Tommy & Rumble
Encyclopedia
Rumble in the Morning is a comic
radio program
broadcast weekday mornings on FM99
in Virginia
and hosted by Rick Rumble. The show was known as Tommy & Rumble from 1995 until 2009, during which time it was hosted by Tommy Griffiths and Rumble. Griffiths resigned from the show on 3 August 2009, leaving Rumble as the lone host of the radio show.
From 1990 through 1995, the show was called Tommy & the Bull, hosted by Tommy Griffiths and Del Toro.
Del Toro left the show and WNOR in June 1995, and was replaced by Rick Rumble. Griffiths ultimately sued Del Toro in 1996 on the grounds of slander after being called "whiff boy" by Del Toro;
Together, Tommy and Rumble produced thirteen CDs benefiting their radio station's Christmas Wish Fund:
On 30 July 2009, Tommy Griffiths and board operator Eric were suspended for airing an unedited 9-1-1
call containing explicit language.http://twitter.com/TommyGriffiths Four days later, on 3 August, Griffiths announced his resignation from the radio show, which he leaves to a now partnerless Rick Rumble. The official name of the radio show is now Rumble in the Morning. Tommy Griffiths later became The Big Morning Show lead DJ on D.C.'s Big 100.3 FM.
The previous news correspondent, Nikki Reed, worked on the show for thirteen years. Reed gave her last newscast on June 27, 2007. Shelley, who received a job at the station thanks to Reed and who is now the show's producer, assumed Reed's post on June 28. Sportscaster Rod Fitzwell left the show in November 2005 and was replaced for one year by Jason "The Showwrecker." Jason then started working on the show's website, becoming Jason "The Webwrecker", who left the show in early 2007. Sports Director Rod Fitzwell returned to the show in late 2009.
A former member of the morning show staff is Chuck Cooney, who began working at the station as an intern in the 1990s and who is currently a producer at the radio station. Recognized for his distinctive high-pitched, nasally voice, Chuck is popularly known as "Chuck the Intern", a name he is known by even today. In addition to his current duties as producer, Chuck contributes his voice to advertisements for FM99 sponsors (notably for The Funny Bone
) as well as radio bits and commercial bumper
s for the morning show. Chuck returned to the morning show temporarily during the first week of August 2009 until Eric returned from suspension on 7 August.
In addition to the regular news, traffic, and sports reports, the Rumble in the morning show has a number of segments unique to their show, including:
Over the years, Tommy and Rumble have created countless popular radio comedy bits. Their most famous bits include "Elmo's Got a Gun" (often mistaken as a "Weird Al" Yankovic
song), "Dicken's Cider," "I Wanna Be a Civilian '99," "Good Swift Kick in the Nuts," "Olestra Boy," "Hepatitis Boy," "Six Flags Over Newport News," "Baby Molly Song," and "The Duck." Some popular bits have resulted from people calling the radio station by mistake or by the radio station making crank phone calls or contacting people for an impromptu interview. One of the most famous examples of the latter is "Glo," in which Tommy and Rumble attempted to contact a grandmother who allegedly had sexual relations in a car with her grandchild in the backseat. This bit has received frequent airplay, is included on the album The Wurst of Tommy & Rumble, and has even been used in spin-off
bits, including "Orange Glo," a parody of Billy Mays
' infomercials for the real-life product of the same name.
For their bits, Tommy and Rumble have created a number of fictional personalities, often portrayed by the hosts themselves. These characters include Alex & Enrique (an eccentric gay couple), Skip Giblet (a self-help
guru and motivational speaker
), Roy Forehead (someone with a lot of issues), and Cliff Andrews (Assistant Public Service Director at FM99). In addition to their own bits, the morning show also plays bits created by other artists, including "Boot to the Head
" by The Frantics
, "What Are You Wearing?" by Crazy Wally, and "The Scotsman" by Bryan Bowers
.
The morning show also conducts formal interviews with celebrities, politicians, authors, heads or members of organizations, and even ordinary citizens who were somehow involved in news stories. The show is also known for conducting fake celebrity phone interviews, for which Rumble and staff members impersonate the celebrity in question or for which a real-life interview is edited for humorous effect. Among the celebrities who have received this treatment are George W. Bush
, Bill Clinton
, Larry Flynt
, Michael Jackson
(and Michael Jackson's brain
), Michael Vick
, Barney Frank
, and Paula Abdul
.
On Thursday, the show often welcomes into the studio a comedian
who is due to perform at The Funny Bone
in Virginia Beach that weekend. Among the comedians who have been guests on the show are Tommy Davidson
, Jim Florentine
, Ralphie May
, Aries Spears
, Harland Williams
, John Witherspoon
, and, perhaps most frequently, J. Medicine Hat.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
radio program
Radio programming
Radio programming is the Broadcast programming of a Radio format or content that is organized for Commercial broadcasting and Public broadcasting radio stations....
broadcast weekday mornings on FM99
WNOR-FM
WNOR is a Mainstream Rock formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, serving Hampton Roads. WNOR is owned and operated by Saga Communications.-History:...
in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and hosted by Rick Rumble. The show was known as Tommy & Rumble from 1995 until 2009, during which time it was hosted by Tommy Griffiths and Rumble. Griffiths resigned from the show on 3 August 2009, leaving Rumble as the lone host of the radio show.
History
The FM99 morning show originated in the 1980s, when it was called Reeger & the Bull and hosted by Ron Reeger and Henry Del Toro, a.k.a. "The Bull". When Reeger left, he was replaced by Jimmy Ray Dunn and the show became Jimmy & the Bull, until Dunn left in 1990.From 1990 through 1995, the show was called Tommy & the Bull, hosted by Tommy Griffiths and Del Toro.
Del Toro left the show and WNOR in June 1995, and was replaced by Rick Rumble. Griffiths ultimately sued Del Toro in 1996 on the grounds of slander after being called "whiff boy" by Del Toro;
Together, Tommy and Rumble produced thirteen CDs benefiting their radio station's Christmas Wish Fund:
- Gold (1996)
- Yesss!!! (1997)
- Who's Your Daddy? (1997)
- Have a Cigar (1998)
- Greetings from Virginia Beach (1999)
- How Much to Have a Party (2000)
- Red, White and Blue (offered with 3 different covers) (2001)
- Those Guys Blow Chunks (2002)
- Queer Eye for the Morning Guy (2003)
- Wardrobe Malfunction (2004)
- The Wurst Of Tommy And Rumble (2005)
- iPuds (2006)
- ZEROS (2007)
On 30 July 2009, Tommy Griffiths and board operator Eric were suspended for airing an unedited 9-1-1
9-1-1
9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...
call containing explicit language.http://twitter.com/TommyGriffiths Four days later, on 3 August, Griffiths announced his resignation from the radio show, which he leaves to a now partnerless Rick Rumble. The official name of the radio show is now Rumble in the Morning. Tommy Griffiths later became The Big Morning Show lead DJ on D.C.'s Big 100.3 FM.
Staff
Among the other correspondents working on the FM99 radio program are Shelley, the show's news director, Sports Director Rod Fitzwell, Eric, who runs the board and maintains the blog page on the official website, and Stephen Hill the traffic correspondent.The previous news correspondent, Nikki Reed, worked on the show for thirteen years. Reed gave her last newscast on June 27, 2007. Shelley, who received a job at the station thanks to Reed and who is now the show's producer, assumed Reed's post on June 28. Sportscaster Rod Fitzwell left the show in November 2005 and was replaced for one year by Jason "The Showwrecker." Jason then started working on the show's website, becoming Jason "The Webwrecker", who left the show in early 2007. Sports Director Rod Fitzwell returned to the show in late 2009.
A former member of the morning show staff is Chuck Cooney, who began working at the station as an intern in the 1990s and who is currently a producer at the radio station. Recognized for his distinctive high-pitched, nasally voice, Chuck is popularly known as "Chuck the Intern", a name he is known by even today. In addition to his current duties as producer, Chuck contributes his voice to advertisements for FM99 sponsors (notably for The Funny Bone
The Funny Bone
The Funny Bone is a comedy club chain in the United States. Its marketing slogan is: "America's No. 1 Comedy Nite Clubs!"The original Funny Bone Comedy Club opened in Pittsburgh, PA by co-founders Mitch Kutash and Gerald Kubach in 1982. The Funny Bone, with its sister club The Improv has now...
) as well as radio bits and commercial bumper
Commercial bumper
In broadcasting, a commercial bumper, ident bumper or break-bumper is a brief announcement, usually two to 15 seconds that can contain a voice over, placed between a pause in the program and its commercial break, and vice versa...
s for the morning show. Chuck returned to the morning show temporarily during the first week of August 2009 until Eric returned from suspension on 7 August.
Programming
The show is scheduled to air weekdays from 5:30AM to 10:00AM (though they often begin a few minutes late and end several minutes early). The host(s) typically begin the program by announcing what is coming up on the show that day. They then take calls from their listeners and gives away prizes to the first caller of each show. They continue taking listener calls throughout the day, in addition to reading some listener e-mails. Sometimes they will introduce a particularly ridiculous, confusing, or embarrassing phone call as "Stupid Call of the Day."In addition to the regular news, traffic, and sports reports, the Rumble in the morning show has a number of segments unique to their show, including:
- "Stupid News" (Daily at 6:45AM and 8:45AM) - Reports of real-life news events which seem to result from lack of intelligence or logic.
- "Ask Shelley" (Mondays) - Shelley replies to questions from listeners, no matter how personal or explicit for sure..
- "Point/Counterpoint" (Tuesday) - Cast members debate issues in a verbal Smackdown.
- "Wheel of interviews" (Wednesday, infrequently) - Rumble conducts an interview in which he pranks the interviewee(s) by assuming a different personality or some sort of disorder done very well.
- "Rick Rip Me Off" - Rumble brings a listener's comedy idea to life, no matter how good or bad it is.
- "Rumble in the Steets" - Rumble interviews people on the street at different local events
- "Idiots on the Internet" - Strange, funny, or illogical audio discovered on the World Wide Web.
- "The News You Missed" (Friday) - Rumble lampoons real-life news events from the past week.
- "Video Game Report" (Friday) - Shelley and Eric present a comical rundown of video game news.
Over the years, Tommy and Rumble have created countless popular radio comedy bits. Their most famous bits include "Elmo's Got a Gun" (often mistaken as a "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
song), "Dicken's Cider," "I Wanna Be a Civilian '99," "Good Swift Kick in the Nuts," "Olestra Boy," "Hepatitis Boy," "Six Flags Over Newport News," "Baby Molly Song," and "The Duck." Some popular bits have resulted from people calling the radio station by mistake or by the radio station making crank phone calls or contacting people for an impromptu interview. One of the most famous examples of the latter is "Glo," in which Tommy and Rumble attempted to contact a grandmother who allegedly had sexual relations in a car with her grandchild in the backseat. This bit has received frequent airplay, is included on the album The Wurst of Tommy & Rumble, and has even been used in spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
bits, including "Orange Glo," a parody of Billy Mays
Billy Mays
William Darrell "Billy" Mays, Jr. was an American television direct-response advertisement salesperson most notable for promoting OxiClean, Orange Glo, and other cleaning, home-based, and maintenance products on the Home Shopping Network, and through his company, Mays Promotions, Inc...
' infomercials for the real-life product of the same name.
For their bits, Tommy and Rumble have created a number of fictional personalities, often portrayed by the hosts themselves. These characters include Alex & Enrique (an eccentric gay couple), Skip Giblet (a self-help
Self-help
Self-help, or self-improvement, is a self-guided improvement—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a substantial psychological basis. There are many different self-help movements and each has its own focus, techniques, associated beliefs, proponents and in some cases, leaders...
guru and motivational speaker
Motivational speaker
A motivational speaker or inspirational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. In a business context, they are employed to communicate company strategy with clarity and help employees to see the future in a positive light and inspire workers to pull...
), Roy Forehead (someone with a lot of issues), and Cliff Andrews (Assistant Public Service Director at FM99). In addition to their own bits, the morning show also plays bits created by other artists, including "Boot to the Head
Boot to the Head
Boot to the Head is a Canadian comedy album, performed by The Frantics comedy troupe. Originally released as an LP in 1987, it was re-issued with the same track listing as a CD in 1996. The album features a number of skits from their radio show Frantic Times, as well as a few sketches that could...
" by The Frantics
The Frantics
The Frantics or Frantics is the name of:*The Frantics , a punk rock band.*The Frantics , a Canadian comedy troupe.*The Frantics , a Showtime network series....
, "What Are You Wearing?" by Crazy Wally, and "The Scotsman" by Bryan Bowers
Bryan Bowers
Bryan Bowers is an American autoharp player who is frequently credited with introducing the instrument to new generations of musicians.-Career:...
.
The morning show also conducts formal interviews with celebrities, politicians, authors, heads or members of organizations, and even ordinary citizens who were somehow involved in news stories. The show is also known for conducting fake celebrity phone interviews, for which Rumble and staff members impersonate the celebrity in question or for which a real-life interview is edited for humorous effect. Among the celebrities who have received this treatment are George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, Larry Flynt
Larry Flynt
Larry Claxton Flynt, Jr. is an American publisher and the president of Larry Flynt Publications . In 2003, Arena magazine listed him as the number one on the "50 Powerful People in Porn" list....
, Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
(and Michael Jackson's brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
), Michael Vick
Michael Vick
Michael Dwayne Vick is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League...
, Barney Frank
Barney Frank
Barney Frank is the U.S. Representative for . A member of the Democratic Party, he is the former chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and is considered the most prominent gay politician in the United States.Born and raised in New Jersey, Frank graduated from Harvard College and...
, and Paula Abdul
Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits...
.
On Thursday, the show often welcomes into the studio a comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
who is due to perform at The Funny Bone
The Funny Bone
The Funny Bone is a comedy club chain in the United States. Its marketing slogan is: "America's No. 1 Comedy Nite Clubs!"The original Funny Bone Comedy Club opened in Pittsburgh, PA by co-founders Mitch Kutash and Gerald Kubach in 1982. The Funny Bone, with its sister club The Improv has now...
in Virginia Beach that weekend. Among the comedians who have been guests on the show are Tommy Davidson
Tommy Davidson
Tommy Davidson is an American comedian, film and television actor.Born in Washington, D.C., Davidson was adopted when he was 2-years-old. He was a child of an interracial adoption, with his parents being Caucasian and he being African-American. He attended high school at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High...
, Jim Florentine
Jim Florentine
James "Jim" Florentine is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, comedian, voice artist, and performer...
, Ralphie May
Ralphie May
Ralphie O. May is an American stand-up comedian.-Early life:May was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but raised in Clarksville, Arkansas. When he was seventeen years old, he won a contest to open for comedian Sam Kinison, whom he considered his idol. Kinison suggested he move to Houston, Texas to...
, Aries Spears
Aries Spears
Aries Spears is an American actor and comedian. Spears is best known as one of the actors on Fox's sketch comedy series MADtv, in which he was in 198 episodes, making him the second longest-serving original cast member on the show....
, Harland Williams
Harland Williams
Harland Williams is a Canadian actor, comedian, author, artist, musician and radio personality.-Personal life:Harland Reesor Williams was born on November 14, 1962, in Toronto, Ontario, to Lorraine , a social worker, and John Reesor Williams, who worked as a member of the Ontario Provincial...
, John Witherspoon
John Witherspoon
John Witherspoon was a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New Jersey. As president of the College of New Jersey , he trained many leaders of the early nation and was the only active clergyman and the only college president to sign the Declaration...
, and, perhaps most frequently, J. Medicine Hat.