# East-coast old-timers: Did you listen to Bob+Ray growing up? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 12, 2020, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-coast-old-timers-did-you-listen-to-bob-ray-growing-up/849370 "2020-03-12T21:51:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LynnM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@LynnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LynnM)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-coast-old-timers-did-you-listen-to-bob-ray-growing-up/849370/1 "2020-03-12T21:51:56Z")
I’ve been listening to various collections of Bob and Ray–Classic Bob+Ray, The Soap Operas, Best of Bob+Ray–and am wondering what it was like listening to their live radio shows during the 1950s-1970s in Boston and New York City. Did they typically mix produced/pre-recorded bits like the ones in the above collections with live conversations? I assume they must have sequenced the soap operas an episode at a time; what about the other stuff? Would they just drop them in randomly? I love these guys–amazed at their versatility. And I enjoyed Chris Elliott’s “Daddy’s Boy: A Son’s Shocking Account of Life with a Famous Father”– ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-coast-old-timers-did-you-listen-to-bob-ray-growing-up/849370/2 "2020-03-12T23:13:46Z")
Do [Bert and Harry Piels count](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26HtmV0DmRU)? I probably could have gotten their radio station when I was growing up, but I had little interest in talk in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2020, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-coast-old-timers-did-you-listen-to-bob-ray-growing-up/849370/3 "2020-03-12T23:22:14Z")
I heard them a bit on Los Angeles radio. Another Bob & Ray were with me constantly because they’re my dad and his brother. But their voices were different. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-coast-old-timers-did-you-listen-to-bob-ray-growing-up/849370/4 "2020-03-13T00:14:37Z")
My mom was a huge Bob & Ray fan, heard them a lot growing up. She still is a fan… at 92, and has everything they’ve done, on many many many cassettes. ETA: In the midwest. Chicago or maybe a Milwaukee AM station in the 60s. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-coast-old-timers-did-you-listen-to-bob-ray-growing-up/849370/5 "2020-03-13T01:27:14Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Do [Bert and Harry Piels count](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26HtmV0DmRU)? I remember those growing up in New York City. I’m not sure how I first became aware of them as Bob and Ray, and I don’t recall listening to them on the radio. However, I was enough of a fan to see their Broadway show _The Two and Only_ in 1970. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-coast-old-timers-did-you-listen-to-bob-ray-growing-up/849370/6 "2020-03-13T01:40:32Z")
Bob and Ray totally fucking rocked! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-coast-old-timers-did-you-listen-to-bob-ray-growing-up/849370/7 "2020-03-13T02:42:21Z")
Many slightly older people recommended Bob and Ray, including Kurt Vonnegut (who was much older). A high school English teacher gave me a book of their routines. I enjoyed the shit out of them, and played the tapes for my millennial kids, who also enjoyed the shit out of them. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-coast-old-timers-did-you-listen-to-bob-ray-growing-up/849370/8 "2020-03-13T02:46:14Z")
Born in late 1960, so not around for the real glory years. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-coast-old-timers-did-you-listen-to-bob-ray-growing-up/849370/9 "2020-03-13T15:41:13Z")
Well - not growing up. I listened to them on the car radio commuting to work in 1957. Wally Ballou, Tippy the Wonder Dog, Lawrence Fechtenberger , all non-sense but funny when they did it: Tune in tomorrow folks When Edna goes to the village In the Gathering Dust ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-coast-old-timers-did-you-listen-to-bob-ray-growing-up/849370/10 "2020-03-13T17:01:13Z")
I didn’t even become aware of them until the late 80s, when a Jacksonville FL afternoon variety radio show would play a clip. I became a huge fan, and was tickled to learn my father was a fan from the old days. I’ve since collected many sets of cassettes, and some CDs. I also have a CD with hundreds of their over-the-air broadcasts (with commercials!) from, I think, the late 1950s. A very interesting time capsule. IMO, their best quality, most-timeless recordings are the ones they made in the 80s for…RadioLab, I think. Some of them were polished versions of their old shows. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-coast-old-timers-did-you-listen-to-bob-ray-growing-up/849370/11 "2020-03-13T17:17:10Z")
Another _West Coast_ (ahem) fan from back in the day. Write if you get work. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2020, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-coast-old-timers-did-you-listen-to-bob-ray-growing-up/849370/12 "2020-03-13T19:21:54Z")
I was just thinking about one of their routines yesterday. The man who has budget advice. Like, he lives in Wisconsin and works in New York City, and has found a really inexpensive airfare to commute every day… ---
**Author:** ![LynnM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@LynnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LynnM)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-coast-old-timers-did-you-listen-to-bob-ray-growing-up/849370/13 "2020-03-14T13:34:10Z")
“I heard them a bit on Los Angeles radio.” “ETA: In the midwest. Chicago or maybe a Milwaukee AM station in the 60s.” “Another West Coast (ahem) fan from back in the day.” Was their regular NY City radio show syndicated? Or do the above comments refer to their occasional appearances on Mutual and NBC Monitor radio shows? ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-coast-old-timers-did-you-listen-to-bob-ray-growing-up/849370/14 "2020-03-14T14:04:53Z")
In LA 1957 it was syndicated ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-coast-old-timers-did-you-listen-to-bob-ray-growing-up/849370/15 "2020-03-14T16:40:56Z")
“Komodo Dragon Expert” and “Slow Talkers of America” were favorite bits. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyI6KjpNrh0 ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-coast-old-timers-did-you-listen-to-bob-ray-growing-up/849370/16 "2020-03-14T17:49:36Z")
Anyone remember the Bob and Ray features in late 50’s - early 60’s “Mad” magazine? > **[Bob and Ray-Mort Drucker-1957](http://fourcolorshadows.blogspot.com/2016/02/bob-and-ray-mort-drucker-1957.html)** > > A little tribute to Bob Elliott who passed away this week. I discovered Bob and Ray in the 1980s with their public radio series but the... ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-coast-old-timers-did-you-listen-to-bob-ray-growing-up/849370/17 "2020-03-14T18:44:33Z")
No but I listened to Jean Shepherd on WOR in NYC in the late 60s and early 70s. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-coast-old-timers-did-you-listen-to-bob-ray-growing-up/849370/18 "2020-03-14T19:02:18Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > No but I listened to Jean Shepherd on WOR in NYC in the late 60s and early 70s. My father was a Bob and Ray fan but I remember him listening to Jean Shepard more. I’m too young to remember the shows themselves. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-coast-old-timers-did-you-listen-to-bob-ray-growing-up/849370/19 "2020-03-14T21:07:04Z")
Bob and Ray weren’t always syndicated. Their show at various times early on was carried by the NBC, CBS, Mutual networks and, near the end, National Public Radio. These network shows gave them a fairly decent national presence which lead to their popularity in syndication. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-coast-old-timers-did-you-listen-to-bob-ray-growing-up/849370/20 "2020-03-14T23:08:55Z")
> [@digs](#): > > My mom was a huge Bob & Ray fan, heard them a lot growing up. > > She still is a fan… at 92, and has everything they’ve done, on many many many cassettes. Cool. > [@Crane](#): > > Wally Ballou… Liked the way he always started off “-ly Ballou, here”, like those cut-off correspondent feeds. > [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Many slightly older people recommended Bob and Ray, including Kurt Vonnegut (who was much older). Nifty appearance as commentators in the film _Between Time and Timbuktu_, which was adapted from some of Vonnegunt’s works. Mom turned me on to them. Great i-view bit they did on Carson with Ray as a somewhat mercenary paper clip factory manager. Pretty hot covering “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” on SNL, just sitting there on stage in chairs, trading off lines, poker-faced as ever. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/east-coast-old-timers-did-you-listen-to-bob-ray-growing-up/849370.md?page=2)