Bones was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, on April 2, 1980, and raised in the small community of Mountain Pine, Arkansas.[1] He has said his mother became pregnant with him at age 15, when his father was 17.[3] He was raised by his mother and maternal grandmother. His biological father was with him until the age of five, but then left the family.[4] Bones began dreaming of a radio career around the age of 5. His mother died at age 49 after battling addiction problems in 2014.[5] He grew up poor, and often viewed radio as a way of escaping poverty.[4] Bones began his radio career at age 17 at the campus station of Henderson State University, KSWH-FM "The Pulse". He graduated with a B.A. in Radio/Television from Henderson in 2002.[citation needed]
Career
While still in college, Bones went to work as a station hand at KLAZ in Hot Springs, Arkansas, but was put on the air within a few days of being hired. A manager there gave him the choice of going on the air as Bobby Z or Bobby Bones of which he chose the latter.[5] Bones' first full-time radio contract paid him $17,000. In 2002, Bones was hired by Q100/KQAR in Little Rock, Arkansas. He then worked for radio station (KLAL), which led to his hosting The Bobby Bones Show on KHFI-FM in Austin, Texas.
According to The Washington Post, Bones is different from typical radio DJs, as he doesn't have the "classic, booming radio DJ voice".[6] Despite being commonly referred to as such Bones does not refer to himself as a DJ.
Austin
Bones was originally hired for the evening shift on KHFI-FM and was soon moved to mornings. While in Austin, he met two of his future co-hosts, Lunchbox (in a bar) and Amy (in a Culver's). Bones believed in Amy and put her on the air immediately.[7] His executive producer at the time, Alayna Messer, was previously an intern on the show.
Over ten years, the show built its audience into the top-rated morning show in Austin[8] and was syndicated in a few regional markets. At the height of his popularity, Bones was offered a job outside of radio but ultimately chose to remain with Clear Channel (now iHeart Media).
Nashville
In 2012, Clear Channel moved Bones and his show from Austin with its Top 40 format to Nashville and a country music format while taking The Bobby Bones Show nationwide.[7] Bones took over the slot hosted by longtime DJ Gerry House,[9] who retired in 2010. Bones now broadcasts from the WSIX-FM studios in Nashville on weekday mornings from 5:00 a.m. to 10 a.m. (CT). His co-host is Amy, and features Producer Eddie, Lunchbox, Raymundo, Morgan Number 2, Mike D., Abby, and Scuba Steve.
In February 2013, The Bobby Bones Show was nationally syndicated through iHeart Media-owned Premiere Networks[11] and was made available via iHeartRadio.com and the iHeartRadio mobile app. The show is currently heard on more than 150 radio stations in the U.S., Canada, and UK.[12]
The Bobby Bones Show has an estimated audience of nearly 9.2 million listeners a week.
Bones also hosts the weekly “Country Top 30 with Bobby Bones,” carried on over 100 radio stations nationwide.[13]
As part of the iHeart Media family, Bones has been tapped to host, present, and even perform at the annual iHeartRadio Country Festival held in Austin, Texas, iHeartRadio Music Festival held in Las Vegas, Nevada and the annual iHeartRadio Music Awards in Los Angeles, California.[14]
Accidental trigger of Emergency Alert System
In October 2014, Bones accidentally triggered the Emergency Alert System by playing EAS tones during an on-air rant about an erroneous EAS test interrupting coverage locally of the 2014 World Series on Fox affiliate WZTV. The EAS tones would have only triggered the EAS issuance in Nashville, but since the show was in syndication, the signal cascaded through the show's nationwide affiliates, and caused AT&T U-verse boxes nationwide to lock up with the erroneous test.[15] In May 2015, Bones's employer iHeartMedia paid a $1 million FCC fine due to the incident and removed all EAS sound effects from their nationwide sound library to prevent a recurrence.[16]
In 2012 Bones was part of the Fox Sports Radio lineup, hosting the weekend sports talk program Roddick and Bones with tennis star Andy Roddick, airing Saturdays from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on nearly 300 radio stations.[18]
Bones is also the host of the podcast “The Bobbycast” where he interviews singers/songwriters of all genres[19] which The Washington Post dubbed as a "treasure trove of unusually candid anecdotes."[20] He has also launched his own podcast network, the Nashville Podcast Network.[citation needed]
On May 17, 2016, he released his first book entitled Bare Bones, I'm Not Lonely If You're Reading This Book.[21]
In 2018, Bones was a guest mentor for season sixteen of American Idol (the first to air on ABC) during the top 24 round. On November 6, 2018, it was announced Bones would become a full-time mentor for the series beginning in season seventeen.[22] During an episode which aired April 8, 2019, Bones served as guest host, as host Ryan Seacrest was sick and missed the taping.[23]
In June 2019, Bones filmed an episode of Running Wild with Bear Grylls in Norway. The episode aired on January 14, 2020.[24] He was a judge of Topgolf's original series Who Will Rock You.
Breaking Bobby Bones, on the National Geographic Channel began airing in 2021. In each episode, Bones meets a real person doing a "real" job or sport, works with them to learn how to do it, and is critiqued on his performance. At the end of each episode, Bones does something special for week's guest that will improve their life, or help them with their career or other goals.[citation needed]
In September 2018, Bones was announced as one of the celebrities to compete on the 27th season of Dancing with the Stars, being paired with the professional dancer Sharna Burgess. Despite the second lowest scores for a couple in the final 4, the couple made it to the finals, and ended up winning the competition.[27]
On September 28, 2013, Bones and his crew were part of a team that set the Guinness World Record "Most hunger relief meals packaged in one hour (team)".[28]
On August 5, 2015, during the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump, Bones filed an "all purpose" trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the rights to the phrase "Make America Great Again". Trump had registered the phrase for "political action committee services" but not for its use on hats, t-shirts, duffel bags, and other apparel and accessories that Bones now had the rights to. Two days later, on August 7, Bones tweeted, "hey @realDonaldTrump, if you donate 100k to @stjude, I will give you your clothing trademark back. thanks! – Bobby". Bones later tweeted an image on October 29 of a check from The Trump Organization for an undisclosed amount, stating it would go to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and that Trump could "have [his] slogan back".[29]
On January 3, 2017, Bones announced he was considering a run for governor of Arkansas in the 2018 election.[30] On March 14, 2017, Bones announced he was not running.[31]
For four years running, from 2004 to 2008, Bones was named Best Radio Personality by the Austin Music Awards, presented by The Austin Chronicle and SXSW. The Bobby Bones Show also won Best Radio Program 2007–2008.[33]
On April 6, 2014, Bones, Amy, and Lunchbox won their first Academy of Country Music Award for National On-Air Personality of the Year, just nine months into Bones's first year in country music.[34]
Bones became the youngest ever inductee into the National Radio Hall of Fame during a ceremony on November 2, 2017, at the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago.[35]
The University of Arkansas awarded Bobby with an honorary doctorate at their Spring 2022 commencement ceremonies.[36]
