Right wing talk radio isn't for me. There is such a thing as taking things too far, and that seems to be what it always degenerates into in the U.S. But while it's easy to think that Rush Limbaugh was the guy who took it to extremes, he had nothing on Joe Pyne. 

Some here may remember his syndicated TV talk show. Others could be hearing his name for the first time. Pyne is credited with creating the extreme craziness that the format has become. But he didn't start out that way. Instead, he created it almost by accident. As the linked article illustrates, he started out as just another music-playing DJ in the 40s and 50s.

But when he started commenting on daily events from a right wing point of view between the songs, his P.D. did something you wouldn't expect - he asked him to stop playing music and just talk. And a genre was born. It was 1951.

"...many people would call in to disagree with Pyne and he relished arguing with them on air. He would make fun of them and berate them...he would often end a conversation by saying, "Oh, go gargle with razorblades."

Pyne become both enormously successful and controversial during his lifetime, which ended early with his death at age 45. But for better or worse, he created a style of radio that is still with us. Depending on where you stand, he gets the credit - or the blame.

Joe Pyne: America's first angry talk show host