Rush Limbaugh launched his phenomenally successful radio broadcast into national syndication on August 1, 1988. Twenty-plus years later, it is heard by up to 20 million people each week and is the highest-rated radio talk show in America.

Known as the media pundit who reshaped the political landscape with his entertaining and informative brand of conservatism, Mr. Limbaugh is also widely credited with resuscitating AM radio by many industry experts.

In addition to his radio program, broadcast weekdays, Limbaugh hosts the Rush Morning Update, a 90-second commentary which debuted in March 1992 and airs Monday-Friday. With his diverse media background, he is also the author of “The Limbaugh Letter,” the most widely-read political newsletter in the country, as well as two best-selling books: “The Way Things Ought to Be” and “See, I Told You So.”

Recognized for his achievements, Limbaugh received the Marconi Award for Syndicated Radio Personality of the Year given by the National Association of Broadcasters in 1992, 1995, 2000 and 2005. In 1993, he was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame and in 1998, into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Born Rush Hudson Limbaugh III in Jan. 1951 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to a family with generations of attorneys, he chose to explore his passion for broadcasting at age 16 by working on-air as a disc jockey for a radio station in his hometown. After four years, he left for Pittsburgh to work at the former ABC owned and operated KQV. He later moved to Kansas City where he eventually tired of disc jockey life and left broadcasting for business. He joined the Kansas City Royals as director of group sales in February 1979 and later served as director of sales and special events.

By 1983, Rush got the broadcasting bug back and re-entered radio as a political commentator for KMBZ in Kansas City. A year later, he was the host of a daytime talk show on KFBK in Sacramento, California, where he nearly tripled the program’s ratings in four years. From there, he went to New York in 1988 where his record-breaking show was born.