Brian and O'Brien

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Several program directors at heritage stations across the country dreamed of having a Morning Team as magic as Ross & Wilson. One even tried to hire Ross & Wilson away from WABC when word got out the station was flipping to Talk.   

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When the trades reported WABC turned Brian loose in April 1984, thus ending both halves of the Ross and Wilson “legacy.” Within 48 hours, Brian got the call from a PD:  I'll beat any offer you get from any other station if you come to do AM Drive on B104.  

 The PD decided to team Brian with Don O'Brien. The PD said he thought this could be bigger than Ross and Wilson.   

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The partnership led to a big change in Brian’s on-air personality. With Ross, he was the semi out-of-control goof-ball DJ to his steady-as-you-go Radio Announcer. With Don, there were confrontations with on and off the air. While the audience noticed the tension, they loved it! They thought it was all part of the act!

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Ratings went up and up and up; seeing the numbers, advertisers eventually formed a line; B104 became the most listened-to station in Baltimore's AM drive.

Brian and O'Brien came to an end in 1988, after management caught Don violating company policy.

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Over the next few months, as people auditioned for Don’s part, the show continued as Brian and O'Brien in order to maintain name recognition with the advertisers and listeners. But by September, advertisers were pulling out of the premium-priced show. Brian subsequently refused to be reunited with O’Brien, was fired, sued for Breach of Contract and won. At that point, he had been hired to take Scott Shannon’s place on the Z100 Z Morning Zoo, reuniting Ross and Wilson back in New York.