Rush Limbaugh is a conservative spoken-word radio icon. It’s safe to say that Limbaugh changed the face of talk radio and paved the way for others like Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, and Mark Levin.
Before replacing Morton Downey Jr. at KFBK in Sacramento in 1984 and going national in 1988, he held various jobs, including a stint in music radio in Pittsburgh, where he was known as Jeff Christy.
Listening to the aircheck, you can hear the familiar cadence and phrasing that would serve him well in talk radio.
Here are two airchecks from Pittsburg in 1971 and 1974.
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Jeff Lynn serves as Editor of Barrett Media’s Music Radio coverage. Prior to joining Barrett Media, Jeff spent time programming in Milwaukee, Omaha, Cleveland, Des Moines, and Madison for multiple radio groups, including iHeartMedia, Townsquare Media, NRG Media, and Entercom (now Audacy). He also worked as a Country Format Editor for All Access until the outlet shut down in August 2023.
To get in touch with Jeff by email, reach him at Jeff@BarrettMedia.com.
