Bobby Bones Climbing His Way To The Top
Bobby Estell (aka Bobby Bones) was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, to Pamela Hurt. Bobby began dreaming of a radio career around the age of 5 or 6. Bones grew up poor in a trailer park, and often viewed radio as a ticket out of poverty. Bones began his radio career at age 17 at the campus station of Henderson State University, KSWH-FM 91.1. He graduated with a B.A. in Radio/Television from Henderson in 2002. While still in college, Bones went to work as a station hand at KLAZ in Hot Springs, Arkansas, but was put on the air within a few days of being hired. A manager there gave him the choice of going on the air as Bobby Z or Bobby Bones. In 2002, Bones was hired by Q100/KQAR in Little Rock, Arkansas. While there, he broke into another radio station (KLAL), which led to his next job in Austin, Texas, to begin hosting The Bobby Bones Show on KHFI-FM. Bones’s first full-time radio contract paid him $17,000. While in Austin, he met two of his future co-hosts, Lunchbox (in a bar) and Amy (in a radio cohost contest after Jill left. Neither had radio experience when Bones put them on the air. His executive producer, Alayna, was previously an intern on the show. Over ten years, the show built its audience into the top-rated morning show in Austin and was syndicated in a few regional markets. At the height of his popularity, Bones was offered a job outside of radio but ultimately chose to remain with Clear Channel. In the fall of 2012, Clear Channel moved Bones and his show from Austin and its Top 40 format to Nashville and a country music format while taking The Bobby Bones Show nationwide. Bones took over the slot hosted by longtime DJ Gerry House, who retired in 2010. Bones now broadcasts from WSIX-FM in Nashville on weekday mornings from 5 to 10am. His co-hosts are Lunchbox and Amy, and features Ray, Eddie, Morgan, Mike D, and Morgan #2. Michael Bryan is the program director. The Bobby Bones Show has become a regular interview stop for top country music stars, including Luke Bryan, Taylor Swift, Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Lady Antebellum, Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, and The Band Perry. On air, Bones and his cohosts break the country radio mold with a mix of pop-culture news and information.