Legendary broadcaster Rush Limbaugh is obviously best known for his political savvy and candid commentary, but one of his most charming character traits was his sense of humor. James Golden explores the lighter, funnier side of Rush, with some behind-the-scenes stories, the origin of Rush’s best bits and some highlights of over 30 years of the Rush Limbaugh Show. Additionally, James chats with political satirist, impressionist and long time contributor to the show, Paul Shanklin and replays some of their favorite bits and parodies over the years. This episode also contains an appearance from Radio Hall of Fame inductee and former syndicated radio host, Neal Boortz, who narrates a special feature dedicated to Rush’s own induction into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1993.
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If you missed any episodes of Russia Limbaugh The Man Behind the Golden E I B Microphone, You've missed more great stories from some of Russia's closest friends, family, and colleagues. All previous episodes are available now on I Heart Radio or wherever you listen to your podcast. Today, on Russia Limba The Man Behind the Golden E I B Microphone, we take a look at the lighter side of Russia Laba and the Russia Limbus Show. You're gonna hear from Paul Shanklin, or, as Rush would call him, White comedian Paul Shanklin. Once Paul started up with the songs and everything, it just I think we all know is that Paul's talent was so good that they just said, Okay, we gotta hire this guy. Plus anybody that's listened to Rush for the full Ride remembers the early days, the humor that came from the homeless updates, that came from the feminist updates, the gay community rights update. My favorite was the animal rights update. That was Rush and Mike Mamone creatively together doing something that later would just chafe the left, but we had so many laughs from it. Now did Rush always have a wicked sense of humor. Yes, and you can hear that that humor inside the remarks that he was making. He was very witty, He was very funny, quite naturally, would find something humorous to say on many levels. I mean things he used to say, politics is show bus for the ugly. He talked about he talked about the uglow Americans, which was just hysterical, but made a point. It was it was he would he would find a way to pierce sometimes serious issues with a unique sense of humor. Rush would just let loose and we'd have you know, we could spend two days talking about the Arkansas toesucker and things like that. And it was his miracle. He had a great sense of fumer about everything. Whether you listened every day you are at the E I B Network and the Russia Limpball program heard on over six hundred great radio stations where every now and then nation's leading radio talk show, the most eagerly intersepted program are the stories you've never heard from the people behind the scenes who knew him best and loved him most. Rushman Wall having more fundly human being, it could be allowed to have Rush Limbaugh the man behind the Golden e IP microphone, hosted by James Golden, born from the tragedy of nine eleven, The Tunnel to Towers Foundation supports our nation's fallen and catastrophically injured service members, first responders, and their families. Thanks to your generosity, the stand Up for Betsy Rose campaign, a five million dollar donation was made to the foundation to honor dozens of heroes killed or injured in the line of duty protecting our communities and our freedom. That's shocking, that's disorienting, that's life changing enough, but the prospect of losing a home and losing everything else and not knowing where to go next. Helping to maintain the nest, to maintain the home is one of the great offers of security that people in these circumstances need, and you've made it all possible. Your help changed lives forever for the better. Now, I'm asking you to join Tune to Towers on their mission to do good for America's heroes and their families. Donate eleven dollars a month at T two t dot org. That's t the number two t dot org. Any listener to the Rational Bushell know was that parodies fun huge part of the equation, and there has been no one over the years that has bought more fun in terms of parodies to the Russi lan Bus Show than the gentleman We're gonna hear from today, Paul Shanklin. Now, Paul is not the only one that has contributed to the fund to the parodies. Early on the show, we had guys like Doug Rice who sent in Ditto's rush. We had uh, we had Paul Silhan and but when Paul Shanklin came on the scene, everything changed. We had showed, we had parodies, we had parodies like we've never had before, songs. This guy turned out to be, I don't know, a godsend. He was something special. Hey, Paul, welcome to Russia. Lumba, the man behind the Golden e I B Mike, Well, thank you and this is my as normal as I ever get normal voice. So this is what you said, can you do one of the other? What's this? Maybe? Look James, this ain't our Just get on with it, Paul, Okay, I have to ask you this. Okay, you're gonna have to get okay, pick it up or not. Thanks Reverend Paul. How did you first learn of Rusch Lumbo? How did you? How did you? When did you come in? When did you hear the show for the first time? When did you do? How did this happen? The first time I heard it? And it was in the it was in the early nineties. I can't remember the year, but I know who introduced it because it was the local show host at w MC sevent in Memphis, where I'm from, and uh, Oliver c Reid and he he basically read the Wall Street Journal every morning for three hours. Uh, so you didn't have to. And he, uh, he got into talking about this show that's gonna come on. Yeah, it's discuss Russia Lumbo. I don't think it's much to it. It's a flash the pan. He's not gonna make it, but but give it a listen. And I listened. I was hooked, I mean the first day. And uh, Interestingly, I always thought Rush was a lot older than he was, not because of the way he sounded, but he was mature, and that was a difference in talk radio. Somebody somebody that was I don't know. He just had a had a sense of having been and had had his own ideas of way things were Okay, so you listened and oh yeah, you, like millions of us, got hooked to the show. What made you decide to I want to contribute? I want to be a part of this what? What was what was that? Like? Well, I had I had been trying, um to to do something in local radio for some time and uh, and I'd pretty much given up on it. Uh. My friend Mike Ramirez, he's a uh and I have to say, he's a two two time so they get this right, two time Pulitzer Prize winner, uh for being a political cartoonist. And we'd play golf together and when he was, especially in the short game or on tea off either way, I'd say, wait a minute, that you ain't doing that right. Let me help and mess him up because he's a natural athlete. I'm not. So it was the only way I could win. And he kept he said, you you've got to get into radio. You gotta get in. So he introduced me to people and I'm particularly or I used to be shy to I'll learn it didn't pay and uh, I just uh it just never could find anybody that would let me on their show. And uh, it was in the September I was at the fair with my wife and we walked up to uh to a guy off the midway and uh, it was Kenny Bozak with old he's ninety eight point seven here in Memphis and he uh, he was at this booth. It was the do year move contest for Turner Dairy and he was stuck there recording people doing their cowmu as they came off the midway drunk. And then they were later going to have a move off, which I didn't win, by the way, but I said yeah, So he said, do you want me to he said? I asked him this, and he goes, so, what's going on and he goes, oh, you know, the cow moving and you know we'll have a move off. I said, do you want me to move like ross Paro? And he said, yeah, whatever. So I said, look, I'm only going to do this for the volunteer. So here goes what I've done the volunteers. Can I start over again? And he said, would you talk to our morning guy? That was great? So I was on their show. And you know, of course local radio doesn't pay anything. You know, you might get a free half of a steak and a third of a baked potato with this coupon. You know, they give me all kinds of prizes to go out to eat and all that kind of thing. And it was fun to do whatever I wanted to, uh for local radio and uh but of course Ramire has had bigger plans for him. He kept bugging me for eight you gotta get on the Limboll Show. You gotta get on the Limbo Show. Gotta get on the limb Show. And I said, yeah, okay, Well I've done some songs, and we recorded several things and and had him on tape and uh so he put it all into it. He was on back in the ancient days and quarter inch shape. And I sent a tape to Johnny Donovan. Waited a week. I didn't hear anything, and called Johnny Donovan and went something like this, Hello. I said, oh this isa I got. That's such a thing, and don't didn't get it. Show me another one. So hung up and dutifully got together the same stuff, put it in a package FedEx all the way up to New York. Waited a week, called again, Dope, didn't get it. Send me another one. Send him a third tape. I'm persistent I might not be much of anything else, but I am persistent. Send him a third tape. Called him and he he said, yeah, we got it. It was great. We'll be in touch. And I was kind of the jack did. I kind of gave up, and Ramirez said, you didn't. You didn't do any voices when you call. I said, no, I didn't do any voices when I called. He's he's real busy. He's got this big voice, scary big voice, just like James Golden, scary, big voice. And I don't know what to do. And I just said, I just hung up the phone. He's a calling back and just do Clinton. If you called back and do Clinton. He's got it. He's got to listen to you. So I called him back. He said, hello, Johnny, this is Bill Clinton. And I know you and Rush are really tight, and for some reason, he and I have really fallen out over this gaze in the military thing. Can you talk to him and put us back together as friends? And he said, who is this? I said, this is Paul Shanklin from Memphis, Tennessee. He goes, that was great. Good, you send me a taper. Honest truth. That's the honest truth. And I've been pulling his leg ever since. Uh, and that's how I got started. He's he he kind of coached me. You know, I didn't know a whole lot about radio, and and Johnny has been my mentor and coach and guide all along. And uh, we've had so much fun together, although I have driven him a little crazy from time to time. When did you start doing voices? Paul? Wouldn't you realize we had a talent for this? Well, the thing was, it was something that came natural. My my mother's family were marines and postal workers, and she was a chemist. So you can tell that was not the humorous side. My father was a veterinarian and uh, his my father's side of the family, they all do that. I mean, they were known far and wide for what they call in the country mocking folks. And people didn't like people that mocked folks. And uh, when I worked on the farm Tommy Swain, we used to say Paul even me and hateful because I did his voice, you know, And uh, I'm not. I was pretty scrawny, so and I was the youngest of five kids, so my best defense was satire, chance and counters unusual circumstances and seemingly unimportant events change the course of history every day. Let's find out what happened on this day in history. So you're having a good time. Oh yeah, you were right about that steam. He puts on a real swanky party. But he sure has a lot of kids to send to college. Oh they're not his kids. They're massus is Who's they're paid to give massages for guests. Oh you should get one. Oh no, I I can't imagine. I've never We'll rely here. You don't really like it? Do you really think I should? Absolutely? It will become a session. And that's what happened on this day in history. Soon the biggest tell us since Jeffrey Steele's dossier is not hitting the shelves. Still mulling it over by Robert Mueller. How can a story written to protect a corrupt former FBI official by an equally corrupt former FBI official be true? Find out when it's leaked in little bitty bits leading up to the mid term elections. Learn how quotation marks and presidential tweets have actually possibly been used to obstruct justice. That this isn't the only hotel bit in question, and that Republican and Russian are both spelled with an r if half the bias sources and the outrageous tell all or true Donald Trump will lose House and Senate seats, we hope unofficially leaked by Robert Mueller to the press from now till November still Mully get over quoting anonymous sources in Russian who sounds suspiciously like the Clintons. Over the course of this series, we've been hearing the biographical journey of Russia's life, narrated by some of his friends, family, and fellow broadcasters. Today, author and former radio host and fellow Radio Hall of Fame inductee Neil boards The Life of Russia Limbaugh, Chapter seven, narrated by Neil Boortz. When you think about what it means to be inducted into the Paul of Fame, you might think first of legendary names like Ruth Aaron, maybe Montana Marino. Here's a few more for you, Freed, Harvey Limbaugh. That's right, members of the Radio Hall of Fame, and Rush Limbaugh is obviously right there a member, but unlike the others who typically have to wait until the end of their careers, it was clear early on that the Hall needed to make room for Rush. After only five years of syndication and overwhelming record breaking success, he became part of a prestigious class of inductees in nineteene For a guy from Cape Girardo, Missouri, fired from his first seven radio jobs before finding any sort of success behind the microphone, the entire experience was nothing short of humbling. So many standards of excellence have been set by previous inductees, including tonight's, that all I can hope to do is try to approximate them as I go through my career, and if I am one day judged to have done that, then I will consider it to have been worth it. In the success, I say what I say to the American people, and any chance I have a chance to speak to them, I do, and I am so grateful and so honored. Regardless what I mean to them, I am certain that I will never mean as much to them as they mean to me. After patiently waiting through a critical introductory speech from Sally Jesse Raphael based on their political differences, Rush confidently strolled up to the podium and delivered an acceptance speech full of class, grace, and gratitude. In the speech, he offered his thanks to the American people, family, and colleagues, and ironically enough, his competition and those who disagreed with you. When I came to New York, there was one man. I said, here's the standard. That's what I'm up against. Here's who I consider my competition to be. If Larry King had not shown that syndicated talk programming would work, I wouldn't have had the chance. I thank Larry King as well. I thank all of you. Thank you so much for allowing you to run along. Thank you, no matter if you're an athlete, a musician, or a broadcaster. Being inducted into the Hall of Fame as usually the crowning achievement of a long career finished as you head off in the sunset. But for Rush Limbaugh, it was only the beginning, with still more than twenty five years of excellence and broadcasting to come. Hey, James Golden, here, you know what It's time that you treat yourself to a little bit of luxury. You know the company, It's my pillow. But what you may not know is that my pillow makes more than just the incredible pillows that have captivated America. They make sheets and These aren't just any sheets. These sheets are smooth, they're soft, they're comfortable. You'll look forward to getting under these sheets every night. I know I do. My pillow Geeza sheets have a luxurious feel. You're going to love. Get yourself the luxury. Get a set of these sheets. They come with a sixty day comfort guarantee. Pillows sheets. Don't forget the incredible slippers from my Pillow. They're available from my Pillow. They have a level of comfort you need to experience. Log on to my pillow dot com clicking on the new radio listeners specials and use promo code icon. Lots of incredible offers there. Now that's my pillow dot com promo code icon. Paul. I want to talk about the one that generated the most controversy and it remains one of my favorites. You know what that is, don't you? That song? Yes? I that song. Let's talk about that the song, that song that yeah brought the magic. That's actually the thing is is that you I. I learned a very important lesson with that song. What did you learn? Don't quote three Democrats in one song? I quoted the guy who wrote the piece, Barack Obama. The magic Negro. I quoted Joe Biden, and I quoted Al Sharpton, and I got in more trouble than I've ever been in. And uh, well, since at least seventh grade, Barack, the Magic Negro still still remains up there. I think it may be my number one favorite that you've ever done. And part of it is because of the insanity that it created. The left wind absolutely berserk, and it was. Yeah, it was a song that was written from a piece that was written in the Los Angeles Times and the columnist wrote, matter, Yeah, well, what kind of flak did you get from it? I was on vacation when it really got big. I put it on an album and it it wound up at a at a Republican event, and uh, somebody got wound up and given out by a friend of mine just giving out my album, and of course they looked down at and some other Republican no doubt is the one that turned him in because they were all vying for the GOP leadership position, party party chairman, and uh, somebody freaked out, and you know, it's it's it is what it is. And there's a good bit of quote from everybody that other than me that was involved in it, and how Sharpton felt about it, Joe felt him about him being bright and new and clean and all of that. And Uh. I had somebody say, is there anything you uh, if you had to do it over again, is there anything you could do differently about the song? I said, yeah, really there is. The base is a little tubby range. All right, you do a wicked Lewis Farrecan the million Man March and Louis Farrakans sort of yes, you know. That's where I got my greatest compliment one time. The greatest compliment I ever got was when my mother called me and she said they played Louis Ferricon on the Limball Show today. Was was that you? Wow? My own mother didn't recognize my voice. Hello, my sister, Hello, my brother. I'm a crazy, crazy man. In a sea of misdirected candidates trying to unseat Donald Trump, only one has proven she can win. Hillary. Only Hillary can win over moderate liberals, progressives, and socialists by reaching out and pretending to be whatever you want her to be. She can be a hawk, a dove, a sophisticated Yankee, or a diet in the world pig riding Southern Democrat, and since she has proven she can endure the physical rigors of the campaign with some assistance and a d a compliant ramps and elevators in the fight against Donald Trump, it's time to bring our best. It's time to have a proven candidate. It's time Joe Joe clamp she's running against her. Oh yeah, right, well, it's I thinking you weren't we doubt hat you'll be the sens with Governor Andrew Culomo. Let's listen to it as he gets an important call from a close advisor. Hello, I need you to do something important. Hey, Ma, I'm kind of busy right now. I gotta respond to some stuff. You respond to me and I might save your fer. I want you to build up your constituency by coming to the home I know and talk to the little old ladies in the retirement home. Yeah, yeah, I get it. I get it, but I can't right now. A lot of lonely women here would appreciate some of that special attention from you. A little hockey kissy will go along way to rebuild your political REAMA. What have you got to louse Andrew the governorship? Mike, I can't, I'm busy. You know I can't keep you Saturday, Gordon join us next time? Are microphones take you behind the scenes? What isn't Paul? This has been spectacular. Thank you man, I really appreciate you. Let me let me ask you to leave us with this. Your thoughts, your thoughts about Russilan Ball, who he was, the impact, the funny, your thoughts about working with the show and what you have gotten out of the experience of working with Rush on the Russlan Blood Program. Well, you know, it's it's one thing for us to be, you know, in the background, and and you know, we had our contributions. People knew we did things, but he took all the arrows. And that's hard, uh to to have personal people writing articles. And I got a little of that on the Magic Negro and some other stuff that I had done, but I didn't get it for decades. And uh, to have the thick skin and still hold your values up, that was that was amazing. And how he's different to me than many other show hosts was that he was interesting. Um, you know, we all kind of knew it what the news of the day was because we're watching Fox or we're listening to something else. And before the show and we're thinking, what's gonna Russian us about that? He might he might talk a out whatever the news of the day was for ten minutes. Then he would go to what he thought was important, would be something completely different and more interesting and more informative of behind the scenes and all that. But he was interesting for three hours a day. I had to do that. I mean, that's it. It seems easy. But you've hosted, You've done some things in radio that I haven't done. I've done a little bit hosting for local radio here, and it wears you out. It's not just you know, you get in front of a microphone and talk. You gotta have something to say that people will. You gotta be interesting for three hours or actually interesting for five minutes because somebody will change the channel. So, I mean, he was. He was just amazing like that. And again the fact that he would you know, he would praise me, but he would let me do you know what, I what I wanted to do. Uh, And it didn't get in the way of that at all. Um At one time though, kit Kitt said, yeah, is this this girl, she's she works to the show, She's got an idea. I'm gonna send it to you and you know, just do what you do, what you want to with it, and and uh and it was actually pretty good and I used it and and then uh uh this time I got it. Uh, I got it from Rush and uh. He said, you know, I want you, I want you to do this. The same girl's name on the on the email. Um, let me look at it, and I might. And I emailed him back and said, well, look, I like it. I really like it, but I might change a rhyme or two here because I'm thinking this and this, this, this, and I wrote it up and kind of changed. He goes, no, don't change anything. It was the John Edwards song I Am a Woman, and it was written by Catherine And of course Kid had never told me who she was. And I told I told Angie. I said, well, what what in the world? I said, he Russia. Doesn't want to change anything, this girl wrote, She goes, probably his girlfriend, Paul and I went heads up then and Kid Kidd minuted to it. After that. He goes, yeah, I did tell you how funny. That's awesome. Well, Paul, this has been a real treat. Those of us that have been with the show for so long. All of us. We we all love you, your joy to work with and and we've enjoyed your parodies too, even though we've heard all of them over and over fifteen twenty thousand. Yes, join the commercial, but they never cease to entertain. Well, thank you, and you have an amazing talent. Well, I'll either go to jail ford or the neighbors will get me. Well, the neighbors might come get you, but they'll do so with laughter. Thank you so much for being with us, Paul, as they used their pitchforks. Yes, thanks, Paul. We appreciate you being with us. Thank you, man, I really appreciate you. Is it really true? Are you really harmless? Lovable? Totally? Totally. I'm one of the nicest, sweetest, quietest people you would ever meet. I'm one of the most humble people that you would ever run into. Riley, she's laughing. But it's it's it happens. It happens to be the truth you asked him. I wouldn't lie to you about it. If I were a mean person, I would tell you and that I would hang up on you. Okay, my mom's wanted to marry you since she was fifteen since he was fifteen hold is now eight team. Thanks for sending me his limball letters. Wait a minute, he's sending you his used limball letters. Well, I'll tell what we'll do. We will send you a subscription and charge it to our production budget. We'll take it up to Johnny Donovan's budget. That's what I'll tell you what. I'll tell you what. Let's do. I've got a better idea, Dan, Here's what we're gonna do. You must organize a bake sale. Are you married, Yeah, there's your wife bake well, yeah, but she hates your show. That's another reason I can't get the letters. She won't. Let's put the finances to it. Then is up to you to go out and earn money independent, independently for your wife. So have her bakes and stuff, and don't tell her why this is. This is a great way to get even. I was a smoke in DJ. I was ahead of my time. I kept getting fired for playing music I liked. Yeah, those were those were, those were fun days. But here we go. It's the Rush Hawkins singers and thank the more than Billy come on sart' the thank God the Happy Harry have a fars of Black Lives Matter, singers rush to due on the loan gone, What miss You? Larbislaw, a soprano World written down opera singer from Dallas, Texas. We had no idea what was coming and just came in one day, So did so did Thank the Lord Russia Limbs. I just came in one day. Just blew me away. Now the Update, which was a musical portion of the program, one of the principal ways that I pioneered combining politics with comedy and music. A lot of people have done it since, but it first happened here. The combination serious discussion, irreverent humor, the playing of rock and roll music on programs that people thought the audience would not be interested in, pioneering stuff, and it was used to educate, to laugh, to create humor, and also inform people of things I wanted them to know about. The Left Barney Frank up, date time Homeless, Ain't got no Sometimes I sing with this, I'm alone wrong to bring home General Dincin's Update. There's a hold up in the Bronk stood it's lights. There's a time to German harmom that's backed up to Jackson's rison. There's this Country Shot, a Child's Resistance Wild General David Dinkins, where are you? It's time for a timber update, Time for a gay community update. Themes Hulks a vocal portrayal here by the late and Great Klaus Norman. This is our animal rights update theme. Andy Williams and his elevator Shoes with the through on Free the Piece update, Slim Woman Sat when the Sun Shines on the Mountain and the Knight All Run. A feminist update. The sem Nazis are livid at me because of well, general principles you done, And that's how we taught. That's how we laughed and made people aware of the mockery of the left and what they really were and what things they believed in. And we occasionally go back to the group yard forgotten hits and relive it. Ladies and gentlemen. Now it is getting good. It's getting good everywhere out there. I have just about laughed myself into paralysis here about ten minutes ago, and sturdily brought me something. It's in the New York Daily News today that I missed on the lesbian farmers story here. I don't know that I'm gonna be able to explain this to you without cracking up. It's a New York Daily news story. Rush Limball warns bomba regime is sending government paid lesbian farmers to invade red stakes. What they're trying to do is convince lesbians to become farmers. He told listeners. There's a specific, sinister motive to the shift, Limbaugh claimed, ruining conservative voting blocks. And then I said, I'm like you, I never before in my life knew that lesbians wanted to be farmers. I suspect what really ticked them off was my next line. And like I say, I could have thrown in things like about zucchini and and carrots in any number, but I didn't. I kept it above board. The next line was, I never knew that lesbians wanted to get behind the horse and the plow and start burrowing. That's probably what took them all, lesbian I wanted to get behind the horse. Even laughed at my own line when I read it. My own line when I read it. Thanks for listening to this episode of Russian Limbaugh, The Man behind the Golden ei B Microphone. Our thanks today to our very special guest, Paul Shanklin, the Witty the creative the white comedian Paul Shanklin, who has been a part of the Rush Limbaugh Show for these many years. Next episode a real treat, We're gonna take you behind the scenes with two people that have been with Rush for decades. Rush referred to them as Coco and Cookie. You'll find out who they really are and what they did with the Russi land Ball Show on our next episode. Russia Limbaugh The Man Behind the Golden E I B Microphone is produced by Chris Kelly and Phil to Howard, the best producers in America, Production assistance Mike Mamone and the executive producers Craig Kitchen and Julie Talbot. Our program distributed worldwide by Premier Networks, found on the I Heart Radio app or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. This is James Golden. This is both Nervling. This is James Golden. I'm honored to be your host for this and every single episode of Russia Limbaugh The Man Behind the Golden E I B Microphone. Thank you for being with us. H