The John Bean tapes had been circulating for quite a while by the time I heard them about 20 years ago, so I was shocked to see CDs appearing in the stores in the mid-1990s of somebody calling themselves "Roy D. Mercer" doing a pale imitation of John's calls. I guess you could say "Roy D. Mercer" is to John Bean as Denis Leary is to Bill Hicks.
I first heard this tape in the late 80's from a guy who got it off someone that toured with the Kentucky Head Hunters. I know the tapes made their way around the country music scene very well. I can only recall the C&C auto and the shoe store bit.
This tape changed my whole idea of what's truly funny. The first time I heard it I stood in awe of a real artist. I can't believe the 'victims' are on here! LOL! Good job, guys! You helped make history! Good sports. I rank this up there as one of the greatest all time self-produced comedy tapes ever...I mean EVER! I thank you for posting this, I was always curious about who that was.
The funniest tape I have ever heard. It was and is a shame it was plagiarized by that Roy D. Mercer clown. I got a copy in the late 80's and from that copy I made over 50 copies of it for my buddies. I can quote it word for word. My favorites- Hunh, I'll whup your ass! -Un'z run a shity damn business anyway, I always thought. - You take that name and all over there and give it to 'um and have them to mail me some in a 10 1/2 D wide. - Well, there ain't no need for you get all mad about it.
I can't believe John Boy and Billy promote the asshole who stole John Beans act. The son of a bitch needs his ass stomped. Grave robber! The fake shit heads are stealing money from John's family.
John Bean was the Zen Master of the prank telephone call. These two 'roy d. mercer' douchebags selling CD's today are a blatant ripoff, and ought to have "their damn ass whooped". I had one of these cassettes back in the 80's and still listen to the MP3s when I need a laugh. To think those "chickenshit bastards" from Oklahoma are suing the Bean family sickens me. Rest in Peace John Bean.
Remember when he called "Lt. Gentry"? That guy lived right behind me on Atlantic Ave in Knoxville, and he was supposed to be shell-shocked from the Korean war. He'd march up and down Broadway with his imaginary troops, and when he'd go into IGA or Krystals, he'd stand at the door and do roll call as his invisble troops marched in. If you tried to cut thru his troops, he'd tell you to "get the hell back!" JB called him acting like "Rev. Rally Arnwine".
Yep, "Down at the end of Broadway and Rosebud"...J.B. actually called him "Lucenant Gentry"..."I will not eat the Buffalo burger!" My history goes back about 24 yrs ago, when J.B. first came out with the tapes. I have actively resurrected him here in NC, with his original cassette tapes, burned to CD's (of course free of charge) as my friends & I discovered him, back before most of today's "Johnny Come Lately's" have. Who's the Douche that's copying his material & gettinig all his fame now?!
I hope the Bean family takes those rip-offs to the cleaners in court! From what I've heard, one of those assholes actually tried suing the Beans for copyright infringements!! They can easily proove how long ago the originals were made. The IGA store on Broadway's been closed since 1984.
I hope the Bean family gets paid biggtime, like nobody's business! I always wondered, if John, or any of his family ever made a dime on his "mastery" from these tapes? Is the "Blue Circle" still located around there and do they still serve the Buffalo Burger? "I will not eat the Buffalo Burger!" I'm from Mooresville, NC ("Race City USA") and have some buddies that could sit around for hours and be totally intrigued by your accounts of John Bean's history and his prank victims!
From what John's sister, journalist Betty Bean said, the tape was pretty much a word-of-mouth, tape-by-tape phenomenon. I think they only recently had the tapes officially released because there was no way they could stop their spread, plus the fact that all of those rip-offs were scamming the public. I remember that the Blue Circle hasnt been around Knoxville since about 1975! But you can still see plenty of their distinctively shaped buildings that were remodeled into bars, delis, etc.
Longmont Potion Castle got me into John Bean... I love Lt.Gentry, it's such a great derangement to have! I mean, if you have to have one... most people are just 'plain' crazy.
How do these prank call albums work? Does the victim of the call get a cut of the profits? How else would you convince them to allow their voices and words to be used?
i got this tape the old fashion way.......from a re re re re re copied version.. a friend brought it to work one day and from that point on we would'nt let a day go by without sayin' huh, or i'll whoop your damn ass........what a classic.......
It's a shame when people listen to the hacks Roy D. Mercer and think it is original. Nope! They stole the idea and act like it is their own. John Bean is the original prank phone caller.
Thanks for this killer tribute page!.. I've been a DJ in Nashville for about 20 years and after hearing all the fakes out there I had to start playing the orginals as music bumpers at clubs and parties.. Everyone was blown away that have never heard the REAL John Bean ones, so of course they all had to get copies! LOL.. "When my brother get's off we'll post more by God!, so there.." Long live the TRUE story of John Bean!.. Or I'll take a damn 2by4 to your damn ass!! LMAO!!... :) love it.. Thanks
this is great stuff i remember this from the mid 70s in the mountains of georgia th tape i had said james loudermilk phone calls thanks for posting the original
Thank you so much for doing this. John Bean will live forever and those two blatant plagarists in Oklahoma as well as the pitful excuse for a copy-cat associated with NASCAR can go straight to hell. As I once read, John Bean wasn't the first to make a prank call, but Picasso wasn't the first to put paint on canvas either. RIP & God Bless John Bean.
The John Bean tapes had been circulating for quite a while by the time I heard them about 20 years ago, so I was shocked to see CDs appearing in the stores in the mid-1990s of somebody calling themselves "Roy D. Mercer" doing a pale imitation of John's calls. I guess you could say "Roy D. Mercer" is to John Bean as Denis Leary is to Bill Hicks.
SufferinSprings 1 month ago
Everyday at work a coworker will repeat something from this take. "Bring my two boys with me" I'll whoop your ass by myself.
CoraFaye 3 months ago
One of my favorite lines "Well hell they'll blow up in ya damn face"
MaxamillianArturo 10 months ago
I loved the C&C auto and it is a shame about the "roy d mercer" rip off of the tapes..
dieselducy 11 months ago
my buddies and i got ahold of this tape in north little rock, arkansas, in '89. we've been quoting it ever since.
dogtownist 1 year ago
I first heard this tape in the late 80's from a guy who got it off someone that toured with the Kentucky Head Hunters. I know the tapes made their way around the country music scene very well. I can only recall the C&C auto and the shoe store bit.
llz750 1 year ago
This tape changed my whole idea of what's truly funny. The first time I heard it I stood in awe of a real artist. I can't believe the 'victims' are on here! LOL! Good job, guys! You helped make history! Good sports. I rank this up there as one of the greatest all time self-produced comedy tapes ever...I mean EVER! I thank you for posting this, I was always curious about who that was.
stratobagster 1 year ago
If I buy a boat I talk to Jerry,if I buy a car I talk to Jerry...in other words he knows bout buying things...Jerry does.
rescue337 1 year ago
The funniest tape I have ever heard. It was and is a shame it was plagiarized by that Roy D. Mercer clown. I got a copy in the late 80's and from that copy I made over 50 copies of it for my buddies. I can quote it word for word. My favorites- Hunh, I'll whup your ass! -Un'z run a shity damn business anyway, I always thought. - You take that name and all over there and give it to 'um and have them to mail me some in a 10 1/2 D wide. - Well, there ain't no need for you get all mad about it.
burlekodsac 1 year ago
How in the world did they find Charlie Rogers?? I would love to know this
kg4yuv 1 year ago
I can't believe John Boy and Billy promote the asshole who stole John Beans act. The son of a bitch needs his ass stomped. Grave robber! The fake shit heads are stealing money from John's family.
martinabenfield 1 year ago
Just gets me that Roy D Mercer is such a rip off on the pure genius of John Bean's calls 25+ years ago.
msupike 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@msupike The Roy D. Mercer character is MUCH funnier than John Beans ( original or not). WISE UP
NoSteveNoPoint 1 month ago
Comment removed
msupike 1 year ago
If I have to come down there Im bringing both of my boys. Classic country comedy
swk21904 1 year ago
I'll whoop your damn ass! I also had this cassette back in the 80s. Screw those ripoff artist assholes.
ahfershnee 1 year ago
Leroy Mercer will live forever!! AWESOME!!
primitivepathways 1 year ago
tared ah talking ta chickenshit bastards I'll tell ya....
JimmyJamesee 2 years ago
John Bean was the Zen Master of the prank telephone call. These two 'roy d. mercer' douchebags selling CD's today are a blatant ripoff, and ought to have "their damn ass whooped". I had one of these cassettes back in the 80's and still listen to the MP3s when I need a laugh. To think those "chickenshit bastards" from Oklahoma are suing the Bean family sickens me. Rest in Peace John Bean.
jmadisonbiii 2 years ago
I had one of these tapes back in 1989 when I was in 9th grade. Played it 1000 times.
"How did the boots get wet?"
"Well God Damn water of course!!!"
ghostoferkrussell 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
HAHAHAHA PPL u are fucking idiots
PushTheNemo 2 years ago
Remember when he called "Lt. Gentry"? That guy lived right behind me on Atlantic Ave in Knoxville, and he was supposed to be shell-shocked from the Korean war. He'd march up and down Broadway with his imaginary troops, and when he'd go into IGA or Krystals, he'd stand at the door and do roll call as his invisble troops marched in. If you tried to cut thru his troops, he'd tell you to "get the hell back!" JB called him acting like "Rev. Rally Arnwine".
skankspankr 2 years ago
Yep, "Down at the end of Broadway and Rosebud"...J.B. actually called him "Lucenant Gentry"..."I will not eat the Buffalo burger!" My history goes back about 24 yrs ago, when J.B. first came out with the tapes. I have actively resurrected him here in NC, with his original cassette tapes, burned to CD's (of course free of charge) as my friends & I discovered him, back before most of today's "Johnny Come Lately's" have. Who's the Douche that's copying his material & gettinig all his fame now?!
fistteam 2 years ago
I hope the Bean family takes those rip-offs to the cleaners in court! From what I've heard, one of those assholes actually tried suing the Beans for copyright infringements!! They can easily proove how long ago the originals were made. The IGA store on Broadway's been closed since 1984.
skankspankr 2 years ago
I hope the Bean family gets paid biggtime, like nobody's business! I always wondered, if John, or any of his family ever made a dime on his "mastery" from these tapes? Is the "Blue Circle" still located around there and do they still serve the Buffalo Burger? "I will not eat the Buffalo Burger!" I'm from Mooresville, NC ("Race City USA") and have some buddies that could sit around for hours and be totally intrigued by your accounts of John Bean's history and his prank victims!
fistteam 2 years ago
From what John's sister, journalist Betty Bean said, the tape was pretty much a word-of-mouth, tape-by-tape phenomenon. I think they only recently had the tapes officially released because there was no way they could stop their spread, plus the fact that all of those rip-offs were scamming the public. I remember that the Blue Circle hasnt been around Knoxville since about 1975! But you can still see plenty of their distinctively shaped buildings that were remodeled into bars, delis, etc.
skankspankr 2 years ago
Longmont Potion Castle got me into John Bean... I love Lt.Gentry, it's such a great derangement to have! I mean, if you have to have one... most people are just 'plain' crazy.
gh0stm0n 2 years ago
How do these prank call albums work? Does the victim of the call get a cut of the profits? How else would you convince them to allow their voices and words to be used?
livefordyingbreaths 2 years ago
John Bean is a classic. My friends and I had a copy on cassette while at Univ. of Tennessee almost 20 years ago.
I had forgotten that this is why we still say "haugh..." as a response pretty often!
It's just to good.....
wadenshelly 2 years ago
I'm glad I looked this up... I loaned my tapes to two friends and never got 'em back... someone's gonna get their ass whooped.
Lario 2 years ago
You took it back I tell ya, It ain't nothin for me to woop a mans ass.
iTunes has it.
crgot 2 years ago
i got this tape the old fashion way.......from a re re re re re copied version.. a friend brought it to work one day and from that point on we would'nt let a day go by without sayin' huh, or i'll whoop your damn ass........what a classic.......
tiger081806 2 years ago
It's a shame when people listen to the hacks Roy D. Mercer and think it is original. Nope! They stole the idea and act like it is their own. John Bean is the original prank phone caller.
rochefortmark 3 years ago
I'LL TAKE A TWO BY FOUR TO YER ASS!!
OtterVomit 3 years ago
Thanks for this killer tribute page!.. I've been a DJ in Nashville for about 20 years and after hearing all the fakes out there I had to start playing the orginals as music bumpers at clubs and parties.. Everyone was blown away that have never heard the REAL John Bean ones, so of course they all had to get copies! LOL.. "When my brother get's off we'll post more by God!, so there.." Long live the TRUE story of John Bean!.. Or I'll take a damn 2by4 to your damn ass!! LMAO!!... :) love it.. Thanks
djshawn5678 3 years ago
To all you fakes, don't make me bring my boys down there...
guthriehumptee 3 years ago
this is great stuff i remember this from the mid 70s in the mountains of georgia th tape i had said james loudermilk phone calls thanks for posting the original
panamared58 3 years ago
brilliant! thank you!
ozmacat 3 years ago
Thank you so much for doing this. John Bean will live forever and those two blatant plagarists in Oklahoma as well as the pitful excuse for a copy-cat associated with NASCAR can go straight to hell. As I once read, John Bean wasn't the first to make a prank call, but Picasso wasn't the first to put paint on canvas either. RIP & God Bless John Bean.
ronlee1975 3 years ago
THE ONE AND BY GOD ONLY.
Awesome.
beavismarket 3 years ago
I'm from Greeneville, Tennessee. we knew who John Bean was a long time ago. Fuck the fakes!
floydwiggins1 3 years ago
Thanks for posting
ctech689 3 years ago
thanx 4 proving the original!
Ragebailey 3 years ago