The Commercial Break - TCB Infomercial: Rickey Smiley

Episode Date: August 12, 2025

TCB Merch Drop NOW open August 8th-22nd, 2025⁠ www.shopTCBpodcast.com⁠ EP#810 TCB Informercial with Rickey Smiley As Atlanta (almost) natives, Bryan & Krissy are no stranger to the man, myth or legend of Rickey Smiley. He is known across the country as the voice of his own massively popular syndicated radio show. He is a talented comedian. He also happens to be a good human and grieving father. Rickey joins TCB to discuss his incredible success, the friends and mentors who helped along the way, the pain of losing a child and.....My 600LB Life! Bryan and Rickey are panning the watch party. Rickey's LINKS: ⁠⁠⁠Follow him on Insta⁠⁠ For ALL Things Rickey. Books, Specials, Comedy Dates and Radio Stations: Click HERE Watch EP #810 with Rickey Smiley on ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠! Text us or leave us a voicemail: [phone]TCB FOLLOW US: Instagram:  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thecommercialbreak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/thecommercialbreak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@tcbpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.tcbpodcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CREDITS: Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bryan Green⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ &⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Krissy Hoadley⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Executive Producer: Bryan Green Producer: Astrid B. Green Voice Over: Rachel McGrath TCBits | TCB Tunes: Written, Performed and Edited by Bryan Green To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey there, cats and kittens. I'm very excited to share this next episode of the commercial break, but I'm also very excited to share that you can go to shoptcbpodcast.com right now and pre-order your exclusive limited time TCB merch. Hats, hoodies, t-shirts, and a free sticker with every single order. The window for the merch is only open until August 22nd, so if you want to rock our gear, you're going to have to make a commitment. I know, I know.

Procrastinators unite. I'm one of you. But this is how it works, and it's out of my hands. We think you're going to like this merch. So go to shoptcbpodcast.com right now to pre-order as many items as your little heart desires. And get a free TCB sticker. Now I'm going to stop mugging about our merch and go listen to myself, listen to myself on this episode of the commercial break. Next year, I'm having Thanksgiving with some white people.

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, I need a break. We'd be doing too damn much. white people keep Thanksgiving simple Here's their name Give me some white people Thanksgiving music Here we go Turkey

Stuffed with Stovetop stuffing Honey baked ham Libby's cranberry sauce In the can mashed potatoes Green bean Castlewall

Pumpkin pie dinner rolls Tab and fresco to drink four to eight people then to start at four o'clock that's it why we can't do that why we be doing the most on Thanksgiving

can I get some black most Thanksgiving music can I get some say what fried turkey baked turkey roasted turkey raw turkey barbecue turkey smoke turkey wings

honey glazed ham baked ham, cussar ham, green eggs and ham, proud chicken, baked chicken, barbecue chicken, lima pepper chicken, smother chicken, rotisserie chicken, funky chicken, rotissary chicken, funky chicken gizzards, chicken tenders, chicken and dumplings, chicken potpott, cornish hands, Irish, British ham, roast beef, beef, gravy, beef gravy, chicken gravy, chicken gravy, pork gravy, pork gravy, pork gravy, onion gravy, shepherd's pie, macaroni with yellow cheese, macaroni with white cheese, candy yams, candy burrs, sweep-a-saint-suituites soup.

Ox tails, pincels, duck tails, genders, catfish nuggets, whiting, salmon patties, flambor, schnapper, trouts, baked talabia, wagon tilabia. fried tilapia, deer meat, barbecue ribs, meat loaf, turkey meat loaf, country fried steak, smothered pork chops, barbecue pork chops, corned beans, corned beans, brown beans, green beans, photo bees, navy bees, kidney bees, porkin bees, porkin bees, nigger jelly beans, term greens, collard greens, mussel greens, baked cabbage cabbage, baked cabbage, baked cabbage, Raw cabbage, raw cabbage, brothers' sprouts, asparagus stills, fries squash,

mashed potato, baked potato, sweet tea, Kool-Aid, mini-made, fruit punch, Dr. Thunder. Somebody had to go

to the dollar treat. On this episode, of the commercial break. I watched 20 minutes of it, and I watched that part, that part of it was part of the 20 minutes. It is so fucking funny, and it is so fucking true.

Stovetop stuffing, that's what we like. We don't want any oysters or old day seasoning. We just want soft bland stovetop stuffing. Come on, now. Man, when I tell you,

that about white people out, I talk about my 600-pound life TV show. That's my favorite show. That's his favorite show. That's his favorite show. All the women that's on there, they all got a man. I know. I noticed that.

Everyone, but all the men over there don't got a woman. None of them, not one of them has a woman. It's weird. It's so strange. The next episode of the commercial break starts now. Yeah, boy. Oh, yeah, cats and kittens. Welcome back to the commercial break.

I'm Brian Green. This is my dear friend and the co-host of this show. Chris and Joy Haudley. you, Chris. Best to you out there in the podcast universe. Thanks for joining us. It is a TCB infomercial Tuesday. We are very excited to have radio legend, local hero, and overall good guy, Ricky Smiley, here in the studio with us.

Two, well, three, radio legends meeting together for the very first time. Me, of course, W.W.L.G. The legend. Chrissy, of course, one episode of W.W.G. The legend. And some sim coal, scam coal FM, if you don't mind. That's right. I was on there a little bit. Yes, you were. And then Ricky Smiley, who has been in 162 radio stations for 30 years.

But let's not talk about details, because it's just legend to legend to legend having a conversation about what it's like in the world of radio. He is a... The biz. The biz, as they say. The radio biz. We would call it Hollywood, but it's more like Hollywood, Florida than Hollywood, California. but you get the point. No knock on Hollywood, Florida. Lovely place. I can't wait to talk to Rick. If you're looking for Crystal Math. Okay. I can't wait to talk to Ricky either. And here's why. Will you share? Why? Why are you excited about Ray? Well, I mean, exactly. Local Radio legend. He's just, he's been around forever, has deep ties to Atlanta. I know he's originally from Birmingham, but just I can't wait to pick his brain and just see what made Ricky Ricky.

Yeah, absolutely. So Ricky Smiley has done us. syndicated morning show forever, I think for like 24 years. I don't know. I don't know the, well, I think 2000 is when he started a station out of Dallas and then he took off. And I think, I believe, and we can ask him, he's syndicated in almost 100 radio stations currently in the morning show. And he's been just like a solid foundation of Atlanta radio for a long time, including when Chrissy and I worked in radio. And one of the things I want to share with him is even when we worked at Clear Channel, he was not on Clear Channel. I think he was on maybe V103 at Time. I think so. Radio 1. Is that V-103? Radio 1? Okay, we'll ask him. I don't want to get a roll. But it's Odyssey now, right?

That is Odyssey now? That's right. Is he on Odyssey? No, I don't think he is. I think he switched to a different station here in Atlanta. I don't think it's V-10-3 anymore. Yeah, it's not the same company throughout the whole country, right, that he's syndicated on other groups. No, he's syndicated on a bunch of different radio stations. Yeah, I mean, with 100 and some-odd radio stations, there's no way it's just one company. But, he was talked about in our building, even though he didn't work at our company. And when you kind of get that kind of cachet, you know that it's a big deal. Like the syndicated big boys and girls of radio, Ricky is one of them. So it's exciting to talk to him. He's also a very funny human being. He's got a brand new book out.

Not a brand new. It's been a lot for a while, actually. I'd say brand new. It's brand new to you, the listener who hasn't heard of him. It's about grief and life being. Ricky Smiley, he lost his son at 32 years old from an overdose. He was an addict. He was struck with the terrible sickness of addiction. As many people in this country, unfortunately, have relatives that that happens to. Yes. And one of the things that I've read about Ricky,

and that's part of the reason why I'm grateful to have him here, is that he's been very transparent about his grief, about his son's passing, about the circumstances, and the addiction that his son had gone through. He's also gone to N.A. with family members. He talks about that in his book that's spoken about. He's just one of these people who likes to shower the world with his own perspective, regardless of how easy or tough that those conversations might be. He just has a connection to people. I think that's why he's got an audience that is huge and stuck around for a long time. He's also on tour. I think he does a number of shows a month or a year. We'll ask him more about that, but you can go to the links in the show

notes below. We have a link to all of Ricky's information where you can find the book. He's got a special on Hulu. Which looks really funny. I watch the trailer. I'm going to watch it because it looks hilarious. I watched 20 minutes of it. So I just kind of, I didn't have enough time to watch the whole thing. So I just kind of and jumped in. And at some point, he starts talking about the differences between white people Thanksgiving and black people Thanksgiving. And he says that he likes white people Thanksgiving because they come in, no must, no fuss, you know, turkey, stove top stuffing, cranberry in a can, and just get on with life, say your hallelujah's, and leave. And then black people, there's 75,000 different versions of food. It lasts all day.

There's three different feedings. People carry on in drama. And he said, I kind of like the white people Thanksgiving. Get in, get out, real simple, straightforward. Everyone does it. And I, having been to both Black Thanksgiving and White Thanksgiving, he's right. And I think really more than White and Black Thanksgiving, it should be Thanksgiving for most people and then like a deep South Thanksgiving. I was going to say that it's something about the South. Something about the South. Because I have to say growing up, I remember us having a ton of different dishes too. Yes. It being an all-day affair, You're watching football, you're eating, you're watching more stuff at the parade, you're eating. When you put muscles or oysters in the turkey stuffing, it's a different kind of Thanksgiving.

Do you know what I'm saying? And I have been to those versions of Thanksgiving and then I have had my own, what I grew up with, very bland Irish Catholic Thanksgiving. You know, amen, holy shit, let's eat the dinner and hit it and quit it. Amen. Holy shit. Eat the dinner and get the fuck out. So anyway, it was really, really funny, and I look forward to seeing the rest of it. So he's got this special on Hulu, this book about grief and growth. And then, of course, he is very popular on the radio channel. The morning show for a lot of people.

I'm excited about this one. So let's do this. Why don't we take a break? And then do the magic of telepodcasting. We'll have Ricky right here in our own. studio why we did not ask him to come and be with us in person i have no idea but we'll fix that moving forward we must ask him he's in atlanta he's i know we should have just had him here uh let's take a break and when we get back ricky smile the legendary ricky smile let's do it we'll be back hey there cats and kittens it's rachel i have a terrible cold but brian

wanted me to pass along the message that tcb's exclusive merch drop have It happens Friday, August 8th, through the 22nd. You can pre-order your limited edition commercial break, hat, hoodie, university sweater, or t-shirts, and get an exclusive TCB sticker free with every purchase. Go to shoptcbpodcast.com, Friday, August 8th, through the 22nd, to pre-order your merch because when the window closes, it closes for good. So mark it on your calendars, Friday August 8th through the 22nd. Shop TCB Podcast.com.

Now I'm going to go take some DayQuil and feed Axel more pork chops. Best to you. Hello, it's Lena Dunham. I host a podcast called The Sea Word with my dearest friend and historian of bad behavior, Alyssa Bennett. What is up? It's a chat show about women whose society is called Crazy. We're going to be rediscovering the stories of women's society dismissed by calling them

mad, sad, or just plain bad. Listen to and follow the C-word with Lena Dunham and Alyssa Bennett. Available now wherever you get your podcasts. The legendary, Chrissy, Ricky Smiley, here with us now. Hi, Ricky. How are you? Hi, Ricky. Hey, man. Thank you so much for having me. How y'all doing? Yeah, we're good. We're fantastic.

We're better now that Ricky Smiley is here because as Atlanta, not natives, but we lived here for a long time. Me, 30 plus years, Chrissy, 30 plus years. You have been in our ears and a part of the culture here in Atlanta for a long time. Share with me a little bit about what Atlanta means to you, because I like when Atlanta natives come on and talk about Atlanta. Man, you know, I know you're not native, but you're a big part of the culture. You're a big part of the culture. No, no, we almost native. Everybody lived in Birmingham went to Atlanta every weekend when we were able to get in the car and drive. We partied in Atlanta.

We grew up in Atlanta also. We love Outkats also. Yeah. So we also, we go to Lake Lanier, too. We go to Lennox and Green Brow Mall also. Yeah. That's right. Yeah, yeah.

I remember going on stage at Birthday Bash at the, uh, at the, uh, what is it, the, uh, State Farm Arena. Oh, yeah. Half of the audience was from Birmingham. Really? You know, yeah. Oh, man. Man, if there was a big, a big concert in Atlanta, they're on the advertising in Birmingham. Everybody's on the highway.

We've gone. It's such an easy drive. It's such an easy drive over. Yeah. Once you get past six flags, you're in the game. You're there. That's it. Yeah.

And actually, yeah, the Atlanta and Birmingham do share, there's this, like, sinew between the two of us, this thread between the two of us. So many people from Atlanta go to school over there and party over there and hang out over there. It's an easy drive. Jump on Interstate 20. Yeah, that's true. All right, let me get one thing straight because I see people in Atlanta wearing these hats. You see this right here? Yes.

That's the Braves. That's the Crimson Tide. Yes. Raves? Yes. Roll Tide. Go Braves. Roll Tides.

Let's be clear. Thank you. That's right. Thank you for clearing that up because a lot of people, you know, here's a funny thing. So it was like my brother-in-law, who is Venezuelan, lives in Houston, works in Indianapolis, came down to Atlanta. He likes to rock his Atlanta gear because he loves it. And he came in with an Atlanta shirt, an A shirt, and I was like, and he goes, look at my Atlanta shirt. And I go, that is not an Atlanta shirt. And he goes, it is an Atlanta shirt. It's got an A

on it. And I said, no, that's an Alabama shirt. There's a big difference. And the big difference is the swoop at the top. There you go. Look at that. Uh-huh. Get them together, my friend. You had to correct it. How have you managed to keep yourself so in, you are like a radio legend. You have been around for so, I mean, I don't want to date you, but you've been around for so many years rocking that radio show. How have you weathered so many storms that so many other people have not? As radio, as former radio people, we have seen a few of these storms come and go.

You're just good. That's really a good question. And you know what the answer is? I was talking to one of my co-host yesterday, Alfredo's about that, mastering the art of being funny. Yes. Of being funny. People want to laugh.

I found out through research and through morning show boot camps, people want to be entertained in the morning. They want to be uplifted. They don't want to talk about heavy subject all the time. You got to have a good balance on the show. And you have to have somebody that really knows how to, number one, stir the pot. Number two, make it about the listeners and not me.

you know, taking phone calls, getting the audience involved, audience participation, you know, the PD's going to always program the music. But like, for example, this week I'm doing a blonde hair, blue eyes, soul week, right? I'm going to do it for two weeks. So these are white artists that was played on black radio stations. Ah, so cool. You know, what a good idea. Yeah, I did Tina Marie. I would play two songs at the top of the hour in the eight of block hour like Tina Marie and and when you when the show becomes unpredictable and I cannot miss the Rickie Smiley Morning Show because I might miss something because they're crazy and they're outside of the box and we just don't allow uh you know we we we just kind of do radio uh and I have a

good feel of the audience because I'm a performer right I perform on the weekends so when you perform on the weekends and you do karaoke shows live during the week and in a in coming to clubs, you get a sense of what the audience want. What they're talking about, what they're feeling. You, you, it's like a, it's like an energy in the room and you can feel it across the radio waves. I know that sounds weird, but you know you got your finger on the pulse. Absolutely. Absolutely. When you're getting text messages while you're on the air, that mean that, and you getting messages on Messenger, on Facebook, people are talking, they're talking about the show. So it's really important to have your, you know, finger on what people want.

That's very interesting. You know, so I used to listen to Stern for years when he jumped over to Sirius, and he was, we didn't have him in Atlanta until he went to Sirius, but we, I listened to him, started listening to him when he came on Sirius. And I've got really invested in this show. And I noticed that a bunch of other people also were invested in the show. had to listen to it. It was kind of like a must listen type thing. And I asked myself one day, why am I so invested in the show? And here's why. It becomes like a family. It's a soap opera that you want to keep up with. It's unpredictable. It's something reliable, right? It's something I can rely on. I can rely on them to entertain me, make me happy, maybe even occasionally make me

cry. But I can rely on it every morning. And I'm invested in the characters of the show. I'm invested in who's telling me what. And it's like a little soap opera that you just keep up with. It's not, you know, overdramatic. But I think you probably have a very similar relationship with your audience. You're reliable. You're there. You're funny. You know, you're open. And I think that's part of what you're known for also is that you are transparent, right? You're not. Absolutely. You have to be transparent. Like we laugh. We cry. We talk about things. We talk about autism. We talk about, we have a partnership with St. Jude where we raise money for the, you know, the kids, this battling cancer. God bless you. We do a lot of stuff on the radio, man.

And I just always try to make it about the listeners and make it about the people. Yeah. And, you know, and, you know, not myself. But I get a kick out of it. I have a great team. I have Gary. I have the world famous DeBrett. Yes. Oh, yeah. My host, Brad is the first female rapist to sell over a million albums. You know, and I have a really, really great team and great producers.

So putting a show together is a lot of fun. How many, how long will you do this, Ricky? The audience wants to know. Will you do this until they literally drag you out of the studio? Do you feel that kind of passion for it still? Or is this something? They might have to drag me out. I like it.

Do y'all know that I'm up around 3.34 o'clock every morning, no alarm clock, never, my whole life. Whoa. Your body's just built that way. But I was like that as a kid. I was raised by grandparents, so I'm up drinking Sankham brand coffee with my mom. I remember Sankham. My grandfather used to drink that, too. I remember those commercials.

I remember the smell. The instant coffee, yeah. Remember, at first, everybody was drinking tasters' choice, and then they went to Sanker brands. Yeah, that's it. Sanka came along, and it's just a story. I remember Sankan and sweet and low. Yeah, and your grandma would give you a little coffee on a bowl and while you have your little coffee in the morning up, watching, watching TV with your grandma. Yep.

So I haven't been an early bird, a natural early bird my entire life. So since I'm up, I might as well do radio. Yeah, there you go. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. It keeps your name out there and your brand out there and working Monday through Friday. Whether you perform or not, you get up and go to work. You get up and go do radio.

It's a lot of fun. Well, I think you're smart too is that, you know, like a lot of people who have been on the radio, who have gotten successful careers on the radio, you parlay this. You've got almost like a huge megaphone to promote the other things that you do. Also, you've made a little cottage industry out of Ricky Smiley, right? You're on tour. You've got the book. You've got the Hulu special. You do these things. And then you can go on five days a week and you can tell people about it and you've got this built-in audience for what you do. I think that's what I'll tell you. I'll tell y'all something y'all might be interested in knowing. You know how I got that? Well, I started on a local station in Birmingham, but you know how I got the job in Dallas, Texas? No. That was your flagship for a while, right, Dallas? Yeah, Dallas, Texas. And so I get a phone call from Steve Harvey. What?

Steve Harvey is one of my mentors, and he's my fraternity brother. We're all omegas. We're all in the same fraternity. D.L. Steve Harvey, Shaquille O'Neill, Michael Jordan, Anthony Anderson, Joe Tori. Whoa. We're all members. That's quite the fraternity. Yeah, we're Charlie. I can go on and on.

Charlie Ward, the two live stews. We are all members of the same fraternity. And, you know, a wonderful organization founded at Howard University in 1911. Yes, famous age for you. I was open, opening up for the Kings of Comedy.

I got really, really close with Steve, and Steve called me one day. And he said, hey, I'm getting ready to go to Clear Channel. I'm leaving Radio 1, and I'm going to Clear Channel. He said, I recommended you for this job. And I took him and say, eh, you know, I just bought a house in Birmingham, let me think about it or whatever. So he handed the phone to his bodyguard, Boomerang, who's about 6-8.

I love it. Boomerang cursed me the hell out. No way. He said, let me tell you something, M. F. Motherfuck. Yeah. Yeah, he said, he said, you don't tell nobody like Steve Harvey what you're going to think about. He said, you don't have your skinny black ass in Dallas by tomorrow morning.

We ain't effing with you no more. And hung up in my face. Did you get in the car and start driving to Dallas? I was sitting on the back of, on the last row of Southwest Airlines. tears in my eyes because I felt like I never lived anywhere outside of Birmingham. I knew I was going to probably get that job and end up there. I didn't want to disappoint them. And Steve was still on the air when I landed.

And when I was walking up, the radio station was inside of a mall. So when they saw me walking, they all looked and they were shocked. Like, he really showed up. And I went and did the interview and got the job. And I did my last, I did Stephen Harvey last two, I did the last two weeks with him on the air to make a smooth transition. Yeah, smart. So, yeah. And that's how it happened.

And I won in Dallas. And then the owner decided that he was going to syndicate me. He put me on all of his stations. And then I went on all of Mr. Perry stations out of Oklahoma. And then next thing you know, I ended up on Cox. the Miami stations, and when Tom Jonah retired, they slid us over it into that slide. That's right. So now I'm at like around 100 affiliates.

It's crazy. That's insane. There are very... Wildfire. That's a wildfire. And I know, just from my understanding of the radio business, my small understanding of the radio business having worked there for a while, like to be syndicated in five stations is a big deal. Very few.

Like Ryan Seacrest, Howard Stern. Join her. Ricky Smiley, Steve Harvey, these are names that Casey Kasem when he was alive. Those are names that get syndicated like that. It's very difficult. Delilah. Yeah, Delilah. Delilah. I miss her. Why do I listen to Delilah almost every night and wait for her some guy to call up and talk about love with a chick on the third grade with eight kids and he still want to marry her and she plays air supply? It's so good. It is woven into our fabric. If you grew up in a certain time and you don't know who Delilah is, your parents were not raising you correctly. I mean, Delilah is amazing. She also has been around for it. And listen, then there's other, you know, radio cucks that we can talk about like Dr. Laura and Rashim Limbaugh. But syndication is very difficult. And you have done it very well. 100 plus radio stations is amazing. Your longevity speaks to how.

The connection. Yeah, tuned in, your audience is with you. In Atlanta, you're legendary. I mean, people would talk about you at Clear Channel, even though you weren't at Clear Channel. And so that's quite amazing. Do you enjoy, for you, is it the microphone, or is it the stage that pulls you a little bit more

when it comes to, like, being with the audience? I'm sure you're more familiar, like, it feels... It used to be the stage, but now is the radio microphone, because, man, when I tell you, I am, like, I have a studio, this guy named John Matthews built a studio in my house, right? Oh, yeah. So, but wait a minute. People are like, oh, you can do the morning show in your pajamas. I'm like, no.

Yeah, we know that. I would never disrespect radio to walk in the air and do the show my pajamas. I get up, take a shower, get dressed, cleaned up, walk down the hall, cook my coffee on the stove. No curate. I love it. I have your grandmother's percolator. Yeah. You got the Sanka.

Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I make my old school coffee. You know, I might order some donuts from Krispy Kreme or Duncan or whatever. They'll put it on the porch or whatever. And I got my little fruit and I'm in there watching way too early on MSNBC. I got the other TV on ESPN.

Yeah. I am ready to roll at 15 to 5. My show starts at 5. I'm looking over my script, making sure. sure everything is straight and I'm ready to go. And I really enjoy that job on radio because you can sit, you don't have to get on the plane, train automobile to get there. And it don't give me the anxiety that I get when I get ready to perform. Because I'm on stage, people pay money to come see you. So the expectations are like right here. Yes. Radio is free. But when people

pay $40 to come see you perform. So now you got to get on the plane. You got check in a hotel. You got get dressed. You got to memorize your act. I'm on stage like an hour and 15, hour, 20 minutes. That's a long show, Ricky. Yeah, blood, sweat, and tears. Like, I mainly do casinos now instead of coming to club, venues, theaters and casinos. So you got to get people where they pay for and you got to perform. Like, like, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, uh, We've talked to a few comedians, and they have said something very similar is that, you know, they get excited when a special comes out and it can kind of live and breathe on its own for a while because there is always this expectate. You don't want to ruin somebody Saturday night that they paid, you know, $100 with them and their loved one to come see you. You don't want to let them down. They get dressed up. They come out. They go out to eat. They make a night of it. And then they come and you have an off night and they go, ah, you know. But when you're on radio, we feel the same way. When you do four days a week, it pays to be mediocre, right? Just be mediocre and just, I mean, not that you are, but we are.

Just be funny enough. If you can make them laugh once or twice during the show, you'll do it again tomorrow and they'll get another shot at it. But, you know, but it's good that you can, that you have the audience to go out there and fill casinos and theaters because that's an extra, yeah, hey, listen, let's be honest about it. It's an extra revenue source. It also gets you out of the house, Sots, gets you out of your way. Gets you out of your Sanker routine. How often do you do those shows where you're getting out? Probably now three or four times a month.

I just did the casino, some big casino in Phoenix, Arizona. And I ran off stage and jumped on that red eye into Atlanta Airport. You know what? I found out that even if you die, if you die, you have to go through Atlanta Airport to get It's true. Yes. It's true. Atlanta airport takes you to all. I was just there the other day. All roads lead to Hartsfield, Jackson. It's 100% true. Yeah. Well, it's because Delta is, you know, it's just Delta. That's the reason. Delta, the world's largest airline, Delta. It's everybody goes to Delta. When, I've got to say something about, you know, you being an Omega and the HBO and all the very famous, amazing entertainer. that have gone with you. D.L. has become my favorite Instagram account ever.

I just got to say that right now, ever. He knocks out of the park. And I know it's probably not him posting every single time, but I'm sure you follow him on Instagram. That guy is on top of it. I love it. I love his content. That's great.

He is a big brother, D.L. Hughley is a big brother. D.L. Hugley is a mentor. D.L. Hulie is a friend. D.L. Hugley is a genius comic. There have been times where I found the idea he was performing somewhere. I just want to go and be quiet and sit in the dressing room and watch him sit over there with his night, one of the nicest, one of the cleanest, most nicely dressed comedians in the country, cross his legs, have him a drink, smoke a cigar. I remember when he was opening up for the Kings of Comedy Man, I would copy his style. like that's where I got a lot of my style from because I've really gotten into fashion now, you know, checking out Dio Hugo. I remember when he had to twist with the fade. I went and got, when I became the whole company, I had to twist with the fade on the side. Yeah. Yeah. Like D.O. Hughley is a mentor. D.O. Hughley challenges. He will challenge you to be better. He will, I remember we went to Houston's restaurant. We were having lunch. And I just wanted to sit with the bodyguards or whatever.

But now, Dio was like, no, we're going to go sit over here. And I was like, oh, dad, I already know. I already know what's going to happen because if I sit over here with him, he's going to grill me. Yeah. Him and Steve, there's so much alike when it comes to having someone to challenge you and to make you better and to make you uncomfortable. That's where the growth happens. That's where the, I had a friend who said, if it's uncomfortable, lean into it. That's where you need to be.

Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah, and I remember after that dinner sitting in my car for 20 minutes, and that's when I start the ball rolling for that comedy special. Wow. That David E. Taubert and Lynn Taubert directed, produced it, but it was D.O. that put that fire under me and was just getting on to me about a lot of stuff, a lot of things that I could be doing that I was not doing.

I just have so much respect for that. Yeah, it's easy to tell somebody, hey, man, you're doing a good job, whatever. but when you get somebody to say, hey man, you ain't doing nothing and you could be doing it. He named about 25 things and was grilling me and I felt like a dumb ass

he wasn't trying to make me feel that way but like I really needed that challenge and I'll tell you what, if you don't hit him up and check in with him here and there, I can feel when it's time for me to send a text message or call or whatever. I'm always in a group text with him and Steve or whatever,

But I check in. I check in with Martin Lawrence. You know, I've sent courtesy text methods and check in and just a hump. I went on tour of Martin Lawrence. That was the biggest thing I ever done since the Kings. And to have Martin Lawrence host and D. Ray Davis, Adele Givens, Bruce, Bruce, Michael Blackston. Wow. Yeah, beast in arenas where the NBA teams play.

But I'll never forget, Ashley Larry, Donnell, Rollins. Oh, yeah. We had Donnell a couple of weeks ago, yeah. Oh, my God, he got a standing ovation in front of me. And I was enjoying, I was laughing at him. And I was like, oops, I'm next. I got to follow that. You're in Atlanta, all the bloggers on the first three roles,

all the celebrities on the first three rows. You cannot have a bad show in Atlanta. If you do your career, it's, Screwed. Yeah. But I apply Alabama football to everything. I'm a big fan of Nick Saving. Guess what I have?

I have a playbook. Oh, wow. An actual one. For your act? Yes. Wow. I have like six different acts, right? And I'm watching Donnell-Hillan on stage, and I go and I get my playbook.

And I said, well, I can't do what I was going to do because he literally killed me. the audience and I know what they had a taste for, right? The audience is not going to have a taste for what I had playing. I think they, he has swung the audience in this direction, so I need to be over here. Wow. Where they are. I love the strategy. Yeah.

I tore it out of the notebook and when he got a stand in the ovation, my role manager ran in front of the stage and took that piece of paper and laid down my one through 10. I only got 20 minutes on stage, but I did that one through. I had enough sense to say, hey, let me put this together. I think this is the act that's appropriate for this particular audience, especially out there what he just did. And I went out there and got a stand ovation also. Oh, love it.

Yeah, it's a lot of preparation going to comedy because you just can't, it depends on the audience and where you are and who you perform with. That decides what you're going to do on stage. You know what I mean? You have to switch it up. Yeah, that's so smart. We had a comedian on, and he said to us that it's like a choose your own, when you get good enough at comedy, we've done it a long time, you've got a lot of material, you've got a lot of resources in your brain and in your back pocket, that it's like a choose your own adventure. And depending on the vibe, it's like you're walking through the forest and you're moving left and right, right?

You're choosing your own path as the audience. You feel them out and you see how it is. And I imagine, like, reading a put, I'm sure you do some golfing, like reading a put, you read the, you read, Donnell's putt, and you said, okay, I got to hit it this way. Yep. Super smart. The experience is everything. I've been performing for 35 years.

Just November, it would be 36 years. I started November 13, 1989. That's incredible. That's when I went on stage for Open Mic Night. And listen, I tell you, that experience in those years and years and in those comedy clubs and had people to train. I used to open for Rita Rutner. I used to open for Ali Joe Prater.

Whoa. And Jeff Foxworth, I used to open for those guys. You opened for Jess Foxworthy? Yeah, at the Comedy Club in Birmingham. That should be it. That's crazy. Yeah. Yeah, I was a young, a young, skinning company.

How old were you? I had to be about 20. When you got on stage for the first time, you were about 20 years old? Yeah, probably about. 20, yeah. What made you do? What made you want to do this? Yeah, you always knew you wanted to do this? I went to a comedy club with a guy that was on campus at Miles College. I was finishing up college at Miles College. He said, hey, I knew him, you know, from being on campus, say, hey, I'm right over to the community club with me. I was like, sure, I didn't have a car. I was like, sure,

I didn't have nothing to do. I went over to the comedy club and I saw him on stage. I'm like, if they're laughing at him doing those jokes, which he was fun. I know. I know. I know I could do that because that's what we do. We, I would charge people to come in the dorm room and roast. And we would have roast and says, we had, we had the first while and out in the dorm. Like, yeah, I would sit on one bed and somebody on another floor down. I would sit on another bed. We would face each other and we would roast.

Just go at it. And so, and I was, I was always known for telling funny stories and doing funny things because one of my classes, I was doing music in our music class. Zebedee Jones, he's also a member of Omega, and that was my music teacher, and he was like, hey, why are you late? I said, listen, everybody, everybody froze. I said, I had death in the family.

He said, oh my God, he said, I am so sorry. Go ahead and have a seat. Mr. Smiley, if you mean anything, let us know. He said, I, you know, he said, I feel bad for you. you. He said, who was it? I said, it was my uncle. We were really, really close. I said, but they got him a hearing aid now, and I think he's going to be fine. He had a deaf in the family. It took him about three minutes. Three minutes, three minutes, the things started hitting like microwave pop on. Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. How about he dismissed class?

Oh, he took the class down. Oh, my God, that's too funny on a deaf in the family. That is dad joke level funny. All right. So here's a question. And we're calling back to the beginning of this interview. You know, call back. You've been on radio for a long time.

I'm calling back for a second. Hall and Oates, on your blonde-haired blue eye. I don't think either of them were blonde hair. Oh, no, I guess, I guess, I guess. Well, go on. Yeah, I guess Darrell would be blonde-haired blue. is, Hall and Oates, they're early stuff.

Like, I mean, I'm not talking like their poppy 80s yet, but they're early stuff. Do you consider that good R&B? Was that play? Oh, yeah, yeah. They played all of this stuff on, like, I grew up,

I grew up listening to a radio station founded by Dr. A.G. Gaston. Okay. You got to Google Dr. A.G. Gasson, he was a grandson of slaves, and he was a self-made millionaire. He lived not far from my grandparents. but he lived in a big mansion.

And I would listen to Wayne Radio Station, and they would play those songs by Daryl Hawn and John Oakes. And they would play. I remember growing up as a kid, they was playing Fleetwood Mac on Black radio stations. Oh, yeah. It's good. You would hear Christy McBase singing,

you make loving fun. Oh, yeah. To Dreams by Stevie Nix. Oh, they played all that stuff in between Marvin Gay and the Commodore. So, you know, and then when MTV came out, you had to watch all the videos to get to Michael Jackson Thruller. That's it. That's it.

I was just watching, you know, this crazy, like earlier this morning, I was watching a real, I mean, Instagram. One of the Instagram accounts I watched is, like, found footage. And it was found footage of Michael Jackson and his choreographer doing the smooth criminal dance work, like figuring that out. And this choreographer he had used. And listen, we all talk about. about Michael's personal life, so we're blue in the face, but the truth is that he blessed us with some of the best music and some of the best dancing that has ever been seen on earth and watching him figure all of this out with this choreography. It's like watching Van Gogh paint.

It's like quite crazy how he moves his body. And I have, you know, I don't have admiration for some of the things he was accused of doing, never found guilty, but I don't have admiration for that, obviously, but I have admiration for the way that he just used his mind and his body and his voice to create these works of art. It's quite frankly, it's crazy. One of the best of all times. You better believe it. So you have a book out. What's the title of the book? I'm sorry, I don't have the... The name of the book is called Side Show. Now, I don't know if you know anything about I think the group is called Blue Magic. They had a song called Let the Side Show begins. hurry, hurry, step right on in.

Yes. Can afford to pass it by, guaranteed to make you cry. Right? So that song is about a clown that's sad. And if you ever listen to the songs, a sad show, sometimes that's a story of a lot of our great comedians. Our job is to make people laugh while we're crying on the inside. Yes.

Don Allen Rawling said the same thing while he was here. Oh, man, listen. And I lost my son on a Sunday, Wednesday, I was back on the air. I was back on the air Wednesday, Tuesday night I picked out his clothes, put the clothes in the car. Wednesday, I did the morning show. And I went to the funeral home to do the help with final arrangements. But I have a job to do because this is the reason why I've had a lot of stuff. success in radio because I had to realize that I'm not the only one that lost a son.

A lot of listeners that have lost a son also that can relate to what you're going through. And your job as a human being is to use your situation, and not as a human being as a Christian, is to use your situation to bless others. It's not about you. It's not all about you. somebody in Chicago, somebody in Charlotte, somebody in South Florida, somebody in Decatur and Bankhead and Buckhead and, you know, somebody in Dallas, Texas, and Houston have lost a son or daughter also. Yeah. And my job is to get on the air and get people motivated and encourage

and let them know if I can make it, you can make it also. And remember everything that we all go through as human being is only a test. But it don't feel like a test when you're going through it, but it's a test. God watches us and say, hey, I really like the way he's handling that situation because if you can't handle this, you're not ready to go to the next level that God have for you. And so we have to always be mindful of that of having a successful podcast, having a successful radio show. You have to sometimes make it about, make it not about you. and let's find out how can we find a way to help other people,

share your story to help other people and bring people closer to God and save lives because my son died from an overdose. But like my mom said, I would go to NAA meetings with my mom. And one thing I learned in an NA meeting is some have to die so others can live. Now, if my son died and I saved a lot of lives because he died, And, you know, that's the responsibility that we have as radio personalities is to have these real conversations about things that really hurt us in order to make the world a better place. It's a very powerful reminder. And my, I think it's a very powerful reminder too. We get a lot of email like you do. A lot of emails, a lot of text messages. Most of them, hey, great job. Love the show. That was funny. This is interesting. But some of them are really powerful that, hey, having a bad day. and you made it a little brighter or maybe some of them have even been more intense like hey having a

bad life and you made it a little bit better and thank you for that but for you to use your shared experience and share that shared experience that really is what being human is all about and i do think that god is found in those moments when we can use our own experience to comfort someone make them more wise give them a different perspective or even just have the ability to hold space for them like you know you're going through this too and i just want to tell you that i'm here with you and i see that man and i feel you're not alone yeah and that's when i went on that when i went on that book tour i was i was i wrote my that that was my second book i'm thinking i'm thinking you're going to sign the book and go to the next person sign the book go to the next person sign the book oh no no no

Oh, I can imagine. These people have lost. I had a lady. I never forget it in Nashville. Two that stick out when it was a couple because I found a sense of gratitude. There was a couple that lost their three-year-old son. He drowned. And they were sitting in the back of the book sign and they were both in tears the whole time.

And I'm sitting here like, well, their son was three years old. They didn't get to see their kid get on the school. My son was 32. Yeah. His son was three. Man, like, and I was in that I was able to find gratitude from that. Yeah. The fact that they did not get to see their son graduate middle school, elementary school, high school.

I was able to take my son, drop my son off, you know, off to college. And, you know, when I met a lady said she lost her son and her husband. And she said, I don't want to talk about. She had tears in the eyes. She just stopped talking. Yeah. I said, I said, ma'am, are you okay? She just shook her head.

She wouldn't say anything or she wouldn't speak another word. I grabbed her and I stood her behind me. I said, I want you to wait. I don't want you to just, I want you to wait. She had purchased a book. Yeah. I politely, I say, is there a therapist in the room? And it was like two.

And the fact that I was able to connect her to a therapist to get her, you know, the help that she need. That was so important. That's my responsibility as a radio personality, as a human being, as a Christian, as a comedian, is to put people in the right place. So, you know what I'm saying? Everything is orchestrated by God anyway. And I have to let God allow God to use me, you know, in order to help people,

whether it's on the radio or in person. So I just give God all the glory for, for if I was able to help anybody with my situation. You know what I mean? Yeah. Well, serendipity is the kiss of heaven. Yeah. And it's like it is inspiring.

And there is, we do often find purpose in the depths of darkness, right? That is, you know, I used to say this very simple phrase. I thought I was wise at the time. I was probably 15 when I thought it or said it for the first time. There is no light without the darkness. Right? It's just you don't know what it is. You don't know what it is to have a good day unless you've had bad. Now take that and put it on your worst day. And you know that's those of the times when I think you can find some real purpose and be grateful for all of the things times and other things that you've got. I think you're really brave to talk about this so openly to be so transparent about it. And I think it's probably why you have such a dedicated and loyal audience and they're going to have to drag you out of that radio studio. Right.

Ricky Smiley has a brand new Hulu special. I'm not brand new. It actually came out in May, didn't it? Yeah. Yeah. But man, let me tell you something. It's still a new because a lot of people have not seen. Listen.

Listen. Yeah. Tell us. I tell you what. You're going to be laid out. It's solid, funny. When I talk about the white version of Thanksgiving versus the black version of Thanksgiving.

I watched 20 minutes of it, and I watched that part of it was part of the 20 minutes. It is so fucking funny, and it is so fucking true. Stovetop stuffing, that's what we like. We don't want any oysters or old day seasoning. We just want bland stovetop stuffing. Come on now.

Man, when I tell you that about white people out, I talk about my 600-pound life TV show. That's my favorite show. That's his favorite show. Bro. That's his favorite show. All the women that's on there, they all got a man. I know.

I've noticed that. Everyone, but all the men over there don't got a woman. None of them, not one of them has a woman. It's weird. It's so strange. I agree with you. I talk about that for probably about 10 minutes. Oh, I'm going to go watch that part.

I'm going to go watch that part. I'm going to go watch the rest of it. Yeah, I got to about 20 minutes of it. I go through every single part of my 600-pound life. I am obsessed. Me too. I mean, you found a brother over here. Yeah, me too.

We should have a watch party. We'll get on Zoom. Next time you're in Atlanta, we'll do a watch party. I love it. I love it. That Dr. Nau-Zarden, you know, hello. His voice is so funny. He said, he said, I can't stay here.

He said, I have to eat something. He said, you have ate enough to last you the next four years. I know. He told one lady, she said, but I can't, I can't do the diet. I find myself starving. He goes, you could not starve in the next 10 years. You've eaten enough food for 50 people. He calls it like he sees it.

And it's not like Dr. Narzarden is like, you know, two pounds sopping wet. The guy has got a little weight on him too, but he just calls out all of their bullshit. But I guess when you're 90 and you've seen. at all. You've heard it all. Yeah. That's my show. You know, I had this little spin about little people. That cramped people up. That had people in tears. Wait, do you watch the Seven Little Johnstons?

Yeah. You have found your TLC. Elsie. I found my soulmate. I used to watch Little Women in Atlanta. Oh, the Little Women, Atlanta. I watched that for a while. Little People, Big World. I get, I fascinated. I'm fascinated by all of it. I used to call them the baby housewife. They were.

That's like what it was. They were flipping small tables. Yeah. So, yeah, my comedy special on Hulu is crazy. You have not seen it. Make sure you go to Hulu and watch it and now just go to Hulu. And when you go to search, you can pull up Rinky Smiley or Foolish. Foolish.

Foolish. Foolish. Or links in the show notes as they always are. Links in the show notes of the books. Links in the show notes to find Ricky on a syndicated radio station. You're you. He is legend. He is comedy gold.

I feel really honored to have spoken with you after so many years of knowing about you and listening to you. The myth, the legend. Yeah, they say sometimes don't meet your heroes. But this has turned out just fine. You haven't spent enough time with us for either of us to screw it up. So congratulations. Yeah, I got to come hang out with y'all, man. We're going to play all soft rock.

You know, Delala. She played AHA. She played AHA. Yesterday, she played Take On Me. Oh, Take On Me is one of my favorites. Oh, my God. That's a great one. My kids was in the car. They love AHA.

They know all of the worst. And that video, speaking of videos from back in the day. Was that the one where they drawn? It's half drawn. Yeah, drawn. They move in and out. That was amazing technology for the time. Yeah, because you know someone had to draw a ball by hand.

I have kids and grandkids, and they are all in the kitchen. They love Benny and the Jeffs by. Elton John, and they love, I've been waiting for a girl like you to come into my life. I've been waiting. That's foreigner, isn't it? I think that's foreigner. Yeah. Foreigner.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, so, yeah, we've got to catch up. Let's hang out. Absolutely. In a couple of months when you're in Atlanta, I know you come here often when you're in Atlanta will coordinate because we're right down. We have a studio right down the street for you where we can get together.

I'm downtown and so, yeah. We'll do it. Ricky Smiley, Hulu, book, tour, radio, legend. Thank you. Thank you so much, Ricky. Pleasure. Thank you, y'all. Thank y'all.

So much for having me, man. Y'all be blessed. You too. Bye, Ricky. You'll make this rather snappy, won't you? I have somebody heavy thing you to do before 10 o'clock. Hi, cats and kittens, Rachel here. Do you ever get the urge to speak endlessly into the void?

Like, Brian? Well, I've got just the place for you to do that. 212-433-3-3-T-CB. That's 212-433-3822. Feel free to call and yell all you want. Tell Brian, I need a race. Compliment Chrissy's innate ability to put up with all his shenanigans. Or tell us a little story.

The juicier, the better, by the way. We'd love to hear your voice because Lord knows we're done listening to ourselves. Also, give us a follow on your favorite socials. at the commercial break on insta, TCB podcast on TikTok. And for those of you who like to watch, oh, that came out wrong. We put all the episodes out on video.

YouTube.com slash the commercial break and TCBpodcast.com for all the info on the show. Your free sticker, or just to see how pretty we look. Okay, I got to go now. I've got a date with my dog. No, seriously, Axel needs food. Today is pork chop day. well that was an interview i won't soon forget for all the right reasons yeah so inspiring

i mean he just had a smile on his face the whole time and what incredible energy yeah you can feel it's coming through the screen like i just don't know how to explain it ricky was a breath of fresh air in a room that is dark and full of wires and black curtains and brown It was good. It was good. I really liked Ricky. I look forward to the follow-up interview where we have him in person. Yeah, I kind of felt like I wanted to give him a hug at the end. Like, high-five him and give him a hug. And I don't know, I'm going to invite myself over to his Atlanta home to watch My 600-pound life and Seven Little Johnston when the new season comes out because it's coming out soon. It is? I think so. Yeah, I suspect my spitey sense tells me. Yeah, my TLC amoeira. Tells me that there's a new, well, they do like half seasons. They'll do like eight episodes at a time. Yeah, they record, I think, 16 or 20 of them,

and then they put them out 10 at a time so they can stretch it out throughout the year. Same with my 600-pound life. And I think both of those are coming back. When kids go back in school, new episodes come out because people aren't out fucking around. Parents like to watch that. That's right. I'm so happy. I'm so happy.

I'm so happy. Ricky Smiley made me smile. I have a new Starbucks boyfriend Even though he drinks Sanka I have a Sanka boyfriend And a Starbucks boyfriend There you go All right Ricky Smiley

All his information is down in the show notes His Hulu special That just came out a month or two ago Go watch it Ricky's funny Read his book About grief and forgiveness Gratefulness

I think we should get a copy of that Like frankly I'm going to check it out And then you can go see him on tour Again links in the show notes as always. Much thanks to Ricky and all the people who made that happen. Really grateful we got the time with him

today. Really grateful we got the time with him today. All right. The window is ajar for our merch. So now that we've talked about Ricky, let's talk about us for a minute. Let's get back to the important part. Legend to Legend to Legend. Let's get back to the other legends. 9 to 6.7, the legend.

Shop TCB Podcast.com. That's shop. Tcbbpodcast.com. Available now. Go get your TCB merch. Please and thanks. We would appreciate it. Pre-order now. The merch will be on its way very soon.

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Now. Buy it. Now. Bye now. By now, links on the website at TCBpodcast.com. Text me if you need me to send you the link. 212-4333-T-B. That's 212-433-3822.

Add the commercial break on Instagram. TCB podcast on TikTok and YouTube.com slash the commercial break for all the episodes on video, including this one right now. Okay, Chrissy, that's all I can do for you today. I think so. I will tell you that I love you. And I love you. I will say best to you.

And best to you out there in the podcast. podcast universe until next time we will say we do say and we must say goodbye You know, I'm going to be. Oh, I'm going to be able to be a little bit more than a little bit more than. Thank you.