Opie and Anthony

Opie (Gregg Hughes, May 23, 1965 - ) and Anthony (Anthony Cumia, April 1961 - ) are the hosts of the XM Satellite Radio program 'The Opie and Anthony Show.' The show is based in New York City and airs on XM channel 202. The show was previously on WNEW-FM in New York, and was earlier on WAAF-FM in Boston (whom they obsessively insult).

Background

Gregg (Opie) Hughes and Anthony Cumia were both raised on Long Island, but did not know each other as kids. Hughes attended SUNY Geneseo. After working as a DJ in a local bar, he was awarded a radio gig spinning records on Long Island at WBAB. Cumia, who did not attend college, began performing songs with his brother Joe, who remains a constant supporter of the 'Opie and Anthony Show'. In August 1994, Hughes received an entry during an O.J. Simpson parody song contest. The song was entitled ?Gonna Electric Shock OJ,? by a local band known as Rotgut, of which Cumia was a member. The song became a hit on Hughes' show, and he invited the Cumia brothers to the studio to play live. This sparked many further appearances, where "Ant & Brother Joe" jumped at any airtime opportunity available. Soon after, Opie and Anthony became the creative and dynamic radio team that listeners enjoyed.

Related Topics:
Long Island - SUNY Geneseo - DJ - August 1994 - O.J. Simpson

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The duo were fired in April 1998 from WAAF in Boston for an April Fool's Day prank involving Mayor Thomas Menino. O&A promised they would return to Boston and get revenge, and they were back on the air on WNEW by June 1998. O&A gained popularity, as the show "spread like a virus", a term often used by O&A and their fans when describing the show. O&A were the #1 Afternoon Drive Show in New York by 2000. By 2001, O&A were syndicated to 22 markets around the country, including WBCN in Boston, a rival of the station that fired O&A earlier. Within a year, they were #1 in several markets, Boston included. They were then joined by Jim Norton, a comedian who toured with Andrew Dice Clay. After their show was cancelled in 2002 for the "Sex For Sam 3" stunt, O&A were forced to wait for their contract to expire for two years. They announced in August 2004 that they had signed with XM Satellite Radio, where they are not subject to FCC guidelines. They began broadcasting on October 4, 2004 with Norton as the third member of the team. They are frequently considered to be one of the first major programs to be broadcast on satellite radio, referring to themselves as The True Pioneers of Satellite Radio (An obvious jibe at Howard Stern's claim that, although he announced his move to satellite radio second (with a 15 month delay until his arrival in 2006), he was the pioneer of hot talk on satellite radio).

Related Topics:
April 1998 - April Fool's Day - Thomas Menino - June 1998 - 2000 - 2001 - WBCN - Jim Norton - Andrew Dice Clay - 2002 - August 2004 - FCC - October 4 - 2004 - Howard Stern

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