Johnjay & Rich: 20 Years Of Radio Bliss

• It’s been two whole decades… and yet, the honeymoon continues for Johnjay & Rich, who this month celebrate their 20th anniversary as a radio team. The guys first cracked the mic at on iHeartMedia Top 40 KRQQ/Tucson way back on April 9, 2001, and five years later relocated to their current flagship, Top 40 sibling KZZP (104.7 Kiss FM)/Phoenix, where, we are informed, the show continues to be ranked No. 1.

Based on its powerful local success, The Johnjay & Rich Show — hosted by Arizona Broadcasting Hall of Famers Johnjay Van Es and Rich Berra, alongside Kyle Unfug and Suzette Rodriguez — was propelled into syndication via Premiere Networks in 2014 and is currently enjoyed weekdays on 25 stations across this great land, as well as on iHeartRadio. Pictured, (l-r): Johnjay, Kyle, Suzette & Rich.

“iHeart has been my home for the past 20 years, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to continue to learn, laugh and #LoveUp alongside Rich, Kyle, Suzette and our listeners,” said Johnjay. “I’m living out my childhood dream and I have the biggest audio company in the world to thank for that. I’m humbled by the continued support, guidance and vision of Bob Pittman, Kevin LeGrett, Linda Little, Steve Geofferies, John Ivey and Dennis Clark, and I’m thankful for everyone at iHeart for believing in our show.” Berra commented, “Over the last 20 years, we’ve seen our babies be born and turn into adults, and a few Presidents have come and gone, but our audience has been along for the entire ride. iHeart has been behind us the whole way, pushing us to be our best. I couldn’t be more grateful for our incredibly dedicated team. My face still hurts from laughing at Johnjay more than anyone I’ve ever met.”

In addition to hosting their daily show, Johnjay and Rich (seen here in their formative “Lost Boys” period) are deeply dedicated to helping those less fortunate — they created the #LoveUp Foundation, a nonprofit organization that strives to be a force for positive change and impact the lives of children and adults in the community, with a primary focus on improving the quality of life for children living in the foster care system. That charitable effort was recently expanded with the creation of The #LovePup Foundation, a 501 c(3) that believes all dogs deserve the best possible home.

“Johnjay and Rich, and the entire show crew, have dedicated themselves to creating must-listen radio every morning for the past 20 years,” said Linda Little, iHeartMedia Region President, Phoenix. “From feeding frontline workers during the pandemic, to giving foster kids life-changing experiences, to finding forever homes for dogs, Johnjay and Rich demonstrate the power of radio every day, and we could not be prouder to celebrate this incredible milestone with them.”