The Jerky Boys

Last updated
The Jerky Boys
Born
Queens, New York City, New York, United States
Occupation Comedians
Years active1989–2001
2006–present
Known for Prank calls, comedic skits

The Jerky Boys were an American comedy act from Queens, New York City, New York, whose routine consisted of prank telephone calls and other related skits. The duo was founded in 1989 by childhood friends Johnny Brennan and Kamal Ahmed. [1] After Ahmed left the act in 2000, the Jerky Boys continued on as a solo act featuring only Brennan, before going on a 19-year hiatus after the 2001 release of the franchise's penultimate album, The Jerky Tapes . Brennan released a follow-up album of new material in November 2020.

Contents

The phone calls were made by calling unsuspecting recipients, or in response to classified advertisements placed in local New York–based newspapers. Each call was made in character, usually with over-the-top voices influenced by the duo's family members. [1] Many compilations of the group's work have been released onto albums. According to the act's current record label, Laugh.com, the Jerky Boys have sold over 8,000,000 albums since their 1993 debut.

History

Duo

Brennan began making and recording prank telephone calls in the 1970s, and teamed up with Ahmed, in the late 1980s/early 1990s in their Queens neighborhood. [2] The duo made a number of bootleg tapes of their recorded phone calls that eventually were obtained by New York–based radio personality Howard Stern, who played the duo's tracks on the air. [2]

The English rock band Radiohead named their debut album, Pablo Honey (1993), after a Jerky Boys sketch in which the caller poses as the victim's mother and says: "Pablo, honey? Please come to Florida." [3] A sample of the sketch appears in the song "How Do You". [3] The Radiohead singer, Thom Yorke, said: "The notion of phoning up people cold is so nineties. It's just the ultimate sacrilege – turn up in someone's life and they can't do anything about it." [3]

The Jerky Boys gained notoriety from their exposure on The Howard Stern Show , and released their first album, The Jerky Boys , in 1993. The album topped the Billboard Heatseekers chart and was eventually certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The duo released the platinum The Jerky Boys 2 in 1994, followed by The Jerky Boys 3 in 1996, The Jerky Boys 4 in 1997, Stop Staring at Me! in 1999, and The Jerky Tapes in 2001.

In 1995, the duo starred in Touchstone Pictures' The Jerky Boys: The Movie . The movie was filmed in 1993–94, and it was almost universally panned by critics. Kamal became an independent filmmaker in 1997. [4]

Solo act

In 2000, tension between the two developed. [2] The duo appeared in the Psychopathic Records film Big Money Hustlas , but because Brennan and Ahmed were unable to get along with each other, they did not share any scenes in the film; Brennan played a supporting role as the police chief, and Ahmed appeared in a cameo as Frank Kissel, an audience member at the strip club. [5] By the end of the year, Ahmed passed a note down to the manager, who passed it to Brennan: Ahmed had decided to quit the group. [6]

Ahmed released a solo album, Once a Jerk, Always a Jerk , in 2000.

On March 20, 2007, Brennan, who is now the only constant member of the group, kept the Jerky Boys name and released a solo album, Sol's Rusty Trombone , a collection of mostly ring tones and skits. [2] On March 5, 2010, Brennan, in conjunction with Inner Four, released two apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch platform: The Jerky Boys Prank Caller, and The Jerky Boys Pinball. In late 2011, Brennan started a weekly podcast titled The Jerky Boys Show with Johnny Brennan in which he discussed the history of the calls, how the characters came about, and other hijinks. The podcast also gave the opportunity to fans to speak to Brennan directly. The podcast ran for 17 episodes and then abruptly ended in November 2012. [7] Brennan announced a subscription for new calls being regularly released each month but this never occurred. [7]

He recorded new prank calls for a Rolling Stone retrospective in 2014. [8]

Regular characters

Other minor characters include:

Discography

Albums

Album information
The Jerky Boys
The Jerky Boys 2
The Jerky Boys 3
  • Released: August 20, 1996
  • Chart positions: No. 18 Billboard 200 (1996)
  • RIAA certification: Gold
The Jerky Boys 4
  • Released: October 1997
  • Chart positions: No. 63 Billboard 200 (1997)
Stop Staring at Me!
  • Released: May 18, 1999
  • Chart positions: No. 117 Billboard 200 (1999)
The Jerky Tapes
  • Released: April 10, 2001

Apps

Apps information
The Jerky Boys Prank Caller
  • Released: March 5, 2010
  • Available on: Apple iTunes App Store
  • Contains: All-new clips, never-before heard full calls, new Jerky ringtones, and other features.
The Jerky Boys Pinball
  • Released: March 5, 2010
  • Available on: Apple iTunes App Store
  • Contains: All-new recorded sound clips.

Johnny B.

Album information
Sol's Rusty Trombone
  • Released: March 20, 2007
Jerky Boys: Unreleased EP
  • Released: 2012
Rolling Stone Calls
  • Released: Feb 24, 2014
The Jerky Boys
  • Released: Nov 27, 2020

Kamal

Album information
Once a Jerk, Always a Jerk
  • Released: April 4, 2000

Soundtrack albums

Album information
Jerky Boys: The Movie
  • Released: January 24, 1995
  • Chart positions: No. 79 Billboard 200
  • Singles: "Gel" by Collective Soul, "Dial A Jam" by Coolio & the 40 Thevz

Compilation albums

Album information
The Best of the Jerky Boys
  • Released: October 22, 2002
The Ultimate Jerky Boys Collection
  • Released: October 24, 2004

Film and TV appearances

Legacy

Rolling Stone cited Paul Feig, Amy Schumer and Seth MacFarlane as examples of comedy influenced by the Jerky Boys. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

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The Jerky Boys: The Movie, also known as The Jerky Boys, is a 1995 American crime/comedy film starring Johnny Brennan and Kamal Ahmed, best known as the comedy duo the Jerky Boys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kamal Ahmed (comedian)</span> American Director, Producer, Writer and Comedian (born 1966)

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Jerky Boys 2 is the second comedy album released by prank call artists, the Jerky Boys. The album was released on August 16, 1994, and was the final Jerky Boys album released on the Select Records label, distributed by Atlantic Records. Like their debut album, it also went Platinum. This album was also nominated for a Grammy Award at the 1995's Grammy's for Best Comedy Album, but lost to Sam Kinison's Live From Hell.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Johnny Brennan of The Jerky Boys Spews Off about the History behind the Kings of Crank". Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville. 1997-12-04. Archived from the original on 2006-04-28. Retrieved 2006-12-31.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Jeremy The Loner (2007-03-01). "A Conversation With Jerky Boy Johnny Brennan". Dean's Planet. Archived from the original on 2007-07-04. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
  3. 1 2 3 Runtagh, Jordan (2018-02-22). "Radiohead's Pablo Honey: 10 things you didn't know". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 2021-10-21.
  4. Heisler, Steve. "Jerky Boys: Behind the Prank Calls That Changed Comedy". Rolling Stone.
  5. Violent J, Alex Abbiss, Billy Bill. Big Money Hustlas audio commentary (DVD). Psychopathic. UPC   044005380996.
  6. 1 2 "Kamal from The Jerky Boys". Dean's Planet. 2001. Archived from the original on 2007-04-09. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
  7. 1 2 "Jerky Boys Podcast". Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  8. 1 2 "Jerky Boys: Behind the Prank Calls That Changed Comedy". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  9. Castrodale, Jelisa (October 1, 2020). "Nobody Needs a New 'Jerky Boys' Record Right Now".
  10. "sleeve notes of slowdive album souvlaki". www.ianwatsonuk.com. Retrieved 2018-02-06.