This was originally posted Monday, April 24, 2017 by Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Steve Harvey introduced long-time friend and former Atlantan J. Anthony Brown this morning as his newest member of his syndicated radio morning team, heard locally on Majic 107.5/97.5.
Brown said he left rival Tom Joyner's morning show in December over his Brown's desire to have his own weekend show. He was with Joyner for 20-plus years.
The comic is an addition to the show, which is heard in more than 80 markets nationwide, with a heavily skew in the Southeast. Harvey reaches an estimated 7 million listeners a week. The other cast members are Shirley Strawberry, Carla Farrell, Junior and Nephew Tommy. The show, Harvey proclaimed during the 8 a.m. hour, "just got a whole lot funnier."
Earlier, Harvey told his audience this morning that Brown was a "living legend" and the first black headlining comic he had ever come across in 1986 when he was just 27. Brown, who was one of the first comics to host the Atlanta Punchline when it opened in 1982, met Harvey in Bloomington, Ind. It was Harvey's first road show. He had no idea what he was doing. The hotel front desk told him he had to share a room with Brown.
Brown gave him some money to get his own room. ("I'm a grown a*** man! I'm not sharing a room!") He was also tailoring on the side, using the second bed in his room to work. He then gave Harvey $11 to buy an iron. And they joked about Harvey wearing white boxing shoes, which he thought would make him stand out.
Later, he helped Harvey write a show "Me and the Boys" in 1994-95.
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In the first hour, Brown did not mention Joyner's name but most of the listeners clearly knew where he is coming from. He jokingly said he drove by his old employer and honked his horn for 30 minutes. Plus, he is thrilled to be able to be heard in his current long-time residence of Los Angeles, a market Joyner is not on. Then he said he'll be able to be heard "in full" in Miami and Atlanta, markets where Joyner's show is cut off early. "Can you hear me in D.C.? What?" he added, referencing a market where Joyner is now on an AM station.
He said he claimed he hesitated at first when Harvey first offered him the gig. "When he offered me how much money? I see you all in the morning, man!" That sounded more like a joke. I suspect he was thrilled to take the offer without hesitation.
At 7:38 a.m., he did his first "Murders the Hits" using Bruno Mars' "24K Magic." "I'm with Steve, I made the move. Everyone is glad J's back on the air. I see you later, gator!" he sings. He promised a weekly joke song. Harvey laughed over the line, "I'm a popular man with a Viagra in my pocket."
"He wrote his own song to welcome himself here," Harvey said, with a chuckle.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
