They Call Me Baba Booey

By: Gary Dell'Abate, Chad Millman

Narrated by: Gary Dell'Abate

One of pop culture’s great enduring unsung heroes: Gary Dell’Abate, Howard Stern Show producer, miracle worker, professional good sport, and servant to the King of All Media, for the first time tells the story of his early years and reveals how his chaotic childhood and early obsessions prepared him for life at the center of the greatest show on earth.

Baba Booey! Baba Booey! It was a slip of the tongue—that unfortunately was heard by a few million listeners—but in that split second a nickname, a persona, a rallying cry, and a phenomenon was born. Some would say it was the moment Gary Dell’Abate, the long-suffering heroic producer of The Howard Stern Show, for better or worse, finally came into his own. In They Call Me Baba Booey, Dell’Abate explains how his early life was the perfect training ground for the day-to-day chaos that comes with producing the most popular radio show on earth.

Growing up on Long Island in the 1970s, the youngest of three boys born to a clinically depressed mother, Gary learned how to fend for himself when under attack. Obsessed with music, he listened with religious intensity to Casey Kasem's Top 40 every Sunday morning, compulsively bought 45s of his favorite songs, and nerdily copied the lyrics into a notebook. Music became an ordering principle to his life, even as the chaos at home got out of hand. Dell’Abate’s memoir sketches the trajectory from the obsessive pop-music trivia buff to the man in the beekeeper’s mask who handily defeats his opponents playing “Stump the Booey.” We learn about the memorable moments in his life that taught him to endure epic bouts of humiliation and get his unique perspective on some of his favorite Stern show episodes—such as the day he nearly killed the Mets mascot while throwing out the first pitch, or the time his mother called Howard’s mother and demanded an apology.

Hilarious, painful, and eye-opening, it’s Gary as you’ve never seen him before, telling a story that even Stern show insiders can’t begin to imagine.

Critic reviews

“Hilarious, sincere, and wrenching.”—GQ

“Equal parts amazing and amusing . . . Fans will eat up the mortifying moments of [Dell’Abate’s] twenty-seven-year ride with the wildly popular and influential Stern show. . . . But it is the stories of extreme family dysfunction that give the book surprising heart.”—NJ.com

“Dell’Abate [has] pulled back the curtain [and his fans] will be pleasantly surprised.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Gary’s chronicle of how he developed the skills to survive a household shaken by both mental illness and the seismic shifts of the sixties, and of how he’s applied those skills to accommodate Howard and the gang, is nothing less than fascinating.”—Dr. Drew Pinsky

“Following the simple plan outlined in this book, I lost fifteen pounds and became a happier wife and better mother.”—Howard Stern

“If you think your family is nuts, wait until you read this story.”—Joan Rivers

Very interesting book, read "from the heart..."

Very interesting book, read "from the heart..."
Gary did a great job, reads well with appropriate inflection. Good job, Gary!

they call me baba booey

Great book, a fantastic look at howard sterns producer. Great read I highly recomend it.

great job Baba Booey

I really enjoyed listening to this today as I drove all day long. I have always been a fan of yours Gary, and listening to this made me even a bigger fan.

I love stern nation

Fafa fooey is amazing Ima replay this one it was really good oh btw fuck sal

A+

Great stories of the show and his life. Had me laughing out loud then crying.

Good for superfans probably not many others

Gary did a good job reading, but the interviews at the end of chapters were so superficial and repetitive they were basically pointless. You'd think knowing the best interviewer would've helped, but I guess not. Focuses a little too much on his mom, but if you like gary on the show you'll enjoy his book

Awesome

Such and amazing story!!! Well done BABA BOOEY!!! Fuck the Mets though! Bring Artie Back

Gary can't pitch but this is a Home Run! LGM

Maybe I am biased as a fellow long suffering Mets fan but seeing that Gary and I are close in age, grew up outside NYC and went through similar trials and tribulations, this hit close to home. This is far from being a fanboy though his hard work and dealing with Howard over the years is greatly appreciated. I still have my "pieces of vinyl" , 300+ and counting. Great job, thank you and Let's Go Mets!!! CEA

Baba Booey!

Not much of a reader so I enjoyed hearing this book while traveling to work and home. Great job Senor Gary!

Phapha Phooey

I totally forgot about THAT video! I listened to Stern from NY to the West coast until you had to pay to hear him.

This is a bit of a stroll down memory street. Superb stories, touching, crazy, sad and hilarious.

Not a mention of Stuttering John though, and barely a mention for the Jokeman. Strange that.

The reader does a very credible Baba Booey though.