Rick and Bubba - History of Rick and Bubba

History of Rick and Bubba

Both Rick and Bubba grew up in Alabama and were active in athletics at their respective high schools. It was at high school sporting events that they knew of each other. At Jacksonville State University, they became friends by working together at WLJS-FM, the college's radio station.

After college, Bill got a job as engineer for WQEN, a radio station in Gadsden, Alabama, and recommended Rick for the station's morning show personality. In the late 1980s, Bill was a co-owner of an AM radio station in Jacksonville, Alabama. Rick had been working at WHMA radio in Anniston as a DJ. In 1989, Rick was also the host of a Friday night program called "Pigskin Roundup" that recapped high school football games and took live calls from listeners. In 1991 Rick started doing mornings at 97.9FM WVOK Oxford, Alabama. This was the first time for Rick doing mornings...It was called "The Morning Extra- vaganza" (Monday-Friday from 5A-9A). This is where Rick started doing many of the things now done on the Rick and Bubba Show. In 1993 Rick moved "The Morning Extrava- ganza" to Q104 WQEN Gadsden, Alabama.

Once Rick and Bubba formed a partnership at WQEN, they hosted their own version of this show on Friday nights during football season. The two began to work together to come up with 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 characterization became the basis for one of their first contests called "Good Old Boy Theatre". Other contests currently featured on the show include "Drive Through Password", "Know the Good Book" (Bible trivia), "The Giant Game of Knowledge", and "It's a Country Song, or it Ain't". The "Bubba" nickname stuck for Bill. Bubba worked more and more with Rick and eventually became a regular part of Rick's show.

In 1998, the show was renamed "The Rick & Bubba Show," and moved to Birmingham when WQEN began targeting the Birmingham market to attract a wider audience.

The show moved to WYSF in early 1999. Two hours of their four-hour program were televised live on the Turner South network until April 28, 2006, which ended when Turner South was sold to Fox Sports in February 2006.

WYSF in Birmingham served as their flagship station until December 2006.

On January 3, 2007, they became the morning hosts on crosstown station WZZK and joined Cox Radio.

Rick's son, Blake Burgess, is a scholarship athlete that plays for the Auburn University football program.