rick's show. The show eventually moved to Birmingham to attract a wider audience.
Catch Phrases
Rick and Bubba have several in-jokes, some of which are defined below:
Pros
- They are experts in self-promotion. Most people in their markets have at least heard of them, although they may not care for them. They have an extensive website and lent their name to a now defunct restaurant.
- They are usually clean in jokes and humor.
Cons
- Their show usually has no substance. Usually it is whatever topic is on their mind that particular day. Their readers' letters segment usually consists of praise for Rick and Bubba, but not much else.
- The show is Alabama-centric. We get to hear all the in-jokes about Alabama sports teams. Local Birmingham weather has its own special segment to the chagrin of their Missouri and Kentucky listeners. Seems that Rick and Bubba never let their listeners forget that the show is syndicated, but forget that their audience may not know or care about localized Alabama news and weather.
- Way too many commercials. We all know the radio stations need to pay their bills, but even when the discussion starts getting interesting another 10 minutes of commercials ensues.
- Without Rick, the show is bland and seems to be on autopilot. Bubba can't carry the show on his own.