26 Facts About Bob Rivers

Robert Rivers was an American rock and roll radio on-air personality in the Pacific Northwest, as well as a prolific producer and songwriter of parody songs, most famous for his Christmas song parodies.

Rivers' last regular radio program, The Bob Rivers Show with Bob, Spike and Joe, was broadcast on Seattle oldies station KJR-FM until August 8,2014, ending a 25-year run in the Seattle market.

Bob Rivers played keyboards for a cover band affiliated with the show, Spike and the Impalers, until 2015.

Bob Rivers was born in Branford, Connecticut, on July 7,1956, and raised as a Catholic.

Bob Rivers knew from an early age that he wanted to be on radio.

Bob Rivers got his first paying radio job when he was 16, but reputedly was fired for playing too much Led Zeppelin.

Bob Rivers spent almost six years at WAAF in Worcester, Massachusetts, as part of their successful Bob and Zip morning show with fellow on-air personality Peter "Zip" Zipfel.

Bob Rivers followed it up with "Just a Big Ego," a parody of David Lee Roth's version of "Just a Gigolo".

In 1987, Bob Rivers released Twisted Christmas, which contained the Christmas music radio hit "Twelve Pains of Christmas", a parody of the holiday standard "The Twelve Days of Christmas".

Bob Rivers vowed to remain on the air until the Orioles won a game.

Bob Rivers kept his vow and became a local celebrity among Orioles fans for his pledge.

In just under two years after joining WIYY, Bob Rivers increased the station's morning show's ratings by about 65 percent.

Bob Rivers went public with their insult and at that point they took him off the air for the rest of his term.

Bob Rivers brought Spike O'Neill with him; Spike served as sportscaster, writer, and impressionist.

Bob Rivers released a second album of humorous holiday-themed music in 1993 entitled I Am Santa Claus.

Bob Rivers has said that there might have been more Twisted Tunes sung about the Seattle Seahawks and Super Bowl XL.

In late 1999, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer noted that, after 10 years at the station, Bob Rivers had the longest tenure of any radio personality in the local market.

Bob Rivers's show left KZOK when he could not reach a contract deal with CBS, the owner of the station.

The Bob Rivers Show ran on KJR-FM from April 1,2011, to August 8,2014, ending on the twenty-five year anniversary of Bob's first day on air in Seattle.

The Bob Rivers Show cast at 95.7 FM included Spike O'Neill, Joel "Downtown Joe" Bryant, newswoman Jodi Brothers, director Arik Korman, and producers Luciana Bosio and Pedro Bartes, a married couple who contributed news and jokes on air.

Bob Rivers announced on July 28,2014, that after 42 years on radio, the legendary host was stepping away from morning radio to pursue other projects.

Bob Rivers lived for many years in North Bend, Washington, with his wife, Lisa, where he gardened, tended to his bees and chickens, hiked, and recorded and played music in his home studio.

Bob Rivers talked freely on the air about his hard-partying days, which ended when he entered rehab to treat his alcoholism in 1989, shortly after he moved to Washington.

Bob Rivers was featured in an interview about his enjoyment of hiking in a 2014 summer issue of Washington Trails Magazine.

Bob Rivers died in New Hampshire on March 11,2025, after a three-year battle with esophageal cancer.

Bob Rivers insisted that Spike O'Neill and Joe Bryant be allowed to join him, as the three had worked together for so long.