40 Years of Hell
Or, how to succeed in radio without really trying. Four decades of Bill, Kerry and Gina, and more than 8,000 live broadcasts.
For 40 years, Bill Allred, Kerry Jackson and Gina Barberi greeted Utahns who "woke up feeling like hell." A mix of news, comedy and conversation, Radio From Hell's hosts have outlasted every radio show in Utah by doing something simple: being themselves.
1986 — Proto-Radio From Hell hits the airwaves
Beginning on KJQ-N in Ogden, the show is called The Fun Pigs, a morning program hosted by Kerry Jackson and Bill Allred.
1988 — Pigs be gone
KJQ's music format changes from Top 40 to alternative. Kerry and Bill drop the Fun Pigs moniker and strike up Radio From Hell.
1990 — Kerry and Bill go to the U.S.S.R.
In a promotion for Morris Travel, the pair join a trip to what was then the Soviet Union, each staying with a different Russian family. "We took meals at their dinner table, we drank their vodka, and stayed up late almost every night," Bill says. "It was a highlight of my life."
1993 — Reborn at X96
After spending a year apart following KJQ's implosion, Kerry and Bill reunite at the recently launched X96 and revive the show, laying the foundation for the next three decades.
1996 — Gina Barberi joins
Gina is working for KUTQ on a competing show. Her move to X96 prompts a legal battle between the two stations.
1999 — RFH joins the Utah Pride Parade
The hosts are invited to join the parade and meet pushback from management. Undeterred, they decorate a personal vehicle to ape the station's branding. The stunt leaves egg on management's face, and RFH becomes a staple at Pride.
2001 — The 9/11 moment
After the second tower was hit, the hosts pivot to non-stop news coverage. "On 9/11, we stopped playing music and just talked," Gina says. They patch in national networks and stay on the air to read wire updates, open phone lines and process the tragedy in real time with the audience.
The broadcast proves the counterculture rock morning show can handle serious, historic events.
2010 — Ten cities in 10 days, and back to school
RFH records live from 10 Utah towns, a tradition that continues for five more years. The same year, the hosts tour Utah colleges "inspiring Utah's youth" with "no curriculum prepared and zero respect for formal education." The show had hoped to broadcast on the BYU campus and even offered to change its name to "Radio From Heck." The offer was not accepted. They did the show from a business across the street.
2016 — RFH takes Manhattan
The tour features visits to Jon Stewart at The Daily Show, interviews across the city and dinners with dedicated East Coast fans. The year also marks Gina's 20th anniversary with the show.
2026 — The 40th anniversary
With more than 8,000 live broadcasts, RFH is the longest-running morning radio show in Salt Lake City history.
This article was written by University of Utah student journalist Laney Hansen for the Spring 2026 Voices of Utah capstone class. It is published by the non-profit Amplify Utah to elevate perspectives in local media through emerging journalism.
