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Name: Bob Kevoian
Age: 65
Occupation: morning radio host
Last Seen: Indianapolis
Bee-otched For: not quite leaving on top
Age: 65
Occupation: morning radio host
Last Seen: Indianapolis
Bee-otched For: not quite leaving on top
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It's official: the world is being saved from lame comedy sketches and fake laughter.
Effective at the end of this year, The Bob and Tom Show will be no more. That is because 1/2 of the Howard Stern clone duo is retiring.
Bob Kevoian announced during the duo's induction at the National Radio Hall of Fame last week that after nearly four decades in radio, he will stepping down from the show at the end of next month. In a statement, Kevoian said, "When I was a teenager, I was a real smart ass. I didn’t get along with my Dad. And he said “if you continue this behavior, you’ll amount to nothing. But you will make it to the big mouth hall of fame.” I made it, Dad. I always thought you had to die or be retired for five years to be considered for any hall of fame. Thank god I’m not dead, but I am going to retire at the end of this year and walk away from the mic. Thank you for this great honor."
Bob's partner, Tom Griswold said in the same statement "It was a huge thrill to be inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame with my partner Bob. He will always be a part of the Bob and Tom Show, and his presence will continue to be felt as we broadcast the show for many years to come."
Kevoian's started out as a sound man for the Young Americans. However in 1979, he began his radio career at WMBN-FM 96.3/AM 1340 in Petoskey, which played beautiful music (96.3 is now AC "Lite 96.3" while the AM is now sports as "The Fan"). Three years later, he met Tom at a bar in nearby Harbor Springs. The two became close pals and Tom - who worked at crosstown WJML-FM 99/AM 1110 - suggested that he get a job at the popular top 40 station. He did, and the Bob and Tom Show was born. However, somebody - possibly 106 KHQ owner Tim Moore - sent an aircheck of Bob and Tom to struggling rock station WFBQ - Q95 in Indianapolis. The station quickly signed Bob and Tom to a contract of $30,000 per year and a year later, WJML's ratings sagged to the point that they flipped to adult contemporary. In 1991, WJML-FM signed off for good when it was sold to rock station WKLT 97.5 and it became "Double Rock KLT". The AM is still WJML, but is now a news/talk format.
Over time, Bob and Tom were a ratings monster in Indy. With Howard Stern's popularity rising and Q95 being owned by Clear Channel/iHeartMedia, they basically decided to syndicate the show to stations that didn't want to deal with the high cost of carrying Stern. In other words, it's like a kid asking their mom to buy Kellogg's Frosted Flakes and the mom gets the generic brand instead. The mom claims that it's just as good, but not with its crappy packaging and lack of toy in the box. Plus, it tastes weird. Well, that's The Bob and Tom Show. Yes, they have a news woman (Kristi Lee) and risque bits, but it's simply sounds like if Howard Stern was doing his show from Minot, ND. Even Howard himself claimed that he listened to a B&T comedy CD several years ago and thought it sucked.
I listened to B&T when they reappeared in northern Michigan in 1998 on the newly rechristened classic rock station The Bear. To me, it was, eh, OK. Not as good as Stern by any shape or bounds. This is why I started this site to encourage northern Michigan's radio station owners to bring Stern up north. But it finally happened when he signed on to Sirius in 2006.
Yes, B&T *had* some good bits, such as "Dickens Cider", but they were forced to purge themselves from most of their edgier bits in 2004 thanks to the FCC crackdown on so-called indecency. The show simply just got more lame. Even The Bear in northern Michigan's ratings started to suck with a 1.9.
The point is, Bob and Tom should have simply hung it up years ago. They no longer have affiliates in Detroit nor Grand Rapids because they got their asses kicked there. They never were on the air in New York and they were on a sports station in Los Angeles, but they never cracked a one share. The only good use for them are in small podunk towns where there's no real competition in radio. Hell, their WGN America show was a bust, even with Howard Stern's E! show being canceled.
Looks like Tom Griswold will have to learn how to adapt to fake laughing by himself.
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