About this item
A touching, funny, heart-wrenching, and triumphant memoir from one of the biggest names in radio, the host of The Bobby Bones Show, one of the most listened-to drive time morning radio shows in the nation.Growing up poor in Mountain Pine, Arkansas, with a young, addicted mom, Bobby Estell fell in love with country music. Abandoned by his father at the age of five, Bobby saw the radio as his way out - a dream that came true in college when he went on air at the Henderson State University campus station broadcasting as Bobby Bones, while simultaneously starting The Bobby Bones Show at 105.9 KLAZ. Bobby's passions were pop, country music, and comedy, and he blended the three to become a tastemaker in the country music industry, heard by millions daily. Bobby broke the format of standard country radio, mixing country and pop with entertainment news and information, and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the business, including Luke Bryan, Taylor Swift, Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Lady Antebellum, and Jason Aldean.Yet despite the glamour, fame, and money, Bobby has never forgotten his roots, the mom and grandmother who raised him, the work ethic he embraced which saved him and encouraged him to explore the world, and the good values that shaped him. In this funny, poignant memoir told in Bobby's distinctive patter, he takes fans on a tour of his road to radio. Bobby doesn't shy away from the curves he continues to navigate - including his obsessive-compulsive disorder - on his journey to find the happiness of a healthy family.Funny and tender, raw and honest, Bare Bones is pure Bobby Bones - surprising, entertaining, inspiring, and authentic.
About the Author
Radio DJ. Stand-up comedian. Best-selling author. Chart-topping recording artist. TV personality. Philanthropist. Bobby Bones has built his career on the ability to multi-task, turning humor, honesty, and hard work into a self-made business empire. Long before launching "The Bobby Bones Show"- the largest morning show in country radio- Bones grew up in Mountain Pine, Arkansas. It was a pint-sized town, supported by a saw mill that employed most of the area's residents. Bones had a different career in mind, though, landing his first radio job as a college student and, during the years that followed, bouncing between a handful of pop, hip-hop, and sports stations.When "The Bobby Bones Show" - which launched in Austin, quickly establishing itself as the city's top-rated morning show - moved to Nashville and became a nationally-syndicated radio program in 2012, Bones' career hit hyperdrive. Country music was in his blood. He'd grown up with the stuff. Country music had expanded its boundaries since Bones' days in Mountain Pine, too, taking some inspiration from pop music and hip-hop along the way. No other DJ was better prepared to tackle that growing genre - a genre now reaching a new generation of fans who'd grown up with MTV, Napster, and the internet - than Bobby Bones. His impact hasn't gone unnoticed. He's since garnered prestigious accolades including a CMA Award for National Broadcast Personality of the Year and is a two-time recipient of the National Personality Award from the ACMs. He's also become the youngest ever inductee into the National Radio Hall Of Fame, joining radio legends such as Dick Clark, Howard Stern and more.Overseeing a daily radio show requires teamwork, and Bobby has built his own team from the ground up, reaching out to friends and former interns - including longtime co-hosts Lunchbox and Amy - to join him in the studio. A strong family dynamic anchors "The Bobby Bones Show," where visiting artists are encouraged to let their guard down and become, as Bobby says, "the most human version of themselves." There's no pageantry, no showbiz, no smoke and mirrors. Instead, Bones treats everyone like a member of the family, pulling real emotion out of the genre's biggest stars.Of course, all of that teamwork and collaboration hasn't stopped him from regularly hitting the stage alone as a stand-up comedian. It's a job he's enjoyed since his teenage years. It continues to be a welcome challenge, too, putting Bones face-to-face with his audience and eliminating his cast of on-air sidekicks. "I'm up there alone, telling stories from my life and sharing observations from my warped mind," he says. "It's all about honesty and awkwardness. I can't react to something my partner has just said, because there's no one else up there with me. I love the challenge. I love running the risk of failing at something, beca
