In The News

'Bubba Bo' gives up his spot on 700 WLW's all-night trucking radio show

Eric “Bubba Bo” Boulanger, a popular radio personality, has stepped down from his weekend spot on 700 WLW’s all-night radio show for truckers. During the broadcast of Dec. 29, Boulanger announced it was his last show on the 50,000-watt clear channel station due to health reasons.

“I enjoyed doing the show, but I’ve had some health scares in the past year and it’s pretty clear I have to make an adjustment,” Boulanger told Land Line. “You can’t work every day 52 weeks a year. Better health requires a better lifestyle, and I’m not Superman. … I’ve been putting my body clock upside down for years, and I need to establish a sensible work schedule.”

America’s Trucking Network is a nightly variety program hosted by Steve Sommers. Sommers was a natural heir to the show that for years was hosted by his father, Dale “Truckin’ Bozo” Sommers. The Bozo left the show due to health reasons that eventually led to his death in 2012.

Boulanger was hired in April 2004 to host the show on weekends when Sommers stepped up to host the program during the week.

From midnight to 5 a.m. on weekends, Bubba Bo has been chatting with truckers on everything trucking, automotive, politics, racing and more during the terrestrial broadcast based in Cincinnati, Ohio.

For Boulanger, weekend hosting on ATN has been a second job. He also does a daily show on 99.3 FM WSCH (“Eagle Country”) out of Lawrenceburg, Ind., and will continue to do that show.

WLW has described Boulanger as one of those “radio personalities that has done it all – news, sports, talk, promotions, public affairs and music radio.” He found truckers a friendly audience and, in order to understand the industry better, he got his CDL (Class B) in 2008. That was also the year he became a member of OOIDA.

Boulanger is closely associated with a not-for-profit charitable group called the Jacob Russell Boulanger Memorial Fund, or JRBM fund. It was a group inspired by the untimely passing in 2009 of Bubba Bo’s teenage son. The group’s Facebook page acknowledged Bubba Bo’s final broadcast, and many posters wished him well.

According to WLW, no replacement for Boulanger has been named.

Copyright © 2014 landlinemag.com. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from landlinemag.com