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Roy D. Mercer

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Roy D. Mercer
First appearanceHow Big 'a Boy Are Ya? Vol. 1
Last appearanceRed, White & Bruised
Created byBrent Douglas, Phil Stone
Voiced byBrent Douglas
In-universe information
GenderMale
OccupationPrank caller
NationalityAmerican

Roy D. Mercer was a fictional character created by American disc jockeys Brent Douglas and Phil Stone on radio station KMOD-FM in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Douglas, who performed Mercer's voice, used the character as a vehicle for comedy sketches in which he performed prank calls. The two released twelve albums of prank call recordings under the Roy D. Mercer name via Virgin Records and Capitol Records. The character was essentially retired in 2013 after Stone's death.

History

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Brent Douglas and Phil Stone, disc jockeys at rock music radio station KMOD-FM in Tulsa, Oklahoma, created the Roy D. Mercer character in 1993.[1] Initially, they used the character on comedy sketches for the radio station. Originally, the prank call sketches were a part of KMOD's morning show. By 1997, Capitol Records Nashville began issuing the sketches on compact disc. The first was titled How Big a Boy Are Ya?, Volume 1, in reference to one of Mercer's catch phrases.[2] Eleven additional compilation albums have been released on the Capitol and Virgin Records labels. A Virgin Records Nashville executive noted that Mercer's early albums managed to sell between 250,000 and 300,000 copies, primarily due to word of mouth, without any promotion to consumers or radio airplay of the album tracks.[3]

In most of the sketches, Mercer will demand that the recipient of a call pay him money for some incident, and if the recipient refuses, he will threaten them with violence. Mercer has been described as speaking with "a mush-mouthed Southern drawl" and his style of comedy has been described as "not exactly obscene ... [but] border[ing] on offensive".[4] Many of the recipients of the calls are suggested by their friends who supply Mercer with information about the potential recipients.[4] Three notable people that Douglas and Stone had called were Bill Goldberg (”Roy Vs. Goldberg”), cinematographer Barry Markowitz, as suggested by Billy Bob Thornton (“Yankee in a Strange Land”), and Chris Bray, production manager for Steppenwolf (“Tragic Carpet Ride”).

On October 12, 2012, the Phil and Brent Show ended its 27-year run with KMOD-FM radio. Forty days later, on November 21, Phil Stone died from causes related to heart disease at the age of 57.[5]

John Bean's "Leroy Mercer" character of the 1980s

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Many claim that Roy D. Mercer was inspired by "Leroy Mercer," a character created in Tennessee by Knoxville resident John R. Bean, who made prank calls circulated by hand-to-hand tape exchange in the early 1980s. Leroy Mercer, voiced by John Bean, also called individuals and businesses threatening an "ass-whuppin".[6] There are many parallels and similarities to the calls, with Roy D. Mercer using many of the former Leroy Mercer's lines.[7][8][9][10][11] John Bean died from cancer in his early 30s in 1984; Stone and Douglas said that they originally invented their Roy D. Mercer character in 1990 before his official creation in 1993, and that part of the name and lines used in Roy D. Mercer's recordings was copied from John Bean.[12]

Discography

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Studio albums

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Year Album Chart Positions[13]
US Comedy US Country US Heat US
1996 How Big 'a Boy Are Ya? Vol. 1 39 28
How Big 'a Boy Are Ya? Vol. 2 43 33
1997 How Big 'a Boy Are Ya? Vol. 3 31 11
1998 How Big 'a Boy Are Ya? Vol. 4 19 6 160
How Big 'a Boy Are Ya? Vol. 5 13 4 138
1999 How Big 'a Boy Are Ya? Vol. 6 16 5 164
2000 How Big 'a Boy Are Ya? Vol. 7: Hangin' It Up? 32 22
2001 Roy D. Mercer vs. Yankees 24 17
2003 Roy D. Mercer Hits the Road 31 23
2004 Get Well Soon 7 52 49
2006 Black & Blue 3 31 146
2013 Red, White & Bruised 7

Compilation albums

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Year Album Chart Positions[13]
US Comedy US Country US Heat
2000 Greatest Fits: The Best of How Big 'a Boy Are Ya? 26
2002 The Roy D. Mercer Family Album 35 47
2007 The Best of Roy D. Mercer Double Wide Vol. 1 8
The Best of Roy D. Mercer Double Wide Vol. 2 9
The Best of Roy D. Mercer Double Wide Vol. 3 7 73
2008 The Best of Roy D. Mercer Double Wide Vol. 4
The Best of Roy D. Mercer Double Wide Vol. 5
The Best of Roy D. Mercer Double Wide Vol. 6
2008 More Greatest Fits 3 40
2010 10 Great Skits 2 45 20
2012 The Very Worst of Roy D. Mercer: Ultimate Fits! 3 75

Music videos

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Year Video Director
1999 "How Big 'a Boy Are Ya?" (with Charlie Daniels)[14] Peter Zavadil

References

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  1. ^ "Roy D. Mercer — he's the Jerky Boys' country cousin". The Oak Ridger. 1999-12-10. Archived from the original on 2008-01-06. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  2. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "allmusic ((( Roy D. Mercer > Biography )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
  3. ^ Flippo, Chet (1999-10-23). "Roy D. Hangs On; Owen Bradley to Be Honored; Kentucky Hall of Fame Set". Billboard. p. 40.
  4. ^ a b McCall, Michael (1998-11-26). "Frankly Speaking: Country comedy, like country music, tries to keep up with the times". Nashville Scene.
  5. ^ "Former 'Phil and Brent' morning show host Phil Stone dies". Tulsa World. November 21, 2012. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  6. ^ Bean, Betty (2008-07-30). "Tales of Bean More anecdotes of John Bean's sly sense of humor". Metro Pulse. Archived from the original on February 26, 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  7. ^ Turczyn, Coury (2008-07-30). "Ass-Whuppin' Time". Metro Pulse. Archived from the original on February 26, 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  8. ^ "Phone prank phenomenon gets his due: Atomic Audio releases 'The Real Leroy Mercer'". The City Paper. 2001-01-18.
  9. ^ "John Bean's Leroy Mercer discovers YouTube". Knoxville News Sentinel. 2008-07-24. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  10. ^ Bean, Betty. "Somebody's Fixin' to Get Their Ass Whupped: The life and death of the true Picasso of prank phone calls, John Bean". PopCult Magazine. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  11. ^ Dills, John (2009-02-10). "The Real John Bean". Trucker News. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  12. ^ Bledsoe, Wayne (2000-01-02). "Prank calls that spread around world now on CD". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  13. ^ a b "Charts & Awards—Roy D. Mercer". Allmusic. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
  14. ^ "CMT : Videos : Roy D. Mercer : How Big'a Boy Are Ya". Country Music Television. Retrieved November 18, 2011.[dead link]
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