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Voices in My Head: The Gary Burbank Story
Greg Hoard's beguiling new biography following on the heels of the bestselling Joe, Rounding Third and Heading for Home is the story of the most fortunate man alive. Born Billy Purser in Memphis, this most fortunate man had only one job his entire life, entertaining. He began with the small audience of his perplexed family, expanded through his schoolyard, the army, and then torched a round of undermanned radio outposts in the Deep South.
In time, the funniest man in America nobody knows about became Gary Burbank, captivating one of the largest radio audiences in America. The Mouth That Ate America, he was called. The town cowlick . . . the guy from college who ate bugs for money. He was begat by Ernie Kovacs and Jonathan Winters, a kind of juiced up, downhome Garrison Keillor, if the place had been called Swamp Woebegone.
In truth, he defied description.
Until now, that is.
For Greg Hoard's novelistic Voices in My The Gary Burbank Story lays out Burbank's beginnings in the blues and honky-tonk culture of mid-century Memphis, moving on to a rousing cast of characters including (but not limited to) Elvis Presley, Luis Aparicio, Whispering Bill Anderson, a monkey named Phyllis Chapman, various musicians and gospel singers, J.R. Ewing, and a crowd of the most happily deranged DJs in radio history.
What emerges is a hilarious, fantastical behind-the-scenes picture of a world that has all but disappeared; an airwave universe in which Burbank created a cast of characters so vivid and gleefully real, they populated their own deranged country.
For nearly a quarter of a century, these characters spilled out of Burbank's imagination (and that of his zany stable of writers) until they became household words all over the powerful WLW perpetually befuddled Gilbert Gnarley, bombastic Reverend Deuteronomy Skaggs, irascible Earl Pitts, transvestite anchorman Dan Buckles, Ranger Bob, and all their unholy offspring.
What emerges most plainly from Hoard's colorful story is the solid piece of remarkable craft that is Burbank's creation; himself. At once talebearer, skit-maker, provocateur, and social critic, Burbank was doing schtick before anybody around him including himself knew what he was doing. Then he kept on doing it, gaining ever more originality and control.
Possessed by the voices in his head, Burbank blew himself and them across the bandwidth, a nova of original comedy and comment. Hoard's careful recording of Burbank and his voices, imbedded in Hoard's own cinematic narrative, is one interconnected bit of exhilarating schtick.
All of it bears joyful testimony to Burbank's talent as an American original.
In time, the funniest man in America nobody knows about became Gary Burbank, captivating one of the largest radio audiences in America. The Mouth That Ate America, he was called. The town cowlick . . . the guy from college who ate bugs for money. He was begat by Ernie Kovacs and Jonathan Winters, a kind of juiced up, downhome Garrison Keillor, if the place had been called Swamp Woebegone.
In truth, he defied description.
Until now, that is.
For Greg Hoard's novelistic Voices in My The Gary Burbank Story lays out Burbank's beginnings in the blues and honky-tonk culture of mid-century Memphis, moving on to a rousing cast of characters including (but not limited to) Elvis Presley, Luis Aparicio, Whispering Bill Anderson, a monkey named Phyllis Chapman, various musicians and gospel singers, J.R. Ewing, and a crowd of the most happily deranged DJs in radio history.
What emerges is a hilarious, fantastical behind-the-scenes picture of a world that has all but disappeared; an airwave universe in which Burbank created a cast of characters so vivid and gleefully real, they populated their own deranged country.
For nearly a quarter of a century, these characters spilled out of Burbank's imagination (and that of his zany stable of writers) until they became household words all over the powerful WLW perpetually befuddled Gilbert Gnarley, bombastic Reverend Deuteronomy Skaggs, irascible Earl Pitts, transvestite anchorman Dan Buckles, Ranger Bob, and all their unholy offspring.
What emerges most plainly from Hoard's colorful story is the solid piece of remarkable craft that is Burbank's creation; himself. At once talebearer, skit-maker, provocateur, and social critic, Burbank was doing schtick before anybody around him including himself knew what he was doing. Then he kept on doing it, gaining ever more originality and control.
Possessed by the voices in his head, Burbank blew himself and them across the bandwidth, a nova of original comedy and comment. Hoard's careful recording of Burbank and his voices, imbedded in Hoard's own cinematic narrative, is one interconnected bit of exhilarating schtick.
All of it bears joyful testimony to Burbank's talent as an American original.
341 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
3 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
Greg Hoard
5 booksGreg Hoard was a former newspaper journalist and television sports broadcaster and the author of the Joe Nuxhall biography, JOE: Rounding Third And Heading For Home.
He joined the sports department at The Cincinnati Post in 1979 as a feature reporter and columnist, and The Cincinnati Enquirer in 1984 as the Reds beat writer. Hoard moved into television and worked for WLWT-TV in Cincinnati, Ohio, from 1990 to 1993, before joining WXIX-TV as sports director until 2005. He ultimately quit television work, saying he never felt comfortable in the medium.
He joined the sports department at The Cincinnati Post in 1979 as a feature reporter and columnist, and The Cincinnati Enquirer in 1984 as the Reds beat writer. Hoard moved into television and worked for WLWT-TV in Cincinnati, Ohio, from 1990 to 1993, before joining WXIX-TV as sports director until 2005. He ultimately quit television work, saying he never felt comfortable in the medium.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 21, 2021
Crazy and He Knows It
I like the fact that Gary took all his craziness and made a career with it. He remained the same from the beginning and still is, evidently. Good read!
I like the fact that Gary took all his craziness and made a career with it. He remained the same from the beginning and still is, evidently. Good read!
January 3, 2026
Great read! Pretty interesting learning his background and what made the man tick. The last part, his WLW years, was a walk down memory lane.
April 22, 2012
I lived 150 miles from Cincinnati, but I used to listen to Gary Burbank on WLW on my car radio. I enjoyed reading about his life and career in radio. As a bonus, the copy of this book that I borrowed from the library was signed by Gary Burbank and Greg Hoard!
May 8, 2012
Thoroughly enjoyed this book about the funniest man you probably never heard of. Of all the things I missed when I moved away from the WLW listening area (greater Cincinnati region), I missed listening to Gary Burbank the most (well, maybe Marty and Joe also).
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews