“I have some very strong conservatives talkers that work for me,” Martiny said when asked directly about Johnson’s blackface routine. What is the Healthy knowlegt triva for 25.2021? ', Plan for $1.9T COVID aid package passes Senate, Tucci reveals 'odd' connection between his 2 wives, Democrats double down on student debt cancellation, 'Start wearing a mask': Sen. Rand Paul chastised, No regrets for Chiefs OL who opted out of season, Tom Cruise's adopted son posts rare photo, Former WWE wrestler comes out as transgender. Billy Ed. No politics at all. I haven’t listened since.”, More than a few black New Orleanians told me that, as far as racism goes, W&J are relatively mild. “Maybe it’s because politics became more political, but I also just think… Walton and Johnson are no longer on any stations that target 18- to 24-year-olds. There's plenty here for Mr. Eaux to grouse about. Cameron Jeffrey Wilson, age 27, might just be the stupidest thug on Earth. The duo, plus Johnson’s three characters, showcased wacky news stories, performed skits, and hosted celebrities like Charlie Sheen, Kinky Friedman, John Goodman, even New Orleans vampire author Anne Rice. Walton And Johnson Voices Walton And Johnson Christmas Songs. John Walton and Steve Johnson 1) What were your first jobs in radio? The hosts did seem to realize that making fun of black people had its limits, but I don’t think they ever realized that—aside from not making AIDS jokes—that making fun of gays had limits. Walton and Johnson’s Facebook page, which boasts nearly a quarter million likes, features humorous videos of the Worldstar variety, but also lots of aggressive right-wing content, like one recent post that said, “Democrats don't care about government workers or their families.” The show’s blog is also full of content that would fit in on the most race-baiting right-wing news sites, such as “Alton Sterling's Son Arrested for Raping 8-yr-old Boy,” which called the man who was shot dead by police in 2016 "a sex offender felon who illegally carried a weapon, beat a woman and committed a long list of other crimes" and remarked, "It looks like the apple doesn't fall far from the criminal family tree." Check out our website for a list of affiliates all over the Gulf Coast. (Mr. Kenneth’s website bio states, “He met W&J while cutting their hair at his world famous salon ‘Head Shed’ in the New Orleans French Quarter.”), “At one point I wrote to the station,” said New Orleans educator Todd Shaffer, who could not remember the exact bit that triggered his complaint letter. I’d randomly tuned into the Walton and Johnson show, a talk radio program featuring two white, male conservative hosts, plus three other disembodied voices: a lispy gay man (“Mr Kenneth”), a militant black man (“Mr Eaux”), and a drawling, self-identified “redneck” (“Billy Ed”). Joe Momma has posted the best comments yet on the senile w&j morning show. “Some [hosts] are dealing with protesting all the time… people threatening to call our advertisers and not shop with them. According to the suit, originally filed in the 19th Judicial District but later moved to U.S. District Court in New Orleans, Walton and Johnson violated the terms of their agreement with Guaranty, which stated that the contract—initially signed in 2006—automatically renews for two years unless either party gives written notice. “I make white jokes. 30,981 talking about this. They split up for a while in the 90's, and his show Walton & Rumble (with some new guy) was atrocious. ... To listen to Walton and Johnson now, tune in to your local affiliate! Remember listening to them on B-97 FM in NOLA back in the early to mid 80's as a kid on the bus. Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily. Check out our website for a list of affiliates all over the Gulf Coast. What radio station is playing the super bowl in Calgary? “They used to always say, ‘When you hear “Code: Wolverine” that means it’s time for all militia to activate!’ Now, was this meant to be funny? We'd Like to Invite You to the John Walton Memorial. Maybe.”, The show wasn’t always like this. Johnson said Walton battled with several medical issues and had been receiving treatment in … “But let me tell you how this would all go over in Detroit… The north isn’t a bastion of racial harmony by any stretch, but there are things that are accepted here that would get you killed in Detroit.”. “In the last ten years is when it’s gotten a lot more political,” admitted Martiny of W&J during the Barack Obama era. Still have questions? On the drive out to my young daughter’s Montessori school in the New Orleans suburb of Chalmette each morning, she became fixated on some funny voices emanating from my radio. “They can do scary shit on air too,” said Cuttin, who remembers many times when Billy Ed said something particularly racist or otherwise sketchy. The official website of the Radio Gawds: Walton and Johnson. And their show even offended me.”, Greg Ellis, a gay man who’s been subjected to W&J many times while living in Houston, said, “I never felt represented [by Mr. Kenneth]. Back then, the show was less mean-spirited and more goofy, immature, and schizophrenic. How to keep my Motorola radio from changing stations? The show is a mix of comedy, politics, pop culture and history that pokes fun at the absurdity of everyday life. “Yes, I listened to Walton and Johnson. You have to stay compelling and relevant to your audience, and they’re on male-based stations in very conservative states.”, Ales disagrees, and believes that liberals have forced the duo’s shift in tone. Check out our website for a list of affiliates all over the Gulf Coast. Billy Ed would of course bash Barack Obama incessantly—for instance, about the ex-president’s imaginary “communism”—at which point Mr. Eaux would pipe in with some American truth, like, “No one would be saying this if he wasn’t a brother.”. In the past, I’ve listened to a lot of conservative news just to get their point of view: Fox, a lot of Rush Limbaugh. 'Walton and Johnson,' which has been on the air in the South for over 35 years, features stereotypical gay and black characters voiced by one of the white hosts. Billy Ed, originally an engineer, was never intended to have access to a microphone, but somehow for the last 20 years he has managed to get in front of one every day. John Walton, a co-host on the popular radio show Walton and Johnson that was once based in New Orleans, died late Monday. The Walton and Johnson show first launched in February 1983 and currently has 16 affiliates throughout the south. The gay character will argue with Billy Ed, and they’re all equally represented. Walton served as straight man to the comedy of Johnson, who voices the stereotypical characters Mr. Kenneth, Mr. Eaux and Billy Ed. I suspect that some of the audience of this conservative radio show would fall into this group.”. They stay in character, so Billy Ed is going to say things from that point of view, just like the black guy is going to say what a black guy would say; each character represents their group’s typical views. I’d randomly tuned into the Walton and Johnson show, a talk radio program featuring two white, male conservative hosts, plus three other disembodied voices: a lispy gay man (“Mr Kenneth”), a militant black man (“Mr Eaux”), and a drawling, self-identified “redneck” (“Billy Ed”). My whole family is from the South, the deep ugly South,” Shaffer continued, “so I am not some PC liberal snowflake. “Walton and Johnson changed because, when they first started, politics were still politics, there were still Republicans, Democrats and independents,” he said. These guys are pushing 60 and read the Drudge report as gospel. Stream songs including "Frauenliebe und -leben: I. Seit ich ihn gesehen", "Frauenliebe und -leben: II. “The use of an exaggerated, stereotypical ‘black’ dialect was definitely part of the blackface performance tradition,” said Noah Arceneaux, a professor of media studies at San Diego State University. What is the most listened to radio station in the USA.. Listen to Voices by Anna Huntley, Jamie Walton & Adam Johnson on Apple Music. Since 9/11, Billy Ed has become more and more Islamaphobic and, since America elected Donald Trump, he’s felt even freer to disparage immigrants. 33 were here. Steve Johnson’s Amos and Andy voices are lame, he has nothing more than a high school education. “I could only stomach so much thinly-veiled hatred dressed up as patriotism. The Walton and Johnson Radio Show (W&J) The crew gives great advice to the president on how to get his ratings up and play his role better. Anybody can make jokes, they’re just jokes. Show consist of John Walton=cool dude, johnson=man of many voices..hehe, Mr. Kennth=gay guy, Mr. O=black dude and last but not least Billy ED= everyones favorite RedNeck!. $1,400 stimulus checks to come within week of approval, Rapper's $24M diamond forehead piercing explained, Giuliani upset at own radio show's 'insulting' disclaimer, 'You know what I heard about Kordell Stewart??? “For me it wouldn’t be so offensive if they were mimicking these cultures while not being political, but… they say all this political stuff while pretending to be members of minority groups that don’t approve of those politics. Walton and Johnson, also known as “The Radio Gawds,” have steadily grown a radio empire across the Gulf Coast for nearly 40 years amassing a fan base known on the show as 10%ers. Audience known as 10 %ers, due to only 10 % of the population gets the show! “Here, I put them on a heritage rock station replacing Stevens and Pruett, who were an institution. toidruzy Mr. Kenneth, Billy Ed, will have to get back to you if I can think who did Mr Eaux. “The black guy usually just says shit [black people] say regarding racism, disparity, etc.,” Cuttin explained, “but though speaking truth, Mr. Eaux is usually saying it after stuff that doesn't call for it, and that’s the rub.” The unspoken running gag of Steve Johnson’s Mr. Eaux character (who “met W&J while selling them a set of walnut handled steak knives from the trunk of his El Dorado,” the show’s website says) is that black issues are merely a cudgel that African Americans use to gain pity or free “Obama phones.”, As such, Cuttin is one of many Southerners who feel the show started off funny, then became unfunny, then poisonous. Together since 1983... No show has a more unique mix of “stream of consciousness”, opinionated and compelling talk, guests, musical elements, fictional characters, famous impersonations, Great skit writing and production coupled with powerful audience interaction. Walton & Johnson Fogo De Chao Listener Event, October 11, 2011 The show is a mix of comedy, politics, pop culture and history that pokes fun at the absurdity of everyday life. Steve Johnson notified fans of the Walton & Johnson show about his friend’s death in a tribute post shared to social media. re: John Walton (Walton & Johnson) has passed Posted by Loungefly85 on 6/4/19 at 10:13 am to Ace Midnight quote: Bigger problem is that clearly that is the toughest, physically, of the three main voices Steve does. The legacy of the Walton & Johnson show continues after 4 decades as Steve Johnson hosts with longtime producer Ken Webster Jr. Mr. Eaux joined the show in 1983. They’d say they were gonna broadcast from a restaurant, and… there would be a line wrapped around the building. That is, until the day I realized that Walton and Johnson’s co-hosts didn’t actually exist, and that for 35 years, co-host Steve Johnson has been performing blackface on the airwaves. Join Yahoo Answers and get 100 points today. “I was listening on my way to work and it took about two days until I thought, ‘Something about these five guys doesn’t sound right.’ I went home and did internet research, and I was appalled. For every appalled listener, there’s likely someone who enjoys that someone else is appalled. “They say it in a way that they think we can’t hear. Alton Sterling's Son Arrested for Raping 8-yr-old Boy. (Left to Right) Portrait of John Walton, Sarah, and Steve Johnson from the Walton and Johnson show on 93.7FM the Arrow at the Clear Channel offices in the Galleria Thursday, July 2, 2009, in Houston. 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