CLAY HENRY: Chuck and Bo ready to start your morning

Can you imagine Johnny Carson and David Letterman co-hosting?

We are about to get that in Razorback Nation sports talk morning radio. It’s a stunning development.

The Chuck and Bo Show, with Bo Mattingly and Chuck Barrett hosting, begins Monday, Aug. 26, on ESPN Arkansas. Tune in 6 to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday on 99.5, 104.3, 95.3 and 96.3 as you travel through the state. You can also listen to it on HitThatLine or download the app on Apple and Android mobile devices.

It’s big stuff. I can imagine Eddie from Clarksville letting loose a few Ric Flair “woos” that bounce sweetly from Mount Magazine to Mount Gaylor.

They will be fantastic. It’s going to be juicy. Don’t lose sight that Bart Pohlman, part of Mattingly’s ace crew, returns as Executive Producer.

I did 25 years of radio with those two, split evenly, first with Barrett and then with Mattingly.

Hawgs Illustrated was a struggle until I began joining Barrett on drive time radio. He coached me to paint the picture. Suddenly, our sales man began to bring contracts to the office. Business owners all over the state knew of the magazine because of the radio show.

Mattingly took over the show when Frank Broyles picked Barrett as the Voice of the Razorbacks.

There was a suggestion that talk radio might not be a perfect marriage for the school’s play-by-play man. That faded recently and Barrett returned to the medium ever so gently with Tommy Craft’s ESPN Arkansas.

Mattingly was practically hand-picked by Barrett to take over his time slot. I stepped in and it was another good marriage. Bo was an expert at drawing out my stories. He has great interviewing skills.

After growing his business in new areas the last five years, Mattingly became fascinated with a return to talk radio, too. He began to talk about it this spring and figured out the schematics through some coaching from Steve Graves, Mattingly’s former partner with Sport & Story and long time mentor. Eventually, while Barrett and Mattingly were talking shop things took a turn. Barrett had called about wanting to do his own show and Mattingly said, “What if we did one together?”

“Bo was the heart and soul behind this,” Barrett said. ”That’s the truth. He’s the whole reason and the only reason I’m doing this. When we began to talk, it was clear we had the same passions.

“I’m going to say this as I look back on my career, the only person I’ve ever seen that has the same passion for this type of work is Bo. He’s smart as a whip and the most talented to come through this market that I’ve seen the past 20 years.

“I didn’t plan to be back in talk radio full time when I came back with ESPN Arkansas two years ago. There was a part of me that wondered if I could even do a daily show like this.

“But with Bo I can. He’s the full package. He knows how to put together all of the bells and whistles, with a producer’s mind. He’s got the brains to execute this and also to teach others to do what he needs. I’m really excited.”

Mattingly said he’s changed plenty since his days of hosting statewide radio. He’s worked on several projects of national scope and gone through life changes.

“A lot has happened in two years,” Mattingly said. “That’s work and my personal life.

“But my life is better and that’s my heart and Faith. I give a lot of credit to Steve Graves, Jonathan Beasley, Gary Oliver and Jimmy Dykes.

“You can understand it a little when you read Steve’s book, Flourishing. I’ve read it several times and it’s helped me with a reset.

“I think what I see is that I’m not chasing things so much. I have realized to focus on my gifts. Everyone has a calling. I understand that mine is the kind of thing that go into sports talk radio. It’s strategic planning and performing. That’s having a show.”

Developing a new sports talk radio show sounds like it’s joy for both Barrett and Mattingly.

“It’s been a three month process in thinking this through,” Mattingly said. “It created a peace. I know there will be stress in the process, but it’s the kind I want.”

Part of the process for Mattingly was brainstorming with John Tyson.

“We’ve done that three of four times a year for quite some time,” Mattingly said. “Recently we talked about the hire of John Calipari and the NIL changes. During that talk John explained something I’d probably known, but not thought through.

“We discussed what the Razorbacks mean to our state and community. He said, “The Razorbacks are an amenity to our state, and it brought the idea to mind that the media covering them is an amenity too.”

Mattingly recalled his early days of sports radio in his hometown of West Palm Beach, Fla.

“It’s not like here,” he said. “You can cover something there and no one knows you exist. With the Razorbacks, you are talked about and that makes it an important job and something that’s exciting to pour into on a daily basis.

“To state it simply, I missed not being able to improve the way the Razorbacks were presented to the community. I get emotional talking about the way it matters here. That means something to me.”

Clearly, these two radio giants like each other, but for many years it was an appreciation of what the other was doing from afar.

“This has never been told,” Mattingly said, “when I got here in 1998, I’d hear about Chuck and I thought, ‘Well, no one has seen real talent here.’ I told myself, ‘No one has seen what big market talent could do here. ’

“I went to Hog City Diner (now Cheers in the middle of the square, once the old post office) and saw banners that Chuck was going to do a show there. I wasn’t impressed.

“But I learned, he was different. I listened and developed such respect. I listened to his baseball play-by-play. Honestly, baseball is the hardest to do. There are dead spots, unlike football and basketball. He knew how to do a broadcast and hold you. He amazed me. Chuck was masterful.

“I’d listen to him do Sports Rap. He was often by himself for hours and was as good as the national guys like Dan Patrick. He could carry a show all by himself and few can. No bells and whistles.”

That’s what Mattingly always wanted on his broadcasts, with a wide range of national guests. The late Chris Mortensen took him to ESPN headquarters and Mattingly latched onto some of the national media greats. He brought them to his program on an almost daily basis.

“When Chuck left sports talk and I got his spot, I was scared I was not up to his standards,” Mattingly said. “I leaned heavily into the production elements and guests. I wasn’t going to rely on myself to carry it. Not like him.

“I’d say to compare us, I am more the producer and Chuck is more the performer. My strength is connecting the dots. I probably didn’t know that until I began to do it.”

They know each other well enough to expect rocky moments. My dad once explained their type as “strong medicine.” It was his way of explaining confidence.

“I tend to talk long,” Barrett said. “I am sure he will have to tell me to shut up. I hope he does. But I think we will figure it out and will complement each other. My style is different, more to just talk to our fans.”

Barrett laughed when asked about the name of the show. Why did he get top billing?

“It was discussed at length, but to be honest, we decided that Chuck and Bo sounded better than Bo and Chuck,” Barrett said. “We just were not comfortable with the rhyming possibilities if Chuck was last. This is why it’s going to work. Neither one of us cared.”

Both names are highly recognized by radio listeners.

“Neither one of us are trying to climb any more,” Barrett said.

They both beam about the business environment in the state.

“We’re so proud of the success the companies in our state have shown the world can happen right here,” Mattingly said. “ We’re not just little ole Arkansas. That’s our inspiration. We want to do whatever we can to keep adding to that example. And we want to do it with the most talked about thing in our state, the Razorbacks.”

The mountaintop is a sweet place and it’s fun to look at the stars. It reminds of the late-night TV hosts. Carson and Lettermen wanted to finish your day. Barrett and Mattingly are going to get you started from the top of Razorback Nation.