The Howard Stern Show is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern on Sirius XM, a subscription satellite radio service. The show developed on terrestrial radio in 1979 when Stern hosted the morning show at WCCC in Hartford, Connecticut, two years into his professional career. He continued to break out as a morning personality from throughout 1980 at WWWW in Detroit, Michigan. In 1981, Stern was paired with his news anchor Robin Quivers at WWDC in Washington, D.C., with whom he continues to broadcast to this day.

A rapid rise to success in Washington led to Stern's move to afternoons in 1982 at WNBC in New York City. In 1985, Stern was fired for "conceptual differences" with management. He returned to the air on WXRK, where he remained at the station for 20 years. During this time, The Howard Stern Show would be syndicated to 60 markets^[1][2] across the United States and Canada, while gaining a peak audience of around 20 million.^[3][4][5] Following his announcement to Sirius in October 2004, Stern aired his final broadcast on "free" radio on December 16, 2005.

From 1990–2004, a total of $2.5 million in fines were issued to owners of radio stations that carried the show by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), for what it considered indecent material.

Howard Stern began his professional radio career in 1975 at WNTN in Newton, Massachusetts, while studying at Boston University. In 1977, he was hired at WRNW in Briarcliff Manor, New York where he worked the midday shift. He spotted an advertisement in Radio & Records that looked for a "wild, fun morning guy" at WCCC in Hartford, Connecticut.^[6] Stern provided a more outrageous audition tape that included flatulence routines, one-liners and records by comedians Robert Klein and Cheech and Chong. Stern was hired for the job in 1979, his first morning shift in a large market. In the summer of the 1979 energy crisis, Stern began a two-day boycott of Shell Oil Company. "To Hell with Shell" became the rallying cry. Both Stern and WCCC made national news for the stunt. Fred Norris, the station's overnight disc jockey at the time, would on occasion provide Stern's morning show with comedic impressions of celebrities.^[7] In 1981, Norris became Stern's writer and producer who remain together to this day.

Stern left WCCC in early 1980 after he was denied a US$25-a-week raise in wage. He declined a position offered at a Columbus, Ohio station before starting a morning shift at WWWW in Detroit, Michigan on April 21, 1980.^[8][9] He began getting noticed in the industry, winning a Billboard Award for "Best Album-Oriented Rock Disc Jockey" and the Drake-Chenault "Top Five Talent Search". A popular segment of his show was also sent across the country in the industry.^[10] Stern's Arbitron ratings trailed his competitors WRIF and WLLZ. While both stations attracted audience shares of 4.7% and 4.6% respectively, Stern trailed with just 1.6%.^[11] On January 18, 1981, WWWW switched formats to country music.^[10] Much to Stern's dislike, he left the station soon after. He was offered positions at CHUM in Toronto, WXRT in Chicago^[10] and WPLJ in New York City, but did not take them.

Stern began his third morning shift at WWDC, a rock station in Washington, D.C. on March 2, 1981.^[9] With a starting salary of $40,000, Stern was determined to "kill his competition", and then move to New York City, his eventual goal.^[11][12][13] Realising the importance of news segments for satirical humour, Stern wished for an on-air sidekick.^[13] He was then paired with Robin Quivers, a news anchor and consumer reporter from WFBR in Baltimore, Maryland.^[14] On hearing Stern interview a prostitute on the air, Quivers "had never heard anything like it", and quickly took the position.^[13][15] The show became a success in the quarterly Arbitron ratings. Stern, who inherited a show with a 2.6% share of the morning audience, had 5.2% by the spring and 5.6% by the summer of 1981.^[16] By the following year, this grew to 8.0%.

Examples of Stern's "shock jock" personality began in Washington. Following the crash of Air Florida Flight 90 on January 13, 1982, he called Air Florida, asking the price of a one-way ticket from National to the 14th Street Bridge, where the accident occurred. "Is that going to be a permanent stop?" asked Stern on the air.^[17] He later revealed however, that the call was in fact fake and contrary to popular belief, was not the cause of his departure from the station.^[17] Stern also began airing his issues with station management, revealing the salary of station manager Goff Lebhar. His contract with the station was soon terminated on June 29, 1982, with Quivers leaving on June 17.^[9] She returned to Baltimore, working at WCBM, until rejoining Stern on October 18 in New York.^[18][19] Stern presented a farewell show two weeks later on competing station WAVA.^[9]

Stern started on WNBC in September 1982, working from 4–8 pm.^[20] Management, however, worried about its corporate image and Stern's risqué personality, and told him to lay off sexual and religious discussions.^[21] Within his first month at the station, Stern was suspended for several days for a controversial segment known as "Virgin Mary Kong." The skit featured a new video game by God in which a group of men chase the Virgin Mary around a singles bar in Jerusalem.^[21]

In February 1983, comedian Jackie Martling was hired to make weekly appearances as a comedy writer. With his "on-the-fly" style, he would provide jokes for show bits such as "Stump the Comedian," "Match Game" and "Mama Looka Boo Boo Day."^[9] Martling would assume his role full-time in August 1986 for an initial $1,500 per-week having replaced Al Rosenberg, who would commute from Washington, D.C.^[11] On September 4, 1984, Gary Dell'Abate, part of the station's traffic department, began as the show's assistant who later became executive producer.

The quarterly Arbitron ratings throughout 1984 showed a rise in Stern's popularity. Having moved shifts to 3–7 pm, he attracted an audience share of 3.8% in the spring, which grew to 4.2% in the summer and 4.6% in the autumn.^[22][23] The show was able to attract male listeners aged 18–34, a highly-marketable demographic for advertisers.^[23] By the spring of 1985, Stern had the top afternoon show in the city. With a record 5.7% share of the audience, the highest at the station set by Don Imus in 1981, the station attracted 3.0% for the rest of the day.^[24] Stern had taken the station's ranking in afternoons from eleven to first place in three years.^[21]

Among the success in the ratings, tension between management and Stern grew further. It was officially announced on September 30, 1985, that the show had been cancelled due to "conceptual differences" between Stern and management.^[9] Stern later believed that Thornton Bradshaw, at the time chairman of RCA which then owned WNBC, was driving in his limousine having heard his on-air "Bestiality Dial-a-Date" segment on September 20, and ordered his firing.^[21] "Over the course of time, we made a very conscious effort to make Stern aware that certain elements of the program should be changed", said program director John Hayes, whom Stern called "The Incubus." "I don't think it's appropriate to say what those specifics were."^[25]

Stern returned to New York City airwaves at WXRK, a rock station owned by Infinity Broadcasting. He began what became a twenty-year residency at the station from 2–6pm on November 18, 1985.^[26] He moved to the 6–10 am shift on February 18, 1986,^[27] and stayed there until his move to Sirius in December 2005. By early 1987, the show had more listeners than any other morning program in New York.^[28]

On August 18, 1986, the show was simulcast to its second market in Philadelphia on WYSP.^[26] In three months, the station ranked from eleventh to second among males over 18.^[29] Stern began a rivalry with John DeBella on WMMR, the city's top morning personality, determined to overtake him in the ratings. When he did, Stern held a celebratory "funeral" for DeBella on May 10, 1990 in Rittenhouse Square.^[30]

As the show gained new affiliates, Stern continued to mock the cities' top morning personalities. The addition of KLSX in Los Angeles on July 25, 1991^[31] met with controversy among many West Coast listeners, jamming the station's switchboard with negative calls during the first simulcast.^[32] In October 1992, Stern became the first to top the New York and Los Angeles market ratings simultaneously,^[33][34] ending the three-year reign that Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps of KLOS had. With his record audience share of 9.5% in New York, Stern obtained a 6.4% share in Los Angeles.^[35][36] On November 25, 1992, Stern held his second "funeral" for Thompson and Phelps, reportedly attended by 20,000 in the parking lot of the Los Angeles Palace Theatre.^[37][38] Stern held the last of his victory shows in Cleveland, Ohio on June 10, 1994. William Alford, an engineer from rival WMMS, cut the wires which stopped the broadcast temporarily.^[39][40] In June 1995, Alford was later sentenced to ten days and a $1,000 fine.^[41]

On December 7, 1994, Stern made national news by preventing a man from committing suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge connecting New Jersey and Manhattan.^[42] Calling in around 8:10 am, Emilio Bonilla was kept on the line for five minutes until Port Authority Police, whose tour commander was also listening, took the 29-year-old into custody.^[43] Bonilla was charged with cocaine possession, reckless endangerment and was taken to hospital. Senator Al D'Amato and Ed Koch, former-Mayor of New York City, called in to congratulate Stern.^[44]

On April 3, 1995, three days after the shooting of singer Selena, Stern caused an uproar in the Hispanic community after commenting on her music and the Spanish. A song of hers was played with gunshot sound effects, to which Stern said "Spanish people have the worst taste in music. They have no depth. Alvin and the Chipmunks have more soul."^[45] He called one of her records "awful music that could only be popular with that segment of society."^[46] Callers from KEGL in Dallas, Texas jammed the station's switchboards.^[47] The League of United Latin American Citizens attempted to get Stern off the air, while listeners called for boycotts against his advertisers and KEGL.^[46][48] On April 6, Stern responded in Spanish with: "As you all know, I am a satirist. My comments about Selena's tragic death were not made with the intention of causing even more pain to her family, friends and those who loved her. It infuriates me that this young woman's life was snuffed out in such a senseless way. Her murderer has to be dealt with to the full extent of the law."^[46][48] Eloy Cano, Justice of the Peace of Harlingen, Texas issued Stern an arrest warrant for disorderly conduct.^[49] The warrant remained even a year later, as one March 1996 article reported that it still "remained in the books."^[50]

On September 2, 1997, the show was simulcast to Canadian airwaves on CHOM in Montreal and CILQ in Toronto.^[51] Stern's comments about French people and their language caused a rift with some listeners. "There is something about the language that turns you into a pussy-assed jack off. Anybody who speaks French is a scum bag. It turns you into a coward. Just like in World War II, they would not stick up for us. Screw your culture and we're invading you all."^[52] Ratings for the two stations increased nonetheless, by 62% and 47% respectively.^[53] Following listener complaints to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the show was cancelled in Montreal on August 27, 1998, and on November 26, 2001 in Toronto.^[54]

On April 21, 1999, a day after the Columbine High School massacre in Littleton, Colorado, Stern's comments drew criticism regarding the incident. "There were some really good looking girls running out with their hands over their heads...Did [the suspects] try to have sex with any of the good looking girls? They didn't even do that?...At least if you are going to kill yourself and kill all the kids, why wouldn't you have some sex?...If I was going to kill some people, I'd take them out with sex".^[55] Hundreds complained to KXPK, where the show was carried in Denver.^[56] Stern argued his quotes were taken out of context. He named legislatures in Colorado "hypocrites", accusing critics of being overly sensitive. "I dared to ask if kids had sex. So what? That's how I think. I had zero intent to make fun of the situation. The point in making that comment was an attempt to try to understand a motive. We didn't know anything about motives [the morning after] and were trying to consider all possibilities".^[56][57]

Stern announced the departure of show writer Jackie Martling on March 5, 2001, unable to negotiate a new contract. A "Win Jackie's Money" contest began, where comedians auditioned for Martling's "seat" by sitting in on shows. Craig Gass, Doug Stanhope, Richard Jeni, Jim Florentine, A.J. Benza, and Ron Zimmerman were among the participants.^[58] In October 2001, comedian and actor Artie Lange took the spot.

The show was broadcasting live during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and stayed on the air with most of its staff until around 12:15 pm. The live reporting was one of the first for those listening across the country, with listeners calling in and sharing their own experiences. In September 2006, a 90-minute special featuring the show's staff and their recollections of the day aired on Howard TV, titled 9.11.01: A Retrospective.^[59]

On February 27, 2004, John Melendez left the show to become the announcer on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Stern accused Leno of stealing his segments such as goofy red carpet interviews and booking Kenneth Keith Kallenbach, a member of the shows Wack Pack. On March 17, a "Win John's Job" contest was announced that allowed regular contributors and callers the opportunity to replace Melendez. Richard Christy, a former electrician and drummer of various death and heavy metal bands, including Iced Earth and Death, won with 30% of the listener vote. Sal Governale, the runner-up with 24%, was also hired in September.

On October 6, 2004, Stern announced his five-year contract with Sirius Satellite Radio, a subscription-based satellite radio service, free from the FCC's regulations. A contributing factor in the decision was the aftermath of the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy which began the tightening of censorship and regulation in broadcasting. The deal, worth approximately $100 million a year for all costs, included a bonus stock payment of $83 million for Stern in January 2007 for surpassing subscriber goals set in 2004.^[60][61] The deal placed Stern as the second richest celebrity of 2004 at $302 million, ahead of George Lucas and Oprah Winfrey.^[62] Promotion of Sirius met with controversy as Stern mentioned the service on air, instructing listeners in purchasing receivers and subscriptions. In one incident, Farid Suleman of Citadel Broadcasting billed Stern $200,000 for the continual advertising mentions.^[63] On November 8, 2005, Stern was suspended for one day for excessive promotion of the service.

The final broadcast on terrestrial radio aired on December 16, 2005.^[64] A stage was built outside the studio for Stern, his colleagues and Wack Pack members to make their "goodbye" speeches. In his closing speech, Stern thanked the New York City Police Department, dedicating the show to Sergeant Keith Manning, a friend who at the time was serving in Iraq. When off the air, Stern travelled to the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square on an open-top bus where Martha Stewart, broadcasting on Martha Stewart Living Radio on Sirius, welcomed Stern. At the time of its departure, The Howard Stern Show tied with Laura Schlessinger as the fourth most-listened-to radio show in the country.^[65] Stern's contract with Infinity Broadcasting expired on December 31, 2005.

The Howard Stern Show made its debut broadcast on Sirius on January 9, 2006. The show began with Also sprach Zarathustra with added flatulence sound effects. George Takei then introduced himself as the show's new announcer.^[66] 180,000 Sirius radios were activated a day before.^[67] Stern read out the list of revelations for the Revelations Game, where staff told an unknown secret about themselves.

In May 2006, Stern claimed he had received offers from three major companies to return to terrestrial radio. Although he would never return, Stern did mention that it would be "cool to go back and kick their asses." Although none of the three were released, media organizations released that Stern was "thinking" of his return. To clear up the rumours, the Associated Press were called on-air on May 10. "The story is I wouldn't do terrestrial radio for any reason", said Stern.^[68] Rumours once again arose in September 2006 that Stern would be returning, and were once again denied by Stern and Sirius. Sirius representative Patrick Reilly told United Press International that there were never "any discussions of Howard Stern in any way, shape, or form being anything but exclusive to Sirius. Published reports suggesting otherwise are wrong."^[69]

Stern announced on June 7, 2006 that the lawsuit settlement with CBS Radio finally gave Sirius the exclusive rights to his entire back catalogue of broadcasts from at WXRK, totalling almost 23,000 hours. It was reported that Sirius agreed to pay CBS $2 million for the rights, equating to around $87 per-hour of tape.^[70][71] On December 2, 2009, it was announced that every tape had been digitized on a server taking up multiple terabytes of data. The process took close to five years to complete. This has allowed special programming to be produced and aired while the show is on vacation.

From 1990 to 2004, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has fined owners of radio stations that carried The Howard Stern Show a total of $2.5 million for indecent programming.^[73]

• Current
  • Howard Stern – host
  • Robin Quivers – co-host, news anchor
  • Fred Norris – producer, sound effects, writer, performer
  • Artie Lange – comedian (Has not been on since December 2009, may return before end of 2010.)
  • Gary Dell'Abate – executive producer
  • Benjy Bronk – writer
  • Scott Salem – engineer
  • Richard Christy – writer, performer
  • Sal Governale – writer, performer
  • Jason Kaplan – associate producer
  • Will Murray – researcher, associate producer

• Former
  • Jackie Martling – head writer, comedian
  • Billy West – impressionist
  • Al Rosenberg – writer, performer
  • John Melendez – writer, performer
  • Lee Davis – producer
  • KC Armstrong – associate producer

• Former Interns
  • Steve Grillo – intern
  • Mitch Fatel – intern

• Feuds, splits
  • Patrice Oneal, offended because Stern could not remember his name^[74]
  • Eric The Midget (Eric Lynch) - kicked off the show by Howard for attempting to sabotage a bit involving IQ Testing on November 8, 2010. ^[75]

• Banned
  • Chaunce Hayden
  • Crazy Cabbie, former WXRK disc jockey^[76]
  • A.J. Benza, physically fought with John Melendez in 2001 and then banned from the WXRK building by Tom Chiusano.

• Hosting other radio shows'
  • Jackie Martling, host of Jackie's Joke Hunt program on Howard 101 on Sirius
  • Adam Carolla, the replacement for Stern on terrestrial radio in Los Angeles
  • Kidd Chris, hosted a show on WYSP in Philadelphia but was fired in May 2008
  • Dead Air Dave, former WXRK disc jockey and show censor on WXRK and now on afternoon drive on WWFS in New York
  • Andre Gardner, former show censor at WXRK, now hosts a show on WMGK in Philadelphia

• Other reasons, and might come back
  • Richard Simmons, may return for a visit as they had been close friends off the air; in 2006 Simmons visited the show after more than 10 years but again left in tears. Stern and Quivers doubted the authenticity of Simmons' outburst.^[77]

The Wack Pack is the name given to a wide assortment of personalities heard throughout the history of the show. As a parody of the Rat Pack or Brat Pack, they are a considerable part of what the radio show became notable for. Members of the pack, known as "Wack Packers", tend to be unusual in some way such as being blatantly racist, mentally disabled, perverted or having a comical voice, appearance or ability. Not every regular guest on the show is considered a member, nor are any of the show's staff members. Some Wack Packers have gained notoriety for personal appearances around the country and occasionally, played small roles in films and television programs.

In the 1993 book Private Parts, Howard Stern lists early members of the Wack Pack, including Irene the Leather Weather Lady, who is essentially the first Wack Packer, having met Stern in May 1980 when he was broadcasting from WWWW in Detroit, Michigan. The introduction of Fred the Elephant Boy on the radio show on November 28, 1988 however, among a collection of others, made Stern call these group of show personalities as the "Wack Pack" on July 6, 1990 as documented in The History of Howard Stern.

On October 20, 2005, it was announced that the Wack Pack were to elect their own "Pope" from the group. In addition to the honour of "leading" the group, the winner would receive a $10,000 prize. The contest however, seemed to be scrapped, as it has not been mentioned on-air since the show's move to SIRIUS XM.

On August 3, 2006, the show organised a contest for the next Wack Pack member, with the winner receiving $10,000. The winner was Bigfoot.

• Beetlejuice (Lester Green)
• Bigfoot (Mark Shaw Jr.)
• Crackhead Bob
• Crazy Alice
• Evil Dave Letterman (Dave Van Dam)
• High Pitch Eric
• Jeff The Drunk, an alcoholic with a paralyzed arm, who frequently gets into trouble because of his alcohol and drug problems. On March 26, 2007, televangelist Bill Keller — who was making a guest appearance on The Howard Stern Show — counseled Jeff and offered to get him a job as a carpenter's assistant — Jeff's life-long dream.^[78]
• John the Stutterer
• Mariann from Brooklyn
• Nicole Bass
• Siobhan Meow
• Underdog Lady Suzanne Muldowney
• Yucko the Clown (Roger Black)

• Bigfoot (Matthew McGrory)
• Blue Iris
• Cliff Palate
• Elliot Offen
• Eric the Midget (Eric Lynch) - Howard Stern kicked him off the show over IQ test Complaints by Eric November 8, 2010
• Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf
• Irene the Leather Weather Lady (Irene De Cook)

• Opening
  • "The Great American Nightmare" by Rob Zombie and Howard Stern (since 1999)
  • "Tilt A Whirl" by Jimmie Vaughan (1994–1998)
  • "In a Mellow Tone" by Duke Ellington (~1987–1994)
  • "H.O.W.A.R.D S.T.E.R.N" by The Double-O Zeros (~1985)
  • "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" by Napoleon XIV (~1982)

• Closing
  • "Tortured Man" by Howard Stern and The Dust Brothers (since 1999)

Footnotes

Bibliography

• The Howard Stern Show on Sirius XM Radio
• The Howard Stern Show on HowardStern.com