The Jerky Boys | |
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Origin | Queens, New York, U.S. |
Genres |
Comedy Prank phone calls |
Instruments | Telephone |
Years active | 1989–2001 2006–present |
Labels |
Scat Select Mercury Laugh.com |
Website | http://www.thejerkyboys.com |
Members | Johnny B. |
Past members | Kamal |
The Jerky Boys are an American comedy act from Queens, New York, whose routine consists of prank telephone calls and other related skits. Formed in 1989, The Jerky Boys were made up of childhood friends Johnny Brennan and Kamal Ahmed. After Kamal left the act in 2000, The Jerky Boys continued on as a solo act featuring only Brennan, before going on hiatus after the 2001 release of their final album, The Jerky Tapes.
The calls were made by ringing up 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.
According to their current record label, Laugh.com, the act has sold over 8,000,000 CDs since their 1993 debut.
On February 25, 2014, Rolling Stone published an article on The Jerky Boys, in which Johnny Brennan made several prank calls.
Brennan began making and recording prank telephone calls in the 1970s, and teamed up with the younger Kamal, in the late 1980s/early 1990s in their Queens neighborhood. The duo made a number of bootleg tapes of their recorded phone calls that eventually found their way to New York-based radio personality Howard Stern, who played the duo's tracks on the air.
The pair gained notoriety from their exposure on the popular The Howard Stern Show, and released their first album, The Jerky Boys, in 1993. The album topped the Billboard charts and was eventually certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.