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Jerry Williams is one of the great talk show hosts of the modern talk radio era and one whom many of today’s players consider an influence. He pioneered the role of talk show host as political activist in the late 1980s/early 1990s. His spearheading the campaign to recall the then-unpopular Massachusetts mandatory seat belt law is historic. He also founded the National Association of Radio Talk Show Hosts at a time when talkers were still considered the bastard children of the business. He helped remedy that situation.

Jerry Williams was lighting up the phone lines in Boston when the contemporary format was in its infancy. He was an intensely cynical fighter. He could deliver a monologue but his real talent was with callers. He could pick out a great caller, toy with him and then move in for the kill. It wasn’t unusual for him to spend three days talking with callers about the best sex they ever had and then spend the next two days letting callers bash him for putting such filth on the air! A one of a kind original.