Neither Walton nor Johnson nor their producer Kenny Webster has ever responded to my interview requests (I’ve tried for years). 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. In 1983, they landed their first real radio gig in New Orleans (where blackface is still sometimes regarded as acceptable under very particular circumstances). Cameron Jeffrey Wilson, age 27, might just be the stupidest thug on Earth. The gay character will argue with Billy Ed, and they’re all equally represented. Walton And Johnson Stupid Thug: Meet the Dumbest Criminal On Earth By Ken Webster jr May 23, 2019. Alton Sterling's Son Arrested for Raping 8-yr-old Boy. Er, der herrlichste von allen" and more. “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. “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? John Walton, half of the longtime popular syndicated "Walton and Johnson" radio show started in New Orleans in 1983, died late Monday. I’m pretty good at recognizing satire, and I never really felt like they weren’t just throwing red meat and playing to the lowest common denominator.”, Ellis concluded, “Fuck all that. Walton and Johnson - The Radio Gawds :: Homepage ... Walton and Johnson. The show is a mix of comedy, politics, pop culture and history that pokes fun at the absurdity of everyday life. 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. There was the militant Black man Mr. Eaux, a stereotypical gay man named Mr. Kenneth, and a self-titled “redneck” named “Billy Ed.” What is the Music Quiz trivia for 1.22.2021? $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??? Maybe.”, The show wasn’t always like this. Back then, the show was less mean-spirited and more goofy, immature, and schizophrenic. 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.”. Still have questions? The show’s comedy definitely had a conservative bent, but while I disagreed with most of the politics on display, my daughter and I listened on, finding the wacky, energetic show fascinating. They’d say they were gonna broadcast from a restaurant, and… there would be a line wrapped around the building. John Walton, part of the Walton & Johnson radio show, has passed away, Steve Johnson announced Tuesday. They split up for a while in the 90's, and his show Walton & Rumble (with some new guy) was atrocious. Fuck all those people.”. Billy Ed. Anybody can make jokes, they’re just jokes. Editorial Boris Johnson’s Scotland visit was damaging, but he had to go Voices DeAnna Hoskins, Ashish Prashar Science says prisoners should get the vaccine now. The Walton and Johnson show first launched in February 1983 and currently has 16 affiliates throughout the south. The legacy of the Walton & Johnson show continues after 4 decades as Steve Johnson hosts with longtime producer Ken Webster Jr. It blew me away, and that actually sold me on [the business of] radio.”, Johnson’s schtick—a white man performing a “black” voice on the radio—has a long history. 30,981 talking about this. “They say it in a way that they think we can’t hear. Stream songs including "Frauenliebe und -leben: I. Seit ich ihn gesehen", "Frauenliebe und -leben: II. “Yes, I listened to Walton and Johnson. But I hear it, and it’s racist.”. “They’re trying to be insidious about it,” said David Ahrens-Bryant. Check out our website for a list of affiliates all over the Gulf Coast. Here's details for the public memorials we're organizing for John Walton. Walton And Johnson Voices Walton And Johnson Christmas Songs. They’re using a gay voice to make anti-gay statements,” asserted Shaffer. At events, the duo maintained a sort of kayfabe, making up elaborate excuses for why their “co-hosts” couldn’t make it. Johnson said Walton battled with several medical issues and had been receiving treatment in … “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. The legacy of the Walton & Johnson show continues after 4 decades as Steve Johnson hosts with longtime producer Ken Webster Jr. 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”). Making racist jokes don’t offend me, man,” said black New Orleans activist Anthony Straughter. 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. Check out our website for a list of affiliates all over the Gulf Coast. Remember listening to them on B-97 FM in NOLA back in the early to mid 80's as a kid on the bus. David Ahrens-Bryant, who’s both black and gay, moved to New Orleans from Detroit and had a similar experience engaging with the show. New Orleans educator Todd Shaffer said he worries most about all the people who may be listening to the show but not realizing the trick that’s being pulled. “Here, I put them on a heritage rock station replacing Stevens and Pruett, who were an institution. ', 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. 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”). By signing up to the VICE newsletter you agree to receive electronic communications from VICE that may sometimes include advertisements or sponsored content. “For this group, the fact that a blackface dialect is offensive is part of the appeal. The character of Beulah, a black maid, was first done on radio by a white man, for example.”, Arceneaux added the blackface tradition lasted longer in England, with a TV show called The Black and White Minstrels lasting well into the 1970s. How to keep my Motorola radio from changing stations? As offensive as some may find the Walton and Johnson act, it’s unlikely that outrage will drive it off the air any time soon. Walton died late Monday, July 1, after battling numerous medical issues, according to his co-host Steve Johnson. “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. “I listened through the Bush presidency, but I stopped when Obama took office,” he said. They did well there, but we ended up flipping that station to Spanish, because the Spanish population kept growing and we had three rock stations and we needed to diversify,” said Martiny. John Walton, a co-host on the popular radio show Walton and Johnson that was once based in New Orleans, died late Monday. “I think some people in the South have this half-baked form of Stockholm syndrome, where they’re already so used to it they don’t care to change it,” argued Ahrens-Bryant, who says he also avoids the Zulu Mardi Gras parade due to the krewe’s blackface tradition. “I know I’ve heard them do anti–gay marriage things that were pretty off-putting, but there was one bit that was racist but also promoted violence—it may have been after the Charlottesville shooting—and I just felt that was too much. Walton And Johnson In Houston Articles & Shopping. That kind of stuff don’t affect me none.”, But others are genuinely offended. Check out our website for a list of affiliates all over the Gulf Coast. 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. Very cool radio DJ's based in Houston, Texas. Mr. Eaux. “But politics became more volatile as the Democrats got angrier and angrier.”. I am not just pissed because they hate on Obama and other Democrats so much, they just suck. Which does the voices for Mr. Eaux and Mr. Kenneth? (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. “Then two years later, I put them on my classic rock station KKRW the Arrow, and they did well on that station—until we flipped that station and made it hip-hop.”. A little late I guess, but Steve Johnson does the gay dude, Mr. Eoux, and Billy Ed...John Walton just does John Walton I guess and he does Obama impressions and just plain stupid people impressions lol...that show keeps me going everyday has been for the last 4 years. The Walton and Johnson radio show was unique in the fact that it seemed to be hosted by five individuals: Walton, Johnson, and then three other hosts who would show up regularly. What is the Music Quiz trivia for 1.23.2021? 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]. 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." Get your answers by asking now. Listen to Voices by Anna Huntley, Jamie Walton & Adam Johnson on Apple Music. Over the years, the Walton and Johnson show has grown more political, but its hosts began in the early 80s as a regular comedy duo, recording demo tapes of their act in Beaumont, Texas. But in my 20 years with John and Steve, I can’t remember even one time… I’ve never had any complaints about a white guy doing a black guy.”, Nathan Ales, who’s sold ads and done other work with Walton and Johnson for 30-plus years, and who considers Johnson his “best friend,” told me, “It’s satire. They were just funny then. For every appalled listener, there’s likely someone who enjoys that someone else is appalled. “I actually like the black character because he does say truthful shit.” Cuttin maintains, however, that Mr. Eaux and Mr. Kenneth’s mildly progressive remarks are actually the punchlines to jokes made for the benefit of Walton and Johnson’s conservative audience. “There's a segment of society that continues to reject political correctness as being ‘overly sensitive,’" acknowledged professor Noah Arceneaux. Dean & Rog weren't the greatest talk radio guys but they were a lot better than W&J. What is the most listened to radio station in the USA.. 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. 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. 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. DJ E.F. Cuttin is an outspoken black New Orleanian who grew up listening to Walton and Johnson after they replaced Howard Stern on his favorite station during the George W. Bush administration. On April 5th of this year the 13 time felon had a … 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. The official website of the Radio Gawds: Walton and Johnson. These guys are pushing 60 and read the Drudge report as gospel. “At one restaurant in Metairie [another New Orleans suburb], they hosted a night where people were asked to dress as their favorite Walton and Johnson character,” remembered Martiny, “and I couldn’t believe how many people dressed up as Mr. Eaux, Mr. Kenneth, and Billy Ed—but they also showed up expecting to meet them.”, While climbing the IHeartRadio ranks, Martiny sold the Walton and Johnson show to stations in Baton Rouge as well as its current home base of Houston, where the duo has flourished for over two decades. The political arguments were… colorful, while never truly heated. “They can do scary shit on air too,” said Cuttin, who remembers many times when Billy Ed said something particularly racist or otherwise sketchy. 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 … “In the last ten years is when it’s gotten a lot more political,” admitted Martiny of W&J during the Barack Obama era. ... To listen to Walton and Johnson now, tune in to your local affiliate! 56 113 osób mówi o tym. “I never gave Walton and Johnson’s redneck-centric humor any real energy other than, ‘Yep, that sounds about white,’” laughed Cuttin. “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. “I could only stomach so much thinly-veiled hatred dressed up as patriotism. I suspect that some of the audience of this conservative radio show would fall into this group.”. What radio station is playing the super bowl in Calgary? Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily. The show is a mix of comedy, politics, pop culture and history that pokes fun at the absurdity of everyday life. Joe Momma has posted the best comments yet on the senile w&j morning show. 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!. “Some [hosts] are dealing with protesting all the time… people threatening to call our advertisers and not shop with them. “I grew up in New Orleans and in high school I became aware of their show, and it took me a while to understand it all,” admitted Eddie Martiny, IHeartRadio’s president of the Houston region, who started as a WCKW intern for the Walton and Johnson show. Join Yahoo Answers and get 100 points today. 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. (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. “Blackface performers began appearing on radio in the 1920s… The author Mel Watkins called this practice ‘racial ventriloquism,’ and there were many shows beyond the infamous Amos ‘n’ Andy that used this technique for comic effect. 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. “I was putting up the hot air balloons at the remote locations when they were out broadcasting live, and I got to see how much they could draw: They were just on fire in New Orleans in ‘86. 33 were here. Maybe that’s why people aren’t offended.”, Actual gay and black listeners, though, don’t necessarily agree. A little late I guess, but Steve Johnson does the gay dude, Mr. Eoux, and Billy Ed...John Walton just does John Walton I guess and he does Obama impressions and just plain stupid people impressions lol...that show keeps me going everyday has been for the last 4 years But if you believe those who’ve worked closely with the Southern radio duo over the last three-plus decades, no one has ever been offended by Walton and Johnson’s shtick. No politics at all. “I have some very strong conservatives talkers that work for me,” Martiny said when asked directly about Johnson’s blackface routine. Then I am driving to work after being in Austin for a week and Walton & Johnson are on 93.7. 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. We'd Like to Invite You to the John Walton Memorial. Steve Johnson notified fans of the Walton & Johnson show about his friend’s death in a tribute post shared to social media. “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. Together since 1983... 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