Stuttering John - Everybody's Normal But Me (1998)

Best known for his infamous celebrity interviews for radio's The Howard Stern Show, "Stuttering John" Melendez was born October 4, 1965 in Massapequa, New York. He became an intern on Stern's program in 1989, and soon the host pushed Melendez into the spotlight, exploiting his speech problem while forcing this "hero of the stupid" to confront celebrities and politicians with inane questions. (Among them: Melendez asking Ringo Starr "What did you do with the money your mom gave you for singing lessons?," probing ZZ Top to learn "Do you guys ever throw up and get big chunks in your beards?," and querying Michael Jackson "Did you learn how to walk backwards to avoid your father's punches?") While rising to fame as a Stern sidekick, he also continued pursuing his dream of a music career, fronting short-lived bands like Mund and Rubber Beaver; in 1994, he relased a heavy metal disc called Stuttering John, followed in 1998 by Everybody's Normal But Me. © Jason Ankeny