The “Rick & Bubba Show” will sign off at year’s end, the duo announced on Thursday. The Syndicated Solutions program is currently heard on more than 60 radio stations and seen on more than 20 television stations across the country from its flagship SummitMedia country WZZK Birmingham, AL (104.7).
“It’s been an incredible 30 years, and we have decided this will be the final year of the ‘Rick & Bubba Show,’” Rick Burgess said on the show.
Bill “Bubba” Bussey credited their audience with making the last 30 years possible.
“That’s the deal. We will finish out this year, and we’re going to go wide open and have a great year and have a lot of flashbacks and memories,” Bussey said.
“In this business, 30 years of the same product and very little change in the lineup is unheard of,” Burgess said.
Burgess reflected on the show’s earliest days, when he was hosting a show alone and recruited Bussey to join.
“Standing in that office in Gadsden, Alabama, with the general manager at the time — ‘The Rick Burgess Extravaganza’ had a recurring character called Bill ‘Bubba’ Bussey, the Engineer — and I remember standing with him at the end of 1993 and telling him that I thought we needed to come back in 1994 as a two-man show,” Burgess recalled. “‘Rick & Bubba.’ And I remember him saying, ‘What am I supposed to do for an engineer?’”
“Because clearly it was giant shoes to fill,” Bussey added.
“I remember saying, ‘We’ll cut a deal that’ll at least give you enough money for a part-time engineer,’” Burgess continued. “‘Not a full-time. I didn’t have that kind of money.’ I told [Bussey] this privately, and I’m going to tell you this publicly. That was one of the best investments I ever made.”
While a final show date was not revealed, Burgess referenced the “middle of December, big show ender.”
“We wanted to know when the show was over before you did, because we didn’t want it to become sad,” Burgess said. “We wanted to end it before we ever became a parody of ourselves.”
Burgess teased that he will remain in radio, as he feels “healthier than he did in his 40s.”
“I will do something beyond this,” Burgess said. “But I want to take the time now to celebrate what we have done and there will be plenty of time to talk about what’s coming.”
Bussey said that he has no plans beyond the show’s end.
“I probably shouldn’t say this, but in the break, I did get a text from Rickey Smiley,” Bussey joked. “So I don’t know what’s available.”