TCB Infomercial: Rickey Smiley

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Commercial Break – TCB Infomercial: Rickey Smiley Release Date: August 12, 2025

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Introduction to Ricky Smiley

In this episode of The Commercial Break, hosts Bryan Greene and Krissy Hoadley engage in an insightful and heartfelt conversation with Ricky Smiley, a renowned radio legend with over three decades in the industry. The interview delves into Ricky's illustrious career, personal struggles, and his approach to comedy and radio broadcasting.

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Ricky Smiley’s Journey in Radio

Ricky Smiley shares his journey from starting on a local radio station in Birmingham to becoming a syndicated morning show host across nearly 100 radio stations nationwide. He recounts pivotal moments, including a transformative phone call from his mentor, Steve Harvey, which propelled him into the Dallas radio scene.

Ricky Smiley [26:43]: "I was sitting on the back of Southwest Airlines with tears in my eyes because I felt like I never lived anywhere outside of Birmingham. I knew I was gonna probably get that job and end up there. I didn't wanna disappoint them."

Ricky highlights the challenges and triumphs of expanding his reach, emphasizing his adaptability and dedication to connecting with diverse audiences.

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Personal Struggles and Resilience

A significant portion of the conversation focuses on Ricky's personal life, particularly the profound impact of losing his son to an overdose. He candidly discusses his grief and how it shaped his outlook on life and his career.

Ricky Smiley [47:51]: "I lost my son on a Sunday. Wednesday I was back on the air. I was doing the morning show, and I was back on the air on Wednesday. That's why I've had a lot of success in radio because I had to realize that I'm not the only one that lost a son."

Ricky underscores the importance of using his platform to support others facing similar tragedies, demonstrating his commitment to making a positive difference through his experiences.

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Approach to Comedy and Audience Engagement

Ricky elaborates on his comedic philosophy, which balances humor with meaningful conversations. He explains how understanding his audience's preferences and staying attuned to their feedback has been crucial to his sustained success.

Ricky Smiley [20:39]: "Being funny. People want to laugh. They want to be entertained in the morning; they want to be uplifted. You have to have a good balance on the show."

He also discusses the dynamics of performing live versus broadcasting from a studio, highlighting the unique pressures and freedoms each medium presents.

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Influences and Mentorship

Ricky pays homage to influential figures like D.L. Hughley and Steve Harvey, who have mentored him and inspired his growth both personally and professionally. He reflects on how these relationships have propelled him to refine his craft and embrace continual improvement.

Ricky Smiley [36:21]: "D.L. Hughley is a mentor. He challenges you to be better and make you uncomfortable; that's where the growth happens."

These mentors have played a pivotal role in shaping Ricky's approach to comedy and his commitment to authenticity in his work.

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Upcoming Projects and Personal Endeavors

Towards the end of the interview, Ricky discusses his recent Hulu special and the release of his book, Sideshow. He provides insights into the themes of grief and forgiveness explored in his work, aiming to inspire and comfort his audience.

Ricky Smiley [47:09]: "The name of the book is called Sideshow. It's about a clown that's sad. Our job is to make people laugh while we're crying on the inside."

Ricky also mentions ongoing tours and his dedication to engaging with fans across various platforms, reinforcing his role as not just a radio personality but a multifaceted entertainer.

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Closing Reflections

Bryan Greene and Krissy Hoadley conclude the interview by expressing their admiration for Ricky's resilience and his ability to transform personal pain into a source of inspiration for others. They emphasize the profound impact of Ricky's transparency and authenticity on his loyal listener base.

Brian Greene [62:20]: "It's inspiring. There is, we do often find purpose in the depths of darkness. Right. That is, you know, I used to say this very simple phrase... there is no light without the darkness."

The episode ends on a note of gratitude, celebrating Ricky Smiley's contributions to radio and comedy, while acknowledging the deep connection he fosters with his audience.

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Notable Quotes

1. Ricky Smiley [20:39]: "Being funny. People want to laugh. They want to be entertained in the morning; they want to be uplifted. You have to have a good balance on the show."

2. Ricky Smiley [26:43]: "I was sitting on the back of Southwest Airlines with tears in my eyes because I felt like I never lived anywhere outside of Birmingham. I knew I was gonna probably get that job and end up there. I didn't wanna disappoint them."

3. Ricky Smiley [47:51]: "I lost my son on a Sunday. Wednesday I was back on the air..."

4. Ricky Smiley [36:21]: "D.L. Hughley is a mentor. He challenges you to be better and makes you uncomfortable; that's where the growth happens."

5. Ricky Smiley [47:09]: "The name of the book is called Sideshow. It's about a clown that's sad. Our job is to make people laugh while we're crying on the inside."

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Conclusion

This episode of The Commercial Break offers a compelling glimpse into Ricky Smiley's life, blending humor with profound personal insights. Ricky's story is one of resilience, dedication, and the enduring power of using one's platform to uplift others. Listeners gain not only an appreciation for Ricky's professional achievements but also a deeper understanding of the man behind the microphone.

Transcript

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[Brian Greene]

Hey there cats and kittens. I'm very excited to share this next episode of the commercial break, but I'm also very excited to share that you can go to shoptcbpodcast.com right now and pre order your exclusive limited time TCB merch hats, hoodies, T shirts, and a free sticker with every single order. The window for the merch is only open until August 22, so if you want to rock our gear, you're going to have to make a commitment. I know, I know. Procrastinators unite. I'm one of you. But this is how it works and it's out of my hands. We think you're going to like this merch. So go to shop tcb podcast.com right now to pre order as many items as your little heart desires and get a free TCB sticker. Now I'm going to stop mugging about our merch and go listen to myself. Listen to myself on this episode of the commercial break.

[Ricky Smiley]

Next year I'm having Thanksgiving with some white people. Hey, hey, hey, hey.

[Chris Hoadley]

I need a break. We be doing too damn much.

[Ricky Smiley]

White people keep Thanksgiving simple. Here's their man. Give me. Give us some white people Thanksgiving music. Here we go.

[Chris Hoadley]

Turkey stuffed with stove top stuffing, Honey baked ham, Libby's cranberry sauce in the can, Mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, dinner rolls, tab and Fresca to drink. Four to eight people dinner start at 4 o'.

[Ricky Smiley]

Clock. That's it. Why we can't do that?

[Chris Hoadley]

Why we be doing the most on Thanksgiving? Can I get some black folks Thanksgiving music? Can I get some say what? Fried turke baked turkey, roasted turkey, raw turkey, barbecue turkey, smoked turkey wings, honey glazed ham, baked ham, kusher ham, green eggs and ham, fried chicken, baked chicken, barbecue chicken, lemon pepper chicken, smothered chicken, rotisserie chicken, funky chicken, chicken gizzards, chicken tenders, chicken and dumplings, chicken Popeye, Courtney's hand, iris, British hand, roast beef, stew meat, beef stew, turkey and gravy, beef gravy, chicken gravy, pork gravy, onion gravy, shepherd's pie, macaroni with yellow cheese, macaroni with white cheese, candy yams, candy burgers, sweet potato soup, oxtails, pigtails, ducktails, chinners, catfish nuggets, whiting salmon patties, flowers, snapper trout, baked tilapia, bracken tilapia, fried tilapia, deer meat, barbecue ribs, meatloaf, turkey meatloaf, country fried steak, smothered pork chops, fried pork chops, green beans, butter beans, navy beans, kidney beans, pork and beans, nigger jelly beans, carom greens, collard greens, mustard greens, baked cabbage, boiled cabbage, raw cabbage, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, fried squash, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, sweet tea, Kool aid, Minute maid, fruit punch, Dr. Thunder. Somebody had to go to the dol.

[Ricky Smiley]

On this episode of the commercial break.

[Brian Greene]

I watched 20 minutes of it and I watched that part. That part of it was part of the 20 minutes. It is so fucking funny and it is so fucking true. Stovetop stuffing, that's what we like. We don't want any oysters or old bay seasoning we just want stove bland stovetop stuffing.

[Ricky Smiley]

Come on now. A little man. When I tell you that about white people out I talk about my 600 pound Life TV show. That's my favorite show.

[Joy Hoadley]

That's his favorite show.

[Brian Greene]

My favorite show, bro.

[Joy Hoadley]

Yeah, that's his favorite show.

[Ricky Smiley]

All the women, all the women that's on there, they all got a man.

[Brian Greene]

Yes, everyone but all the men over there don't got a woman. None of them. Not one of them has a woman. It's weird. It's so strange.

[Ricky Smiley]

The next episode of the commercial break starts now.

[Brian Greene]

Yeah, boy. Oh, yeah. Cats and kittens, welcome back to the commercial break. I'm Brian Greene. This is my dear friend and the co host of this show, Chris and Joy Hoadley. Best to you, Chris.

[Joy Hoadley]

Best to you, Brian.

[Brian Greene]

Best to you out there in the podcast universe. Thanks for joining us. It is a TCB infomercial Tuesday. We are very excited to have radio legend, local hero and overall good guy Ricky Smiley here in the studio with us. Two, well, three radio legends meeting together for the very first time. Me, of course, WW LG the legend, Chrissy, of course, one episode of www G the Legend and some Simcoe SK Cole fm, if you don't mind.

[Joy Hoadley]

That's right. I was on there a little bit.

[Brian Greene]

Yes, you were. And then Ricky Smiley who has been in 162 radio stations for 30 years. But let's not talk about details because it's just legend to legend to legend having a conversation about what it's like in the world of radio. He is the biz. The biz, as they say, the radio biz. We would call it Hollywood, but it's more like Hollywood, Florida than Hollywood, California. But you get the point. No knock on Hollywood, Florida. Lovely place.

[Joy Hoadley]

I can't wait to talk to you.

[Brian Greene]

If you're looking for crystal meth. Okay. I can't wait to talk to Ricky either. And here's why. Will you share why? Why are you excited?

[Joy Hoadley]

Well, I mean, exactly. Local radio legend, he's just, he's been around forever, has deep ties to Atlanta. I know he's originally from Birmingham, but just. I can't wait to pick his brain and just see what made Ricky. Ricky.

[Brian Greene]

Yeah, absolutely. So Ricky Smiley has done a syndicated morning show forever, I think for like 24 years. I don't know. I don't know. The. Well, I think 2000 is when he started station out of Dallas and then he took off and I think I believe and we can ask him. He syndicated in almost 100 radio stations currently in the morning show. And he's been just like a solid foundation of Atlanta radio for a long time, including when Chrissy and I worked in radio. And one of the things I want to share with him is even when we worked at Clear Channel, he was not on Clear. I think he was on maybe V103 at the time.

[Joy Hoadley]

I think so.

[Brian Greene]

I think so. Radio 1. Is that V103? Radio 1. Okay, we'll ask him. I don't want to get it wrong.

[Joy Hoadley]

But that's Odyssey now, right?

[Brian Greene]

That is Odyssey now. That's right. Is he on Odyssey? No, I don't think he is. I think he switched to a different station here in Atlanta. I don't think it's V103 anymore.

[Rachel]

Yeah.

[Joy Hoadley]

It's not the same company throughout the whole country, right, that he's syndicated on?

[Brian Greene]

No, he's syndicated on a bunch of different radio stations. Yeah. I mean, with a hundred and some odd radio stations, there's no way it's just one company. But he was talked about in our building, even though he didn't work at our company. And when you kind of get that kind of cachet, you know that it's a big deal. Like the syndicated Big Big boys and girls of radio. Ricky is one of them. So it's exciting to talk to him. He's also a very funny human being. He's got a brand new book out. Not a brand new. It's been around for a while, actually. I'd say brand new. It's brand new to you, the listener who hasn't heard of him. It's about grief and life. Being Ricky Smiley. He lost his son at 32 years old from an overdose. He was an addict. He was struck with the terrible sickness of addiction.

[Joy Hoadley]

As many people in this country, unfortunately, have. Have relatives that that happens to.

[Brian Greene]

Yes. And one of the things that I've read about Ricky, and that's part of the reason why I'm grateful to have him here, is that he's been very transparent about his grief, about his son's passing, about the circumstances and the addiction that his son had gone through. He's also gone to N A with family members. He talks about that in his book that's spoken about. He's just one of these people who likes to shower the world with his own perspective, regardless of how easy or tough that those conversations might be.

[Joy Hoadley]

Has a connection to people.

[Brian Greene]

I think that's why he's got an audience that has stuck. That is huge and stuck around for a long time. He's also on tour. I think he does a number of shows a month or a year. We'll ask him more about that, but you can go to the links in the show notes below. We have a link to all of Ricky's information where you can find the book. He's got a special on which looks really funny.

[Joy Hoadley]

I watched the trailer. I'm going to watch it because it looks hilarious.

[Brian Greene]

I watched 20 minutes of it, so I just kind of, I didn't have enough time to watch the whole thing, so I just kind of and jumped in. And at some point he starts talking about the differences between white people Thanksgiving and black people Thanksgiving. And he says that he likes white people Thanksgiving because they come in, no muss, no fuss, you know, turkey, stovetop topping, stovetop stuffing.

[Joy Hoadley]

Yeah.

[Brian Greene]

Cranberry in a, in a can and just get on with life. Say your hallelujahs and leave. And then Black people, there's 75,000 different versions of food. It lasts all day. There's three different feedings. People carry on in drama. And he said, I kind of like the white people Thanksgiving. Get in, get out. Real simple, straightforward, everyone does it. And I having been to both. Black Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving, he's right. I think really more than white and black Thanksgiving, it should be Thanksgiving for most people. And then like a deep South Thanksgiving.

[Joy Hoadley]

I was gonna say that it's something about the South.

[Brian Greene]

Something about the South.

[Joy Hoadley]

Thanks. Because I have to say, growing up, I remember us having a ton of different dishes too. And it being an all day affair. You're, you're watching football, you're, you're eating. You watching more stuff at the parade.

[Brian Greene]

You're eating when you put mussels or oysters in the turkey stuffing. It's a different kind of Thanksgiving. Do you know what I'm saying? And I have been to those versions of Thanksgiving and then I have had my own, what I grew up with very bland Irish Catholic Thanksgiving, you know, Amen. Holy shit. Let's eat the dinner and hit it and quit it. Amen. Holy shit. Eat the dinner and get the fuck out. So anyway, it was really, really funny and I, I look forward to seeing the rest of it. So he's got this special on Hulu, this book about grief and growth. And then of course, he is very popular on the radio show Morning set.

[Joy Hoadley]

Morning show for a lot of people.

[Brian Greene]

I'm excited about this one. So let's do this. Why don't we take a break and then through the magic of telepodcasting, we'll have Ricky right here in our own studio. Why we did not ask him to come and be with us in person, I have no idea. But we'll fix that moving forward. We must ask him. He's in Atlanta.

[Joy Hoadley]

I know.

[Brian Greene]

We should have just had him here. Let's take a break and when we get back, Ricky sm, the legendary Rickey Smiley.

[Joy Hoadley]

Let's do it.

[Brian Greene]

We'll be back. Hey there, cats and kittens. It's Rachel. I have a terrible cold. But Brian wanted me to pass along the message that tcb's exclusive merch drop happens. Friday, August 8th through the 22nd. You can pre order your limited edition commercial break, hat, hoodie, university sweater or T shirts and get an exclusive TCB sticker free with every purchase. Go to shoptcbpodcast.com Friday, August 8th through the 22nd to pre order your merch because when the window closes, it closes for good. So mark it on your calendars. Friday, August 8th through the 22nd. Shop tcb podcast.com Now I'm gonna go take some DayQuil and feed Axel more pork chops. Best to you. This episode is brought to you by Squarespace. I'm out on our little break. I'm over at the local coffee shop and I'm talking to one of the people behind the counter and they say, I want to start my own podcast. To which I reply, you already have more listeners than we do. But their question to me was, what do I need in order to launch a podcast? Three things. A microphone, an idea, and a website. And our good friends at Squarespace, they have the all in one website platform designed to help you stand out and succeed online. Whether you're creating content, selling something, offering a service, or just want to keep people informed about your comings and goings, you can build your website, grow your brand, and get paid all in one place. And if a website is a building block of a business, what's the building blocks of the website? Two things in my opinion. Number one, design. You got to have a good looking design and Squarespace has a collection of cutting edge design tools that anyone can use to build a website that fits your brand perfectly. Number two, building block, you have to be found. As I've often said about podcasting, if you want to be heard, you have to get found. No different out there on the World Wide web. And search engine optimization is the key to doing that. While some companies and services may charge thousands or tens of thousands of dollars for search engine optimization, it's included with every single website on Squarespace. And the great News about all of this is you do not have to be some designer programmer, search engine optimization expert. Squarespace is designed to help me build a website and if I can do it, you can do it. I'm really not all that smart. Go to squarespace.com/commercial to save 10 off your purchase of a website or domain using the code commercial and start building your business or grow the one that you have or refresh that multi billion dollar conglomerate. Squarespace.com commercial and when you're ready to launch, make sure to use the code commercial. And thank you to Squarespace for always being a sponsor of the commercial break.

[Rachel]

Hello, it's Lena Dunham. I host a podcast called the C Word with my dearest friend and historian of bad behavior, Alyssa Bennett. What is up? It's a chat show about women whose society is called Crazy.

[Brian Greene]

We're going to be rediscovering the stories.

[Rachel]

Of women's society dismissed by calling them.

[Brian Greene]

Mad, sad or just plain bad.

[Rachel]

Listen to and follow the C Word with Lena Dunham and Alyssa Bennett. Available now. Wherever you get your podcasts.

[Brian Greene]

This season, let your shoes do the talking. Designer Shoe Warehouse is packed with fresh styles that speak to your whole vibe without saying a word. From cool sneakers that look good with everything to easy sandals you'll want to wear on repeat, DSW has you covered. Find a shoe for everywho from the brands you love like Birkenstock, Nike ad, Adidas, New Balance and more. Head to your DSW store or visit dsw.com today. The legendary Chrissy Ricky Smiley here with us now. Hi Ricky. How are you?

[Joy Hoadley]

Hi, Ricky.

[Ricky Smiley]

Hey man. Thank you so much for having me. How y' all doing?

[Brian Greene]

Yeah, we're good.

[Joy Hoadley]

Fantastic.

[Brian Greene]

We're better now that Ricky Smiley is here because as Atlanta, not natives, but we lived here for a long time. Me 30 plus years, Chrissy. 30 plus years. Y you have been in our ears and a part of the culture here in Atlanta for a long time. Share with me a little bit about what Atlanta means to you because I like when Atlanta natives come on and talk about Atlanta, man. You know, I know you're not native, but you're a big part of the. You're a big part of the.

[Ricky Smiley]

Oh, no, no, no. We, we almost native. Everybody that live in Birmingham went to Atlanta every weekend when we were able to get in the car and drive. We partied in Atlanta. We grew up in Atlanta also. We love out.

[Brian Greene]

Yeah.

[Ricky Smiley]

So. So we also. We go to Lake Lanier to we go to Lennox and Greenbrier Mall Also.

[Brian Greene]

Yeah, that's right.

[Ricky Smiley]

Yeah. Yeah. I remember going on stage at birthday bash at the. What is it, the State Farm Arena. Half of the audience was from Birmingham.

[Brian Greene]

Really?

[Ricky Smiley]

You know.

[Brian Greene]

Yeah.

[Ricky Smiley]

Oh, man. Man, it was a big, A big, A big concert in Atlanta. They run advertising in Birmingham. Everybody's on the highway, we're gone.

[Joy Hoadley]

It's such an eas. Such an easy drive over. Yeah, yeah.

[Ricky Smiley]

Once you get past Six Flags, you in the game, you're there.

[Joy Hoadley]

Yeah.

[Ricky Smiley]

And.

[Brian Greene]

And actually, yeah, I. The Atlanta and Birmingham do share. There's this, like, sinew between the two of us, this thread between the two of us. So many people from Atlanta go to school over there and party over there and hang out over there. It's an easy drive.

[Joy Hoadley]

Jump on Interstate 20.

[Brian Greene]

Yeah, that's true.

[Ricky Smiley]

All right, let me. Let me get one thing straight, because I see people in Atlanta wearing these hats. You see this right here?

[Brian Greene]

Yes.

[Ricky Smiley]

That. That's the Braves. That's the Crimson Tide.

[Brian Greene]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Ricky Smiley]

Roll Tide. Go Braves. Roll. Tightness. Let's be clear.

[Brian Greene]

Thank you.

[Joy Hoadley]

That's right.

[Brian Greene]

Thank you for clearing that up. Because a lot of people, you know, here's a. Here's a funny thing. So it was like, my brother in law, who's Venezuelan, lives in Houston, works in Indianapolis, came down to Atlanta. He likes to rock his Atlanta gear because he loves it. And he came in with an Atlanta an A shirt one time and I was like. And he goes, look at my Atlanta shirt. And I go, that is not an Atlanta shirt. And he goes, it is an Atlanta shirt. It's got nay on it. And I said, no, that's an Alabama shirt. Yeah, there's a big difference. And the big difference is the swoop at the top. There you go. Look at that.

[Ricky Smiley]

Get it. Get them together, my friend.

[Brian Greene]

How have you managed to keep yourself so in? You are like a radio legend. You have been around for. So. I mean, I don't want to date you, but you've been around for so many years, rocking that radio show. How have you weathered so many storms that so many other people have? Not as. As radio as former radio people. We have seen a few of these storms come and go and go. You're just good.

[Ricky Smiley]

That's. That's really a good question. And you know what the answer is? I was talking to one of my co hosts yesterday, Alfreda's, about that. Mastering the art of being funny.

[Brian Greene]

Yes.

[Ricky Smiley]

Being funny. People want to laugh. I found out through research and through morning show boot camps. People want to be entertained in the morning they want to be uplifted. They don't want to talk about heavy subject all the time. You got to have a good balance on the show and you have to have somebody that really knows how to, number one, stir the pot. Number two, make it about the listeners and not me. You know, taking phone calls, getting the audience involved, audience participation. You know, the. The PD is gonna always program the music. But, like, for example, this week I'm doing Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes, Soul week. Right. I'm gonna do it for two weeks. So these are white artists that was played on black radio stations.

[Brian Greene]

Ah, so cool. You know, what a good idea.

[Ricky Smiley]

Yeah. I did Tina Marie. I would play two songs at the top of the hour, in the 8 o' clock hour, like Tina Marie. And. And when you. When the show becomes unpredictable and I cannot miss the Ricky Smiley morning show because I might miss something because they're crazy and they're outside of the box. And we just don't allow, you know, we just kind of do radio. And I have a good feel of the audience because I'm a performer. Right. I perform on the weekends. So when you perform on the weekends and you do karaoke shows live during the week, and in coming to clubs, you get a sense of what the.

[Brian Greene]

Audience want, what they're talking about, what they're feeling. It's like an energy in the room and you can feel it across the radio waves. I know that sounds weird, but, you know, you got your finger on the pulse.

[Ricky Smiley]

Absolutely, absolutely. When you get text messages while you're on the air, that means that. And you getting messages on messenger, on Facebook, people are talking, they're talking about the show. So it's really important to have your finger on what people want.

[Brian Greene]

That's very interesting. So I used to listen to Stern for years when he jumped over to Sirius, and we didn't have him in Atlanta until he went to Sirius. But I listened to him, started listening to him when he came on Sirius. And I've got really invested in this show. And I noticed that a bunch of other people also were invested in the show, had to listen to it. It was kind of like a must listen type thing. And I asked myself one why am I so invested in the show? And here's why. It becomes like a family. It's a soap opera that you want to keep up with. It's unpredictable. It's something reliable. Right. It's something I can rely on. I can rely on them to entertain me, make me happy, maybe even occasionally make me cry. But I can rely on it every morning. And I'm invested in the characters of the show, I'm invested in who's telling me what. And it's like a little soap opera that you just keep up with. It's not, you know, overdramatic, but I think.

[Ricky Smiley]

Right.

[Brian Greene]

You probably have a very similar relationship with your audience. You're reliable, you're there, you're funny, you know, you're open. And I think that's part of what you're known for also, is that you are transparent. Right. You're not.

[Ricky Smiley]

Absolutely. You have to be transparent. Like, we laugh, we cry, we talk about things, we talk about autism, we talk about. We have a partnership with St. Jude where we raise money for the, you know, the kids that's battling cancer.

[Brian Greene]

God bless you.

[Ricky Smiley]

We do a lot of stuff on the radio, man, and I just always try to make it about the listeners and make it about the people and not myself. But I get a kick out of it. I have a great team. I have Gary, I have the world famous Da Brat.

[Joy Hoadley]

Oh, yeah.

[Ricky Smiley]

Co host. Brat is the first female rapper to sell over a million albums, you know, and I have a really, really great team and great producers. So putting a show together is a lot of fun.

[Brian Greene]

How many. How long will you do this, Ricky? The audience wants to know, will you do this until they literally drag you out of the studio? Is that. Do you feel that kind of passion for it still? Or is this something they might have.

[Ricky Smiley]

To drag me out?

[Joy Hoadley]

I like it.

[Ricky Smiley]

Do you all know that I'm up around 3:30, 4:00 every morning? No alarm clock. Never my whole life.

[Brian Greene]

Whoa.

[Joy Hoadley]

Your body's just built that way.

[Ricky Smiley]

But I was like that as a kid. I was raised by grandparents, so I'm up drinking Senka Brand coffee with my grandma.

[Brian Greene]

I remember Cinco. My grandfather used to drink that too.

[Joy Hoadley]

Mine too.

[Brian Greene]

I remember those commercials. I remember the smell, the instant coffee.

[Ricky Smiley]

Remember at first everybody was drinking Taster's Choice and then they went to Senko Brand.

[Brian Greene]

Yeah, that's it. Sanka came along and it's just.

[Joy Hoadley]

I remember Sanka and Sweet and Low.

[Brian Greene]

Yeah.

[Ricky Smiley]

And your grandma would give you a little coffee in a bowl and while you have your little coffee in the morning, up watching TV with your grandma and stuff. So I haven't been an early bird, a natural early bird, my entire life. So since I'm up, I might as well do radio.

[Joy Hoadley]

Yeah, there you go.

[Ricky Smiley]

You know what I'm saying it keep getting your name out there and your brand out there and working Monday through Friday, whether you perform or not, you get up and go to work. You get up and go do radio. It's a lot of fun.

[Brian Greene]

Well, I think you're smart, too. Is that, you know, like a lot of people who have been on the radio, who have gotten successful careers on the radio, you parlay this, you've got almost like a huge megaphone to promote the other things that you do. Also, you've made a little cottage industry out of Ricky Smiley, right? You're on tour, you've got the book, you now got the Hulu special. You do these things and then you can go on five days a week and you tell people about it. And you've got this built in audience for what you do. I. I think that's.

[Ricky Smiley]

I'll tell you, I'll tell y' all something y' all might be interested in knowing. You know how I got. Well, I started on a local station in Birmingham, but you know how I got the job in Dallas?

[Brian Greene]

No. That was your flagship for a while, right? Dallas.

[Ricky Smiley]

Yeah, Dallas, Texas. And so I get a phone call from Steve Harvey. Steve Hart. Yes. Steve Harvey is one of my, my mentors and he's my fraternity brother. We're. We're all omegas. We're all in the same fraternity. DL Steve Harvey, Shaquille o'. Neal, Michael Jordan, Anthony Anderson, Joe Tory. Whoa. We're all members.

[Joy Hoadley]

That's fraternity.

[Ricky Smiley]

Yeah, we. Charlie. I can go on and on. Charlie Ward, the 2 live stews. We are all members of the same fraternity and, you know, a wonderful organization. Founded at Howard University in nineteen nineteen eleven.

[Brian Greene]

Yes. Famous Agency.

[Ricky Smiley]

Yeah, I was, I was open, opening up for the Kings economy. I got really, really close with Steve, and Steve called me one day and he said, hey, I'm getting ready to go to Clear Channel. I'm leaving Radio 1 and I'm going to Clear Channel. He said, I recommended you for this job. And I told him, I said, you know, I just bought a house in Birmingham. Let me think about it, or whatever. So he handed the phone to his bodyguard, Boomerang, who's about six, eight.

[Joy Hoadley]

I love it.

[Ricky Smiley]

Boomerang cursed me the hell out. He said, let me tell you something, ML. Yeah, he said, he said, you don't tell nobody like Steve Harvey, what you gonna think about? He said, you don't have your skinny black ass in Dallas by tomorrow morning. We ain't effing with you no more. And hung up in my face.

[Joy Hoadley]

That's amazing.

[Brian Greene]

Did you get in the car and start driving to Dallas?

[Ricky Smiley]

I was sitting on the back of. On the last row of Southwest Airlines with tears in my eyes because I felt like I never lived anywhere outside of Birmingham. I knew I was gonna probably get that job and end up there. I didn't wanna disappoint them. And Steve was still on the air when I landed. And when I was walking up, the radio station was inside of a mall. So when they saw me walking, they all looked and they were shocked. Like, he really showed up. And I went and did the interview and got the job. And I did my last. I did Stephen Harvey last two. Two. I did the last two weeks with him on the air to make a smooth transition.

[Brian Greene]

Yeah. Smart.

[Ricky Smiley]

So, yeah. And. And. And that's how it happened. And I won in Dallas. And then the owner decided that he was gonna syndicate me. He put me on all of his stations. And then I went on all of Mr. Perry station out of Oklahoma. And then next thing you know, I ended up on Cox, the Miami station. And. And when Tom Jonah retired, they slid us over into that slot.

[Brian Greene]

That's right.

[Ricky Smiley]

So now I'm at, like, around 100 affiliates. It's crazy.

[Brian Greene]

That's amazing. Sane. There are very wildfire. That's a wildfire. And I know that just from my understanding of the radio business. My small understanding of the radio business, having worked there for a while, like, to be syndicated in five stations is a big deal. Very few like Ryan Seacrest, Howard Stern, Joyner, Ricky Smiley, Steve Harvey. These are names that. Casey Kasem when he was alive. Those are names that get syndicated like that. It's very difficult. Yeah. Delilah.

[Ricky Smiley]

Why do I listen to Delilah almost every night and wait for her. Some guy to call up and talk about he's in love with a chick from the third grade with eight kids and he still want to marry her? And she plays and she plays Air Supply.

[Joy Hoadley]

It's so good. It's so good.

[Brian Greene]

It is woven into our fabric. If you grew up in a certain time and you don't know who Delilah is, your parents were not raising you correctly. I mean, Delilah is amazing. She also has been around for. And listen, then there's other, you know, radio cucks that we could talk about, like Dr. Laura and Rashim Limbaugh. But syndication is very difficult and you have done it very well. Hundred plus radio stations is amazing. Your longevity speaks to how the connection. Yeah. Tuned in your audience is with you in Atlanta. You're legendary. I mean, people would talk about you at Clear Channel even though you weren't at Clear Channel. And. And so that that's quite a. That's quite amazing. Do you enjoy for you, is it the microphone or is it the stage that pulls you a little bit more? When it comes to, like, being with the audience, I'm sure you're more familiar. Like, it feels.

[Ricky Smiley]

It used to be the stage, but now it's the RA microphone. Because, man, when I tell you, I am like, I have a studio. This guy named John Matthews built a studio in my house, right?

[Brian Greene]

Oh, yeah.

[Ricky Smiley]

So, but wait a minute. People like, oh, you can do the morning show in your pajamas.

[Brian Greene]

I'm like, no, yeah, we know.

[Ricky Smiley]

I would never disrespect radio to walk in here and do the show in my pajamas. I get up, take a shower, get dressed, cleaned up, walk down the hall, cook my coffee on the stove. No Keurig. I have your grandmother's percolator.

[Brian Greene]

Yeah, you got the Senka?

[Ricky Smiley]

Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I make my old school coffee. You know, I might order some donuts from Krispy Kreme or Dunkin or whatever. They'll put it on the porch or whatever. And I got my little fruit. And I'm in there watching way too early on NBC. And I got the other TV on ESPN. Yeah, I am ready to roll at 15 to 5. My show starts at 5. I'm looking over my script, making sure everything is straight, and I'm ready to go. And I really enjoy that. That job on radio because you can sit. You don't have to get on the plane, train, automobile to get there. And it don't give me the anxiety that I get when I get ready to perform because I'm on stage. People paid money to come see you. So the expectations are, like, right here. Yes, radio. Radio is free. But when people pay $40 to come see you perform. So now you got to get on the plane, you got check in a hotel, you got get dressed, you got to memorize your act. I'm on stage like an hour and 15 hour, 20 minutes.

[Brian Greene]

That's a long show, Ricky.

[Ricky Smiley]

Yeah. Blood, sweat and tears. Like, I mainly do casinos now instead of coming to club venues, theaters, and casinos. So you got to give people what they paid for. And you got to perform like, yeah.

[Brian Greene]

Like, yeah, yeah, we've talked.

[Ricky Smiley]

Radio is less pressure.

[Brian Greene]

We've talked to a few comedians, and they have said something very similar. Is. Is that, you know, they get excited when a special comes out and it can kind of live and breathe on its own for a while because there is always this expectation, you don't want to ruin somebody Saturday night That they paid, you know, a hundred dollars with them and their. Their loved one to come see you. You don't want to let them down. They're. They get dressed up, they come out, they go out to eat, they make a night of it, and then they come and you have an off night and they go, ah, you know. But when you're on radio, we feel the same way. When you do four days a week, it pays to be mediocre, right? You just be mediocre and just. I mean, not that you are, but we are. Just be. Just be funny enough if you can. If you can make them laugh once or twice during the show, you'll do it again tomorrow and they'll get another. They'll get another shot at it. But, you know, but it's good that you can. That you have the audience to go out there and fill casinos and theaters, because that's an extra. Yeah. Hey, listen, let's be honest about it. It's an extra revenue source. It also gets you out of the house, so it gets you out of your.

[Ricky Smiley]

Right.

[Joy Hoadley]

Yeah.

[Brian Greene]

Gets you out of your senka routine.

[Joy Hoadley]

How often do you do those shows where you're getting out?

[Ricky Smiley]

Probably now three or four times a month. I just did the casino, some big casino in Phoenix, Arizona, and I ran off stage and jumped on that red ey into. Into Atlanta Airport. You know what I found out? That even if you die, if you die, you have to go through Atlanta Airport to get to heaven.

[Brian Greene]

It's true.

[Joy Hoadley]

Yes.

[Brian Greene]

Yes, it's true. Atlanta Airport takes you to all. Just there the other day, all roads lead to Hartsfield Jackson. It's 100% true. Yeah, well, it's. Because Delta is, you know, it's just Delta. That's the reason. Delta, the world's largest airline, Delta. It's. Everybody goes to Delta. When I. I gotta say something about, you know, you being an Omega and the HBU and all the very famous, amazing entertainers that have gone with you. DL has become my favorite Instagram account ever. I just gotta say that right now. Ever. He knocks out of the park. And I know it's probably not him posting every single time, but I'm sure you follow him on Instagram. That guy is on top of it. I love it. I love his. His content. That's great.

[Ricky Smiley]

He is a big brother. D.L. hughley is a big brother. D.L. hughley is a mentor. D.L. hughley IS a friend. D.L. hughley Is a genius comic. There have been times where I found out DL Hughley was performing somewhere. I just Want to go and be quiet and sit in the dressing room and watch him sit over there with his night. One of the nice. One of the cleanest, most nicely dressed comedians in the country.

[Joy Hoadley]

Oh, yes.

[Ricky Smiley]

Cross his legs, have him a drink, smoke a cigar. I remember when he was opening up for the Kings of Comedy, man, I. I would. I would copy his style. Like, that's where I got a lot of my style from, because I've really gotten into fashion now. You know, checking out D.L. hugh. I remember when he had the twist with the fade. I went and got. When I became the host of Comedy, I had to twist with the little. With the fade on the side.

[Brian Greene]

Yeah.

[Ricky Smiley]

Like, D.L. hughley is a mentor. D.L. hughley challenges. He will challenge you to be better. He will. I remember we went to Houston's restaurant. We were having lunch, and I just wanted to sit with the bodyguards or whatever, but, nah. DL's like, Nah, we're gonna go sit over here. And I was like, oh, damn. I already know. I already know what's gonna happen, because if I sit over here with him, he's gonna grill me.

[Brian Greene]

Yeah.

[Ricky Smiley]

Him and Steve, they're so much alive when it comes to having someone to challenge you and to make you better and to make you uncomfortable, that's where the growth happens.

[Brian Greene]

That's where the.

[Ricky Smiley]

Absolutely.

[Brian Greene]

I had a friend who said, if it's uncomfortable, lean into it. That's where you need to be.

[Ricky Smiley]

Absolutely.

[Brian Greene]

Yeah.

[Ricky Smiley]

Yeah. And I remember after that dinner, sitting in my car for 20 minutes, and that's when I start the ball rolling for that comedy special.

[Brian Greene]

Wow.

[Ricky Smiley]

That David E. Talbot and Lynn Talbot directed it, produced it. But it was DL that put that fire under me and was just getting on to me about a lot of stuff, a lot of things that I could be doing that I was not doing. I just have so much respect for that. Yeah. It's easy to tell somebody, hey, man, you're doing a good job, whatever. But when you get somebody to say, hey, man, you ain't doing nothing, and you could be doing it. He named about 25 things and was grilling me, and I felt like a dumbass. He wasn't trying to make me feel that way, but, like, I really needed that challenge. And. And. And I tell you what, if you don't hit him up and check in with him here and there, I can feel when it's time for me to send a text message or call or whatever, I'm always in a group text with him and Steve or whatever, but I. I check in, I Check in with Martin Lawrence. You know, I send courtesy text message and check in and just. I went on tour with Martin Lawrence. That was the biggest thing I ever done since the Kings. And to have Martin Lawrence host and Deray Davis, Adele Givens. Bruce. Bruce. Michael Blackstone.

[Brian Greene]

Michael Blackston. Wow.

[Ricky Smiley]

Yeah. In arenas where the NBA teams play. But I'll never forget Ashley, Larry Donnell, Rollins.

[Brian Greene]

We had Donnell a couple weeks ago. Yeah.

[Ricky Smiley]

Oh, my God. He got a standing ovation in front of me and. And I was enjoying. I was laughing at him and I was like, oops, I'm next.

[Brian Greene]

I gotta follow that.

[Ricky Smiley]

You're in Atlanta. All the bloggers on the first three rows, all the celebrities on the first three rows. You cannot have a bad show in Atlanta. If you do, your career is screened.

[Brian Greene]

Yeah, but.

[Ricky Smiley]

But I apply Alabama football to everything. I'm a big fan of Nick Saban. Guess what I have. I have a plate. I have a playbook.

[Joy Hoadley]

Oh, wow.

[Brian Greene]

For your. For your act.

[Ricky Smiley]

Yes.

[Brian Greene]

Wow.

[Ricky Smiley]

I have. I have like six different acts. Right. And I'm watching Daniel Rollins on stage, and I go and I get my playbook. And I said, well, I can't do what I was going to do because he literally killed the audience. And I knew what they had a taste for. Right. Like the audience not going to have a taste for what I had planned. I think they. He had swung the audience in this direction. So I need to be over here.

[Brian Greene]

Wow.

[Ricky Smiley]

Where they are.

[Joy Hoadley]

Strategy.

[Ricky Smiley]

Yeah. I threw it out of the notebook. And when he got a standing ovation, my road manager ran in front of the stage and took that piece of paper and laid down my one through 10. I only got 20 minutes on stage, but I did that one through 10. I had enough sense of say, hey, let me put this together. I think this is the act that's appropriate for this particular audience, especially after what he just did.

[Brian Greene]

Yeah.

[Ricky Smiley]

And I went out there and got a standing ovation also.

[Joy Hoadley]

Oh, I love it.

[Ricky Smiley]

Yeah. It's a lot of preparation going to comedy because you just can't. It depends on the audience and where you are and who you're performing with that decides what you're going to do on stage. You know what I mean? You have to switch it up.

[Brian Greene]

Yeah. That's so smart. We had a comedian on, and he. He said to us that it's like a. Choose your own when you get good enough at comedy. We've done it a long time. You've got a lot of material. You got a lot of resources in your brain and in your in your back pocket that it's like a choose your own adventure. And depending on the vibe, it's like you're walking through the forest and you're moving left and right. Right. You're choosing your own path as the audience. You feel them out and you see how it is. And I imagine like reading a putt. I'm sure you do some golfing, like reading a putt. But you read Donnell's putt and you said, okay, I gotta, I gotta hit it this way.

[Ricky Smiley]

Yep. Super smart. The experience is everything. I've been performing for 35 years. This November it will be 36 years. I started November 13, 1989.

[Joy Hoadley]

That's incredible.

[Ricky Smiley]

That's when I went on stage for open mic night. And listen, I tell you, that experience in those years and years and in, in those comedy clubs and had people to try. I used to open for Rita Rutner. I used to open for. For Ali, Joe Prater. Whoa. And Jeff Foxworthy. I used to open for those guys.

[Brian Greene]

And you opened for Jess Foxworthy.

[Ricky Smiley]

Yeah. At the comedy club in Birmingham.

[Brian Greene]

That's what, that's crazy.

[Joy Hoadley]

Yeah.

[Ricky Smiley]

Yeah. I was, I was a young come a young skinning cocktail.

[Brian Greene]

How old were you?

[Ricky Smiley]

When you be about 20, when you.

[Brian Greene]

Got on stage for the first time, you were about 20 years old?

[Ricky Smiley]

Yeah, probably about 20. Yeah.

[Brian Greene]

What made you do, what made you want to do this?

[Joy Hoadley]

Yeah, you always knew you wanted to do this.

[Ricky Smiley]

I went to a comedy club with a guy that was on campus at Miles College. I was finishing up college at Miles College. He said, hey, I'm a comedian. He said, I knew him, you know, from being on campus. Hey, come right over to the comedy club with me. I didn't have a car. Like, sure. I didn't have nothing to do. I went over to the comedy club and I saw him on stage. I'm like, if they laughing at him doing those jokes, I know I could do that. Because that's what we do. I would charge people to come in the dorm room and roast. And we would have roasting sets. We had the first wild N out in the dorm. I would sit on one bed and somebody on another floor down the hall would sit on another bed. We would face each other and we would roast.

[Brian Greene]

Just go at it.

[Ricky Smiley]

And so. And I was, I was always known for telling funny stories and doing funny things because one of my classes, I was doing music in a music class. Zebedee Jones. He's also a member of Omega 7.

[Brian Greene]

Wow.

[Ricky Smiley]

And that was my music teacher. And he was like, hey, why are you late? I said, listen, everybody's. Everybody's broke. I said, I had death in the family. He said, oh, my God. He said, I am so sorry. Go ahead and have a seat, Mr. Smiley. If you need anything, let us know. He said, you know, he said, I feel bad for you. He said, who was it? I said, it was my uncle. We were really, really close. I said, but they got him a hearing aid now, and I think he's gonna be fine.

[Brian Greene]

He had a death in the family.

[Ricky Smiley]

It took minutes, three minutes. Three minutes. That. That thing, the thing started hitting like microwave popcorn. How about he dismiss class?

[Brian Greene]

Oh, no, no. Oh, my God. That's too funny. How to deaf in the family? That is dad joke level funny. All right, so here's a question and this. We're calling back to the beginning of this interview. You know, call back. You've been on radio for a long time. I'm calling a second Holland Oates on your blonde haired, blue eye. Even though I don't think either of them are blonde hair. Oh, no. I guess, I guess, I guess Daryl would be blonde hair, blue eyed is hollow notes. They're early stuff. Like, I mean, I'm not talking like their poppy 80s, but they're early stuff. Do. Do you consider that. Do you consider that good R and B was that.

[Ricky Smiley]

Oh, yeah, yeah. They. They played all of this stuff on, on like. I grew up, I grew up, grew up listening to a radio station founded by Dr. A.G. gaston. Okay, you got to Google Dr. A.G. gastON. He was a grandson of slaves and he a self made millionaire. He lived not far from my grandparents, but he lived in a big mansion. And I would listen to Wynn radio station and they would play those songs by Daryl hall and John Oakes and they would play. I remember growing up as a kid, they was playing Fleetwood Mac on black radio station.

[Brian Greene]

Oh, yeah, yeah, it's good.

[Ricky Smiley]

You would hear Christy McVeigh singing you make Love and Fun to Dreams by Stevie Nicks. Oh, they played all that stuff in between Marvin Gaye and the Commodore. So, you know, and then when, when MTV came out, you had to watch all the videos to get to Michael Jackson Thriller.

[Brian Greene]

That's it. That's it. I was just watching. You know, this is crazy. Like, earlier this morning, I was watching a real. I mean, Instagram. One of the Instagram accounts I watch is like found footage. And it was found footage of Michael Jackson and his choreographer doing the smooth criminal dance work. Like figuring that out. And this choreographer he had used. And listen, we all talk about Michael's personal life till we're blue in the face. But the truth is that he blessed us with some of the best music and some of the best dancing that has ever been seen on Earth. Earth. And watching him figure all of this out with his choreography, it's like watching Van Gogh paint. It's like quite crazy how he moves his body and. Yeah, I. I have. You know, I don't have admiration for some of the things he was accused of doing. Never found guilty. But I don't have admiration for that, obviously. But I have admiration for the way that he just used his mind and his body and his voice to create these works of art. It's, quite frankly, it's crazy. Crazy.

[Ricky Smiley]

One of the best of all time. You.

[Brian Greene]

You better believe it. So you have a book out?

[Ricky Smiley]

Yes.

[Brian Greene]

What's the title of the book? I'm sorry, I don't have the. The.

[Ricky Smiley]

The name of the book is called Sideshow. Now, I don't know if you know anything about. I think the group is called Blue Magic. They had a song called Let the side Show Begin. Hurry, hurry. Step right on in.

[Brian Greene]

Yes.

[Ricky Smiley]

Can't afford to pass it by. Guaranteed to make you cry. Right. So that song is about a clown that's sad. And if you ever listen to the. The songs. A sad show sometimes. That's a story of a lot of our great comedians. Our job is to make people laugh while we're crying on the inside.

[Brian Greene]

Yes.

[Joy Hoadley]

Yeah.

[Brian Greene]

Don Al Rawling said the same thing while he was here.

[Ricky Smiley]

Oh, yeah, man. Listen. I lost my son on a Sunday. Wednesday I was back on the air. I was. I was back on the air Wednesday. Tuesday night. I picked out his clothes, put them. Put the clothes in the car. Wednesday I did the morning show, and I was. I went to the funeral home to do. To help with final arrangements. No, but I have a job to do because that's. That's. This is the reason why I've had a lot of success in radio because I had to realize that I'm not the only one that lost a son. Yeah, a lot of listeners that have lost a son also, they can relate to what you're going through. And your job as a human being is to use your situation and not as a human being, as a Christian, is to use your situation to bless others. It's not about you. It's not all about you. Somebody in Chicago, somebody in Charlotte, somebody in South Florida, somebody in Indicator and Bankhead and Buckhead and, you know, somebody in Dallas, Texas and Houston have lost a son or Daughter also.

[Brian Greene]

Yeah.

[Ricky Smiley]

And my job is to get on the air and get people motivated and encouraged and let them know if I can make it. You can make it also. And remember, everything that we all go through as human being is only a test. But it don't feel like a test when you're going through it, but it's a test. God watches us and say that, Say, hey, I really like the way he's handling that situation. Because if you can't handle this, you're not ready to go to the next level that God have for you. And so we have to always be mindful of that, of having a successful podcast, having a successful radio show. We have to sometimes make it about. Make it not about you. And let's find out how can we find a way to help other people. Share your story to help other people and bring people closer to God and save lives. Because my son died from an overdose. But like my mom said, I would go to NA meetings with my mom. And one thing I learned in NA meeting is some have to die so others can lay. Now, if my son died and I saved a lot of lives because he died.

[Brian Greene]

Wow.

[Ricky Smiley]

And you know, that's the responsibility that we have as radio personalities is to have these real conversations about things that really hurt us in order to make the world a better place.

[Brian Greene]

It's a very powerful reminder. And my. I think it's a very powerful reminder, too. We get a lot of email like you do, a lot of emails, a lot of text messages. Most of them, hey, great job. Love the show. That was funny. This is interesting. But some of them are really powerful, that, hey, having a bad day and you made it a little brighter. Or some of them have even been more intense, like, hey, having a bad life, and you made it a little bit better. And thank you for that. But for you to use your shared ex. For you to use your experience and share that shared experience, that really is what being human is all about. And I do think that God is found in those moments when we can use our own experience to comfort someone, make them more wise, give them a different perspective, or even just have the ability to hold space for them. Like, you know, you're going through this, too. And I just want to tell you that I'm here with you and I see that pain and I feel you're not alone.

[Ricky Smiley]

Yeah. And that's when I went on that. When I went on that book tour, I was. Because that's my. I wrote my. That was my second book. Book. I'm thinking I'M thinking you're gonna sign the book and go to the next person. Sign the book. Go to the next person. Sign the book. Oh, no, no, no. Oh, I can imagine these people have, have lost. I had a lady, I'll never forget it. Nashville. Two, two that stick out when it was a couple because I found a sense of gratitude. There's a couple that lost their three year old son. He drowned. And they were sitting in the back of the book signing. They were both in tears the whole time. And I'm sitting here like, well, their son was three years old. They didn't get to see their kid get on the school bus. My son was 32, his son was three. Man like, like. And, and how is it that I was able to find gratitude from that? Yeah, the fact that they did not get to see their son graduate middle school, elementary school, high school. I was able to take my son, drop my son, I off, you know, off college and you know, when I met a lady said she lost her son and her husband and she said, I don't want to talk about, she had tears and I, she just stopped talking. Yeah, I said, I said, I said, ma', am, are you okay? She just shook her head. She wouldn't say anything or she, she wouldn't speak another word. I grabbed her and I stood her behind me. I said, I want you to wait. I don't want you to just, I want you to wait. She had purchased a book.

[Brian Greene]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ricky Smiley]

I, I, I politely, I say, is there a therapist in the room? And it was like two. And the fact that I was able to connect her to a therapist, to get her, you know, the help that she needs, that was so important. That is my responsibility as a radio personality, as a human being, as a Christian, as a comedian, is to put people in the right place. So, you know what I'm saying? Everything is orchestrated absolutely by God. But anyway, and you have to, I had to let God allow God to use me, you know, in order to, to help people, whether it's on the radio or in person. So I, I just give God all the glory for, for if I were a, if I was able to help anybody with my situation. You know what I mean?

[Brian Greene]

Yeah. Well, serendipity is the case of heaven. Yeah. And it's like the, it is inspiring. And there is, we do often find purpose in the depths of darkness. Right. That is, you know, I used to say this very simple phrase. I thought I was wise at the time. I was probably 15 when I thought it or said it. For the first time, there is no light without the darkness. Right. It's just you. You don't know what it is. You don't know what it is to have a good day unless you've had bad. Now take that and put it on your worst day. And you know, that's. Those are the times when I think you can find some real purpose and be grateful for all of the things. Times and, and other things that, that you've got. I think you're really brave to talk about this so openly, to be so transparent about it. And I think it's probably why you have such a dedicated and loyal audience and they're going to have to drag you out of that radio studio.

[Ricky Smiley]

Right, Right.

[Brian Greene]

Ricky Smiley has a brand new Hulu Special. I'm not brand new. It actually came out in May.

[Ricky Smiley]

It. Yeah, yeah. But man, let me tell you something. It's still new because a lot of people have not seen. Listen, listen.

[Joy Hoadley]

Yeah, tell us.

[Ricky Smiley]

I tell you what. You. You're gonna be laid out. Is, is, is, is solid funny. When I talk about the white version of Thanksgiving versus the black version of Thanksgiving.

[Brian Greene]

I watch it. I watched 20 minutes of it and I watched that part. That part of it was part of the 20 minutes. It is so funny and it is so fucking true. Stovetop stuffing. That's what we like. We don't want any oysters or old bay seasoning. We just want bland stovetop stuffing.

[Ricky Smiley]

Come on now, a little man. When I tell you that about white people, out. I talk about my 600 pound Life TV show. That's my favorite show.

[Joy Hoadley]

That's his favorite show.

[Brian Greene]

That's my favorite show, bro.

[Joy Hoadley]

Yeah, that's his favorite show.

[Ricky Smiley]

All the women, all the women that's on there, they all got a man.

[Joy Hoadley]

Yes, I've noticed that.

[Brian Greene]

But all the men over there don't got a woman. None of them. Not one of them has a woman. It's weird. It's so strange. I agree with you.

[Ricky Smiley]

I talk about that for probably about 10 minutes.

[Brian Greene]

Oh, I'm gonna go watch that part. I'm gonna go watch the rest of it. Yeah, I got to about 20 minutes of it.

[Ricky Smiley]

I go through every single part of my 600 pound life. I am obsessed.

[Brian Greene]

Me too.

[Joy Hoadley]

I mean, you found a brother over here.

[Brian Greene]

Me too. We should have a watch party. We'll get on Zoom. Next time you're in Atlanta, we'll do a watch party. I love it. Yes. I love it. That doctor. Now, Zarden, you know, you know. Hello. Hello. His voice is.

[Ricky Smiley]

I can't stay here. He said, I have to eat something. He said, you have ate enough to last you the next four years.

[Brian Greene]

I know, he told one lady, she said, but I can't. I can't do the diet. I'm. I find myself starving. He goes, you could not starve in the next 10 years. You've eaten enough food for 50 people. He does. He calls it like he sees it. And it's not like Dr. Narsardan is like, you know, two pounds sopping wet. The guy has got a little weight on him too, but he just calls out all of their. But I guess when you're 90 and you've seen it all, you've heard it all.

[Ricky Smiley]

Yeah, that's my show. You know, I had this little spin about little people that cracked people up, that had people like, in tears.

[Brian Greene]

Wait, do you watch the seven little Johnston?

[Ricky Smiley]

Yeah.

[Joy Hoadley]

You have found your team.

[Ricky Smiley]

I used to watch Little Women Atlanta.

[Brian Greene]

I watched that for a while. Little people, big world. I get. I fascinated. I'm fascinated by all of them.

[Ricky Smiley]

I used to call them the Baby Housewives.

[Joy Hoadley]

They were. That's like what it was.

[Brian Greene]

They were flipping small tables. Yeah.

[Ricky Smiley]

So, yeah. Yeah. My comedy special on Hulu is crazy. If you have not seen it, make sure you go to Hulu and watch it and just go to Hulu. And when you go to search, you can pull up Ricky Smiley or Foolish.

[Brian Greene]

Foolish. Foolish. Or links in the show notes, as they always are. Links in the show notes to the books. Links in the show notes to find Ricky on a syndicated radio station near you. He is legend. He is comedy gold. I feel really honored to have spoken with you after so many years of knowing about you and listening to you. And it's the myth, the legend. Yeah. They say sometimes don't meet your heroes, but this has turned out just fine. You haven't spent enough time with us for either of us to screw it up. So congratulation.

[Ricky Smiley]

Yeah, I gotta come hang out with y', all, man. We gonna play all soft rock. You know, Delilah played Aha. She played aha. Yesterday. She played take on me. My kids was in the car. They love. Ah haha. They love. They know all of the words.

[Joy Hoadley]

And that video. Speaking of videos from back in the day, is that the one where they.

[Brian Greene]

It was drawn half drawn and they move in and out. That was amazing technology for the time. Yeah. Because, you know, someone had to draw it all by hand.

[Ricky Smiley]

I have kids and grandkids and they are all in the kitchen. They love Benny and the jets by Elton John. And they love. I've been waiting on a girl like.

[Brian Greene]

You to come into my life.

[Joy Hoadley]

I've been winning.

[Brian Greene]

That's Foreigner, isn't it? I think that's Foreign. Yeah. Foreigner. Yeah.

[Joy Hoadley]

So good.

[Brian Greene]

Yeah, man.

[Ricky Smiley]

Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, yeah, we got to catch up.

[Brian Greene]

Let's hang out in a couple of months when you're in Atlanta. I know you come here often when you're in Atlanta. We'll coordinate because we. We're right down the street. We have a studio right down the street for you.

[Joy Hoadley]

I mean, I'm downtown and so we'll do it.

[Brian Greene]

Ricky Smiley, Hulu book tour, radio legend. Thank you.

[Joy Hoadley]

Thank you so much, Ricky. Pleasure.

[Ricky Smiley]

Thank y'. All. Thank y' all so, so much for having me, man. Y' all be blessed anytime.

[Joy Hoadley]

You too.

[Brian Greene]

Bye, Ricky.

[Ricky Smiley]

You make this rather snappy, won't you? I have some very heavy thinking to do before 10 o'. Clock.

[H]

Hi, cats and kittens. Rachel here. Do you ever get the urge to speak endlessly into the void like Brian? Well, I've got just the place for you to do that. 212-4333. TCB. That's 212-433-3822. Feel free to call and yell all you want. Tell Brian I need a raise. Compliment Chrissy's innate ability to put up with all his shenanigans or tell us a little story. The juicier the better. By the way, we love to hear your voice because Lord knows we're done, done listening to ourselves. Also, give us a follow on your favorite socials hecommercial break on Insta, TCB podcast on TikTok. And for those of you who like to watch. Oh, that came out wrong. We put all the episodes out on video, YouTube.com thecommercialbreak and tcbpodcast.com for all the info on the show, your free sticker or just to see how pretty we look. Okay, I gotta go now. I've got a date with my dog. No, seriously. Axel needs food. Today is pork chop day.

[Brian Greene]

Out here.

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[Brian Greene]

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[Rachel]

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[Brian Greene]

Well, that was an interview I won't soon forget for all the right reasons.

[Joy Hoadley]

Yeah. So inspiring. I mean he just had a smile on his face the whole time and what incredible energy.

[Brian Greene]

Yeah. You could feel it coming through the screen like. I just don't know how to explain it. Ricky was a breath of fresh air in a room that is dark and full of wires and black curtains and Brian. It was good. It was good. I really liked Ricky. I look forward to the follow up interview where we have him in person. Yeah, I kind of felt like I want to give him a hug at the end. Like high five him and give him a hug and I don't know, I'm gonna invite myself over to his Atlanta home to watch My 600 Pound Life.

[Joy Hoadley]

And 7 Little Johnston when the new.

[Brian Greene]

Season comes out because it's coming out soon.

[Joy Hoadley]

It is?

[Brian Greene]

I think so. Yeah. Isis expect my spidey sense tells me. Yeah. My TLC meter tells me that there's a new. Well, they do like half seasons. They'll do like eight episodes at a time. Yeah, they record I think 16 or 20 of them and then they put them out 10 at a time so they can stretch it out throughout the year. Same with my 600 pound life. And I think both of those are coming back. When the kids go back in school, new episodes come out because people aren't aren't out around.

[Joy Hoadley]

Parents like to watch that.

[Brian Greene]

That's right. I'm so happy. He's a my hunted. My. I'm so happy. I'm so happy. Ricky Smiley made me smiley. I have a new Starbucks boyfriend even though he drinks Senka. I have a Senka boyfriend and a Starbucks boyfriend. There you go. All right, Ricky Smiley. All his information is down in the show notes his Hulu special that just came out A month or two ago. Go watch it. Ricky's Funny Rita's book about grief and forgiveness, gratefulness. I think we should get a copy of that, quite frankly.

[Joy Hoadley]

I'm gonna check it out and then.

[Brian Greene]

You can go see him on tour again. Links in the show notes as always. Much thanks to Ricky and all the people who made that happen. Really grateful we got the time with him today. Really grateful we got the time with him today. All right, the window is ajar for our mercy. So now that we've talked about Ricky, let's talk about us for a minute. Let's get back to the important part. Legend to legend to legend. Let's get back to the other legends. 967 the Legend Shop tcb podcast.com that's shop tcb podcast.com available now. Go get your TCB merch, please. And thanks. We would appreciate it. Pre order now. The merch will be on its way very soon. Chrissy and I wearing our merch as we speak.

[Joy Hoadley]

Yes, I love it.

[Brian Greene]

University sweaters, piggy fronting, T shirts, commercial break T shirts, hats and a free sticker with every single order. Go there. Support the show. Rock your gear, you know, because we've been talking to you incessantly about it for two weeks. So there you go. Go now. Buy it now. Link by now links on the [e-mail] text text me if you need me to send you the link. 212-4333 TCB. That's 212-433-3822 add the commercial break on Instagram TCB podcast on tick tock and YouTube.com the commercial break for all the episodes on video, including this one right now. Okay, Chrissy, that's all I can do for you today?

[Joy Hoadley]

I think so.

[Brian Greene]

I will tell you that I love.

[Joy Hoadley]

You and I love you.

[Brian Greene]

I will say best to you and best to you out there in the podcast podcast universe. Until next time, we will say, we do say and we must say goodbye.

[Rachel]

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[Brian Greene]

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[Rachel]

Hi, I'm Kristen Bell and if you know my husband Dax, then you also know he loves shopping for a car. Selling a car? Not so much.

[Ricky Smiley]

We're really doing this, huh?

[Rachel]

Thankfully, Carvana makes it easy. Answer a few questions, put in your VIN or license and done. We sold ours in minutes this morning and they'll come pick it up and pay us this afternoon.

[Chris Hoadley]

Bye bye Truckee.

[Rachel]

Of course, we kept the favorite.

[Ricky Smiley]

Hello other Truckee.

[Rachel]

Sell your car with Carvana today. Terms and conditions apply.

[Ricky Smiley]

Sam.

[Rachel]

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[Brian Greene]

Support for this podcast and the following message comes from America's Navy the Navy offers new graduates hands on training and experience in careers like computer science, aviation and medicine, plus education and sign on bonuses. Parents help your grads start their career [e-mail].