Mark and Brian
Mark and Brian was a morning radio show featuring Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps. The show debuted on Birmingham's I-95 (WAPI-FM) in 1985 and moved to Los Angeles, California's KLOS-FM in 1987. It spawned various television specials, compact disc releases, film appearances and an NBC television series (1991-92).
Thompson was already a radio veteran when he was introduced to Phelps, an improvisational comedian, in 1985. The resulting show was a big hit in the Birmingham market. The duo's parody songs and fake commericals were widely heard and discussed. Within two years, their popularity had brought welcome offers from larger markets. The Mark and Brian show debuted on KLOS-FM in September of 1987.
The Mark and Brian show aired its final program on Friday, August 17, 2012 after a 25-year run in Los Angeles. Mark Thompson decided to retire to spend more time with his family and especially his wife, Linda, who survived cancer just a few years earlier. Thompson moved to Charlotte, North Carolina and built a home with a studio allowing he and Linda to do occasional media work. Together, they now host The Mark & Lynda Podcast, which focuses primarily on relationship issues. Thompson also co-hosts the Pro Football Slam podcast with Los Angeles Times journalist Sam Farmer and the Cool Stories in Music podcast which he says is inspired by the biographies, stories, and chart trivia segments of the Kasem-era American Top 40 radio program.
Brian Phelps continues to make his home in Los Angeles. On September 10, 2012, Phelps and his new partner, Jill Whelan debuted the podcast "The Brian and Jill Show".
The pair were named "Air Personalities of the Year" twice by Billboard magazine, and once by the National Association of Broadcasters. They also have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They hosted a television series, The Adventures of Mark & Brian on the NBC network in 1991–1992 and have appeared together in cameos in several motion pictures.
In 2020 Mark & Brian were inducted into the Chicago, Illinois-based Radio Hall of Fame.
Parody songs
- "Bring on the Iron Bowl" (to Steve Winwood's "Higher Love")
- "Gimme Some Governor" (to the Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin'")
- "Headbutt Qadhafi"
- "Help Me I'm a Dumbass" (to Falco's "Rock Me Amadeus")
- "Huff the Anchor Woman" (to Peter, Paul and Mary's "Puff the Magic Dragon")
- "I Wanna Be a Fat Boy" (to Boys Don't Cry's "I Wanna Be a Cowboy")
- "Mountain Brook Girl" (to Billy Ocean's "Caribbean Queen")
- "My Bo" (to the Temptations' "My Girl")
- "The Sinner" (to the Steve Miller Band's "The Joker")
- "Stairway to Hoover" (to Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven")
- "We Are the Stallions" (to USA for Africa's "We Are the World")
- "You Gotta Fight for Your Right to Eat Paté" (to the Beastie Boys' "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)")
References
- Singer, Rachel (May 4, 2009) "Our Hometown Stories: Mark Thompson Is A Big Talker" KHTS AM 1220
- "The Mark & Brian Show" (November 28, 2010) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia - accessed February 12, 2011
- Larsen, Peter (November 3, 2020) "How ‘The Mark & Brian Show’ went from Birmingham airwaves to Radio Hall of Fame." The Orange County Register / Tribune Media Services / The Birmingham News
External links
- Mark and Brian website
- Unofficial Mark and Brian Archive at archive.org
- Mark and Brian's last day in Birmingham