The first time I heard Howard Stern was in the mid ‘80s. I was visiting New York and caught his act on 66WNBC (W-NNNNNNN-BC). He played a song from Karen Carpenter and said she had a new CD. Her picture was on the spine of the CD case. I thought, “Holy shit! Who is THIS guy? On the National Broadcasting Company's flagship radio station?” As a one-time wise-ass disc jockey myself, I have said some rude things on the radio but nothing like THAT.
I continued to listen that afternoon and instantly became a fan. Yes, he was audacious, even shocking at times, but what impressed me more was this: He was genuinely funny and very very
smart.
We all know his rise to fame. He's the self-proclaimed
King of All Media. Eventually he did mornings, surrounded himself with a gaggle of co-hosts, and was syndicated in markets around the country. One was LA and I became a loyal listener. He remained fearless, fighting at the time, the FCC. Add balls to funny and smart.
And then in 2006 he left “terrestrial” radio for satellite radio. What he lost in listeners he more than made up for in money. And he got the FCC off his back.
As much as I enjoyed Howard I didn’t enjoy him enough to switch from XM radio to Sirius and pay extra to receive his channel.
Side note: Howard gave his terrestrial home (CBS radio) about a year’s notice. And the best they could do was replace him with David Lee Roth. That’s the
New Coke of radio decisions.
Even when the two satellite companies merged (thus screwing up XM’s far superior programming) I still didn’t feel the need to pay extra to rejoin Howard. I had commercial-free music, baseball, and traffic conditions for Dallas/Ft. Worth. Who needed any more?
But recently I got a new car. (I know. How come I haven’t posted fifty photos of it on Facebook so I could get a bunch of likes?) It came with a three-month free trial of Sirius/XM that included the Howard Stern channel.
So for the past week (“You’ve had the car a WEEK and haven’t posted photos? What is WRONG with you?”) I’ve had the chance to reconnect with Howard. All I can say is what a pleasure. It had been so long I had forgotten just how good he is.
I am forever amazed that he can be on the air for four hours or five hours (I have no idea how many he does a day – I’m not sure
he knows) and still be consistently entertaining. I had trouble filling four hours and that was WITH records. He and his crew just
talk. And often make me laugh. (So what if I’m never proud of myself for what I’m laughing at?)
One ability that Howard has that is often overlooked is how good an interviewer he is. He really
listens. He follows-up on what the subject says. He asks straight-forward questions (not trying to impress with how articulate or pithy or intellectual
he is). He doesn’t let the subject off the hook. He really draws personal information out of them. Trust me, that’s an art. And he asks the questions you yourself would want to ask (if you had the nerve). I heard his recent interview with Clay Aiken. It was riveting and I’ll be honest, my fascination with Clay Aiken had waned from a one-time high of
yawn. Still, I couldn’t turn it off. I’m sitting in my driveway waiting to hear if he felt guilty that his opponent in a primary election died shortly after a bitter campaign. That’s so much more refreshing than “What was Randy Jackson really like?”
On Tuesday he interviewed James Taylor and I don't think a therapist could have gotten more out of James than Howard.
I only met Howard once, very briefly. We attended a Bar Mitzvah together. So it’s not like I’m pimping a friend. Nor do I ever expect I’ll be invited on his show if I ever have a book or play to promote. But as comedy professional (I’ll allow myself that) I do like to occasionally salute other comedy professionals who I feel are tops in their field… and who I can appreciate free on a trial basis.