CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- He's the host of one of the most popular country morning radio shows in Charlotte -- Rob Tanner of 103.7 WSOC FM.
We know he's a local celebrity and he gets to interview famous country artists all the time. But we wanted to find out more about the man behind the microphone. So I went to Tanner's home in Indian Trail. Let me tell you, there's a lot going on there.
Tanner lives with his wife, Missy, his two young kids, Emily and Ethan, his mother (they call her grandma), his mother-in-law (she's nana), a newly adopted 1-year-old dog named Ginger (she has separation anxiety and is currently in obedience school), and three cats (the cats don't like Ginger).
Needless to say the demands at home are many.
"The key to this is having a lot of patience and a lot of love and a lot of TVs in the house, which is an important thing," said Tanner. "We have 10 TVs in this house."
But seriously, living with your mother and mother-in-law? Isn't that a little too close for comfort? Not for Tanner.
"It never seems to be a problem," he said. "We seem to get along just fine. I don't know what it is. We get along. I don't know if it's just the right combination or what but we have a good time together."
He loves his family and he loves his job. Tanner has been the morning guy at 103.7 WSOC FM for five years. He wakes up at 3:30 a.m. to be at the studio in time for his 5 a.m. show. I asked if the early wakeup call wears on him.
"You know I got the best job in the world. I really do. I get to go in, I get to laugh, the people I work with are great -- the people I work for are terrific," he said. "The listeners are amazing. Charlotte is one of the best cities in this country. I really can't complain."
Tanner doesn't get a lot of down time. Besides his country radio show, he makes appearances several times a week and does a syndicated radio show called NASCAR USA. It's something he's passionate about.
When asked who his favorite interview is, he replied, "Junior Johnson. He'll tell you exactly what he thinks about everything."
Tanner has interviewed a lot of famous people. Pictures of him with Martina McBride, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts hang on the walls of his home.
And while he's proud of those, the most important thing displayed in his house is a card Tanner gave his mother for Valentine's Day when he was 11 years old. She was a single mom working multiple jobs to raise her two sons.
The card reads: "Don't worry, mom. Someday we'll make it. Love, Rob."
"When we found it years later I'd decided to put it in with a picture of me as a baby and put it right here in the front of the house when you walk in and, at least in our humble opinion, we've made it," Tanner said.
