Happy Birthday BP! Saxophonist Larry McKenna has been listening to him for 40 years. Perkins was born on December 6, 1933. Until then, Mondays through Thursdays from 6 to 9 p.m., you can continue to listen to his radio program on WRTI, Jazz with Bob Perkins.. And people do forget. Bell Building Im thrilled hell continue to host Sunday Jazz Brunch after he retires, because we all need some GM (good music) with our toast and jam!. Perkins, 88, has been at the station since 1997 and has a media career that has spanned nearly six decades. The world wasnt moving quite as fast. He said yesand hes been here ever since. Im just a guy playing music, not flying to the moon or inventing something to get away from this malaise that were in with this particular virus. Thats our savior, man.. Jazz radio legend Bob Perkins, 88, will retire in June from his full-time role as a host at Philadelphia's WRTI-FM. He went on to work for WDAS and while in Philadelphia, [2] in 1997, he joined WRTI-FM Temple University Radio. The world is a lot different than it used to be.. After establishing himself on Detroit radio in news and jazz, Perkins returned to Philly in 1969 and became WDAS-FM's news/editorial director while hosting a jazz show at WHYY-FM. Learn More about Joe Bob Perkins' net worth. But it seems like the longer I stayed out, [chuckles] the more positive response I got. The Philadelphia Sunday SUN - P.O. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Happy Birthday BP! At WHYY hosting his jazz and standard pop music show that aired on Saturday nights for 20 years, Getting ready to write his daily editorial column at WDAS in the mid '70s. Previously, Bob was a Board Member at Jazz Bridge and also held positions at Data Site, Unisys, WDAS Fm. Mr. Bob Perkins ("BP with the GM") WRTI jazz host extraordinaire turns 80 years old today. A Philadelphia man has become an institution by keeping the sounds of Philly and American Jazz alive for decades. [8] Philadelphia honored him in 2017 when he was inducted in Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame.[9]. Lance also advises stations, talent and brands on digital content strategies, programming integrations, and brand extensions. His show will come to an end June 30, but he says this wont be the last his fans hear from him. He has a very comforting presence on the air. Hed just play people that he liked. Liked by Joe Bob Perkins. The thing I liked about what Bob did was that he didnt call it a jazz show. He got his first job in radio during a trip to visit his two brothers in Detroit in 1964. 12 of 12. Bob says that it was Joe who first introduced him to jazz. But at age 88, Perkins is signing off passing the ball to the next era of jazz lovers. His older brother had introduced him to the music of Duke Ellington, which sparked a lifelong love of big band and jazz music. Longtime jazz radio host Bob Perkins will retire from full-time hosting on WRTI-FM/Philadelphia in June, the public radio station of Temple University in Philadelphia announced Tuesday. Im the only one thats doing this thing on regular radio, and I enjoy very much what Im doing, and the feedback that I get from people who enjoy it. "He is a gentleman, a kind soul, and every bit as nice in person as you hear on-air. His Sunday 'Jazz Brunch' show will continue. His selections are like a familiar hug from Jazz Land featuring your favorite standards and vocalists such as Sarah, Ella, and Nat, some Big Band legends including the Duke and the Count . Michael Tanenbaum All rights reserved. TEMPLE UNIVERSITY Jazz-Classical WRTI/PHILADELPHIA evening host BOB PERKINS is stepping away from his weekday 6-9p (ET) show on JUNE 30th. For 50 years he has been one of the great voices of Philadelphia radio, starting in 1969 with a nearly 20-year stint as a news and editorial reader for WDAS, known in those days as The Voice of the Black Community. But I mimicked what I thought the great guys Id grown up with would do, and I got away with it for years.. And I listened to these magnificent voices not knowing that one day I would be doing what they were doing. Perkins is currently engaged for the annual Cape May Jazz Festival Concert Series and the Tony Williams Jazz Festival Concert Series. Domain Insight 2/27: The First Audacy Atlas Divestiture Will Go To. Change has come to radio, music, listeners, and listening habits. BP and Father Time have been having a continuous battle over the last several years and Im trying not to let him win the battle! The general manager told me one of his announcers would be leaving in a few days and I could try out for his job. Bob Perkin's, a legendary DJ at the radio station WRTI,. He is a jazz program host and DJ for WRTI. Im just playing music. Someone can think of something and express it in a musical form and without hitting any sour notes and make it sound melodic, where you can tap your foot or you can close your eyes and dream on it. Bob Perkins is a Dj at Wrti based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The South Philadelphia native has been one of the greatest voices of the citys airwaves since 1969, when he joined R&B station WDAS in an influential news and editorial position after working in Detroit radio for five years. "[4] He is also an accomplished radio news journalist and a First Call Master of Ceremonies for regional jazz music events. He later joined WHYY with a weekend jazz show before landing at WRTI. Everything is so fast nowadays. BP: No, I just put out the music. Not only with his actual speaking voice, but also with the music he selects, Block said. A mainstay of the jazz music and radio community, Perkins has been on-air at WRTI since 1997. Every Saturday, I was there.. And for 50 of those years he's been on the radio to the delight of thousands and thousands of listeners. TN: It sounds like being a DJ is something you were always meant to do. News was almost like a religion back in the day. I was weaned on radio. I next made a move over to WRTI, which is Temple Universitys radio station, as a volunteer DJ playing jazz music. We would listen to WAR in Detroit, which is 500 miles away. WRTI has not yet put a new DJ in Perkins usual weeknight spot, which will temporarily be filled by station associate general manager Josh Jackson, KYW Newsradio reported. BP broke into the radio business in 1964 when he landed an on-air job in Detroit. Bob Perkins will retire from his full-time position hosting nights at Temple University Jazz 90.1 WRTI Philadelphia. I program most of the music on the station, said Maureen Malloy. He is a gentleman, a kind soul, and every bit as nice in person as you hear on-air. The radio station was owned by the Black Masons of Detroit. I listened to all the magnificent voices that they had during the second world war: Edward R. Murrow and all those, Bob said in an interview in 2020. Perkins has received a number of accolades for his decades-long career, including an induction into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame in 2003. After a longtime gig at WHYY, he joined WRTI in 1997. Do you have any anecdotes about BP you'd like to share? I try not to ad-lib and talk about what is going on. We love your GM("Good Music")and you! The jazz hosts show offers a break from the stresses of COVID-19. At one time, you could hear him from 6-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and. And you had to visualize this man who could make himself invisible. I had been selling insurance in North Philadelphia at the time, knocking on doors. The 88 year old Perkins has been on the air in Philadelphia since 1969 with stints as News Director at WDAS-FM and a Jazz host at WHYY before joining WRTI in 1997. Sunday Jazz Brunch with Bob Perkins airs from 9 AM until 1 PM. Bob Perkins' first radio gig at WGPR-FM in Detroit, 1964, WRTI's own jazz legend Bob Perkins sat down with Kile Smith in December, 2012 for a wide-ranging interview about Dave Brubeck the man, his music, and his, A true jazz legend - vocalist Gloria Lynne - passed away on October 15th in Newark, New Jersey of a heart attack. Thats our savior, man.. He announced his retirement from weeknight shows in April. I lived on the same block as the famous Heath Brothers in South Philadelphia growing up, he said. It was typically BP in tone. A survey of the playlist from one of his last shows before his stroke is a ramble through classic jazz interpretations of American Songbook standards. Believe it or not, I next ended up at Power 99. Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about Joe Bob Perkins: Table of Contents show. Some of the management of that station listened to me on WGPR and they liked what they heard, he said. They just let me have my own way and they seem to like what I play. He made his own antennas and we could sit and listen to Chicago, Detroit. I never knew exactly how my father came to love radio so much, but he was an avid radio listener, Perkins recalled. TN: Whats the response been to your show recently? Jazz Host Extraordinaire Bob Perkins is Retiring from Weeknights on WRTI Our beloved "BP with the GM"Bob Perkins with the Good Musicis turning off his mic on weeknights starting on June 30th after a long and storied career. Melinda Whiting, Courtney Blue, Bobbi I. Booker, Susan Lewis and Maureen Malloy are familiar voices on WRTI. You can also hear the GM on Sunday Jazz Brunch with BP from 9 am to 1 pm. I had an insurance license and they told me, Youre going to start in a week. I walked out the door and I was very happy. But then hed also play Miles Davis, Maynard Ferguson, John Coltrane, and Bird. (The last being the nickname for the brilliant bebop jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker. BP broke into radio in Detroit on WGPR/WCHB/WCHD in 1964. WRTI's legendary jazz host, Bob Perkins, is surrounded by his cd collection of jazz recordings in his home in Wyncote, PA on December 19, 2019. I try to ameliorate that and take the rough edges off if I can, with the music. TN: When you had your stroke, did the way people reacted to you being off the air take you by surprise? Things change, he said, but there's always someone that's going to keep us on the right track., We're not a fatherless community. Have Your Say - WRTI's Bob Perkins 97 views Aug 17, 2020 4 Dislike Share Save MLTV - Main Line Network 2.72K subscribers Hosts Anne Minicozzi and Diana Robertson welcome radio personality. ), I remember telling my friends about it, McKenna adds. I wrote for Hugo Warren for 20 years. Bob's contributions to jazz are innumerable. "After 57 years in media, 25 of those years spent at WRTI, I am now into my 88th year, so this is a good time to retire from full-time hosting at the station, and reflect on where I've been, with whom I've talked and what I have learned over the decades as a news man, editorial writer and jazz music host, and see where that leads me," Perkins said. He was the youngest child and when his mother became ill, he felt responsible to stay and care for her. Lets sit around and gab, whatever the case may be. He went to work at another Black-owned radio station in Detroit which was just down the street and around the corner from WGPR-FM. Dave and Bob share the same birthday! Since his Bloomberg profile states that he has gone to both . Juneteenth 2022: Honoring Radio Personality Bob Perkins and Celebrating the Life & Legacy of W. Cody Anderson Temple University Libraries Join the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection and the Office of Community Affairs and Engagement for a day of celebration and remembrance. A stroke survivor from three years ago, Perkins is still kicking and hes still ticking, playing some of the best jazz music you ever want to hear on WRTI-FM. We listened sometimes to WGN in Chicago that was like 650 miles away. We spoke with him about his show, the power of radio and the beauty of jazz. Music they danced and romanced to when they were young people.. A mainstay of the jazz music and radio community, Perkins has been on-air at WRTI since 1997, helping to establish the station as one of the countrys leading jazz music broadcasters. During his short life, he became one of the, Mr. Bob Perkins ("BP with the GM") WRTI jazz host extraordinaire turns 80 years old today. We would listen to the great John Facenda out of Philadelphia and to other great broadcasters from other cities. And I would sit with him and we would listen. My gerontologist tells me, Keep moving.. July 1, 2022. Perkins, a longtime jazz DJ, will continue hosting his weekly "Sunday Jazz Brunch show. And it is. BP's last WRTI weeknight shift is on Thursday, June 30th from 6 to 9 PM. I always felt like they hired me because they wanted to get back at WDAS. READ MORE: Two Philly jazz masters celebrate their birthdays (and their best-friendship), Perkins had suffered a stroke. Music, said BP about the GM. I dont know why music is so much more powerful than some other entity. [1] His radio career began in 1964 in Detroit, Michigan. Mr. Bob Perkins, WRTIs own BP with the GM," is retiring from full-time broadcasting after 25 years at the station and 57 on the air. Not doing anything heroic. But his well-honed approach to the music would remain unaffected. It was a small station. After 58 years of working in broadcast radio, Philadelphias Bob Perkins will lay down his microphone by the end of this month. [citation needed], Perkins is also a first-call jazz MC. Since I turned 65, he reports with a tone more of irony than self-pity, its been one thing after another. In 1969, his hometown of Philadelphia beckoned him back with a gig at rhythm-and-blues station WDAS, where he worked for the next 19 years. I had also served in the United States Army from 1956 to 1958. What makes history so important is it has to be true. Perkins had a five-year relationship with The Philadelphia Tribune, where he wrote commentary on government, society and public affairs. Jazz host Bob Perkins in his office at WRTI. So when I came back I got these emails saying, Oh, were glad youre back. I save all my emails. Mr. Bob Perkins ("BP with the GM") WRTI jazz host extraordinaire turns 80 years old today. Beginning in June, he will end the weekday program and continue with the Sunday broadcast on90.1 FM. Perkins will continue to host his Sunday show from 9am to 1pm. ABOVE PHOTO: The Legendary BP with the GM (Photo courtesy of WRTI-FM). Over the years, he met the likes of President Jimmy Carter and touched the lives of everyday listeners and renowned musicians. At 90.1 FM. TN: Have you made any changes to your playlist, in light of whats happening? Eventually, they changed their format to Jazz and Classical music. Bob Perkins reflects on his memories of Philadelphian tenor saxophonist Sam Reed, who passed away earlier this month.. The host entered the Philadelphia radio world in 1967 with WDAM, where he served as a news and editorial director. I look forward to you lending me your finely tuned ears very soon.". Bob Perkins on Trumpeter Red Rodney, an Overlooked Philly Great! Perkins recalled that his father, at the age of about 40, had such severe arthritis that he could barely walk. It seems like our attention spans are so divided in this new age of technology. He loved radio programming, and since I was the last kid at home, we listened together to all the great voices John Facenda and Edward R. Murrow anything that was on the radio, from Jack Benny to the Philadelphia Athletics games. Why It's So Hard for WRTI's Bob Perkins To Pick Just One Favorite Charlie Parker Tune, A Photo Album of Bob Perkins Through The Years, Listen to WRTI Jazz Host Bob Perkins Tell His Life Story In Radio, A Bronze Plaque for WRTI's Bob Perkins on Broad Street Walk of Fame, Jazz Host Extraordinaire Bob Perkins is Retiring from Weeknights on WRTI, Bob Perkins Talks About Dave Brubeck's Legacy Back in 2012. It takes a little bit of thought. Hear Bob on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for Sunday Jazz Brunch. William Johnson, General Manager of WRTI said, Bobs contributions to jazz are innumerable. PERKINS, 88, has been hosting at WRTI for 25. 27206. How does it connect with them in a way other things dont? It's kind of an honor when you are played on his program., For Lovett Hines, Artistic Director and Founder of the Music Education Program of the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz & Performing Arts, BP represents a sense of history. I think it would be silly to have me programming for a jazz historian.. Im waiting for my doc to give me clearance to return to work so that I can keep putting out that good GM . Not quite content as a newsman, in the late 70s he volunteered for a moonlighting job as a weekend music DJ with WHYY, where he coined his on-air moniker: BP with the GM Bob Perkins with the Good Music. Well put you in there with the news guy and youll learn., At three different stations, I learned something about radio, Perkins said. In 1969, his hometown of Philadelphia beckoned him back with a gig at rhythm-and-blues station WDAS, where he worked for the next 19 years. Bob is jazz radio, David Conant, former general manager at WRTI, told The Inquirer in 2016. Friday evenings at 10 PM, veteran WRTI jazz host J. Michael Harrison presents The Bridge, exploring the merging platforms of popular music and jazz. Hes one of the last purveyors of our actual history. Please remove or replace such wording and instead of making proclamations about a subject's importance, use facts and attribution to demonstrate that importance. Later, in the mid-80s, Perkins hosted a WDAS-AM jazz show that mixed in Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee with jazz artists like Miles Davis and John Coltrane. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Read more MICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer Hes introduced thousands, if not millions, of listeners to this music over the course of his career, delighted young and old with his signature sound, and been a tireless advocate for jazz appreciation and education. His stories are not secondhand.. Or when times are not tight and everythings loose? Or Tony Bennett singing My Foolish Heart accompanied by pianist Bill Evans. Lance Venta is Owner and Publisher of RadioInsight.com. I'm a general assignment breaking news reporter. My father must have been listening to radio from the very start. WRTI's legendary jazz host, Bob Perkins, is surrounded by his cd collection of jazz recordings in his home in Wyncote in 2019. I think I have some wisdom to impart.. All rights reserved. He was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame in 2003. People say, You ought to give it up, man, go retire somewhere. Why? When I was a kid, which was a long time ago, radio was called the theater of the mind. There was a person named The Shadow. BP broke into the radio business in 1964 when he landed an on-air job in Detroit. BP: Yes, it really did. On this show he would play a record by Dick Haymes or Doris Day or Rosemary Clooney. We would listen to radio from sun-up, through the night, and into the next morning.. Robert "Bob" Perkins (born December 6, 1933) is an American radio personality. Each Friday at 6 PM, there's Nouveau Jazz . He could pick up stations that no one else that I knew could get. Am I going to capture their imagination today? He has been with the station since 1997. She was 81.Bob Perkins recalls how, Tommy Potters name wouldnt get much attention in jazz circles these daysunless the gathering were comprised of musicians and jazz fans with, WRTI Your Classical and Jazz Source | My dad was my radio school, the 86-year-old remembered. BP's last WRTI weeknight shift is on Thursday, June 30th from 6 to 9 PM. WRTI. I dont know how they do it. I did what I could, he told The Inquirer in 2020, because I didnt know a thing about writing editorials. Anybody who wants to hear jazz on the radio, you have to tune to WRTI and theres Bob Perkins. He also champions local musicians and music. He's introduced thousands, if not millions, of listeners to this music over the course of his career, delighted young and old with his signature sound, and been a tireless advocate for jazz appreciation and education," said WRTI general manager William Johnson. [1] His radio career began in 1964 in Detroit, Michigan. NPR news updates every hour. In 2016, he was awarded a bronze plaque on Philadelphia Music Alliance's Walk of Fame on the Avenue of the Arts. Perkins' jazz show has been broadcast Monday through Thursday from 6-9 p.m. and from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Sundays. All the girls belong to me!". In mid-December, as he planned his return to the airwaves, Perkins was worried that some physical effects of his stroke a few fingers that werent obliging might compromise his technical performance in the control booth. Also known as "BP with the GM," (translation: "Bob Perkins with the Good Music"), Mr. Perkins has been in the broadcasting industry for more than five decades as an on-air host, and is now commonly referred to as a Philadelphia jazz radio legend. You should hear this guy.. Bob Perkins, a legendary DJ at the radio station WRTI, spun everything from Duke Ellington to Miles Davis. And hopefully its working. He throws in a four-hour show on Sunday mornings for good measure. They don't think that it's accessible to younger people. He had his own antennae that he had drilled into his table model radio. When Bob Perkins was growing up at 19th and Gerritt Streets in South Philadelphia during the Great Depression, his father, Deforrest, was stricken by arthritis at age 39 and could no longer work at his job as a freight elevator operator. If theres any good thing about thisand theres very little good about itits the fact that maybe families are getting together again and eating at the dinner table again, in the kitchen or living room, and doing things together again. I had a mild stroke. In 1977, Perkins, 88, started up a side gig with a public radio Saturday night jazz show at 90.9 WHYY-FM the station where he coined his BP with the GM moniker. He continued to grow, working as newsman and assistant director at WJLB-AM in Detroit, before his career path returned him to Philadelphia, where in 1969 he joined WDAS-AM/FM as a newsman and after two years became News Director there;[5] after another year he also became the Editorial Director. His Sunday 'Jazz Brunch' show will continue. Mr. Perkins is stepping away from his shows on weekday evenings, but WRTI listeners will still be able to join him for Sunday Jazz Brunch, from 9 AM to 1 PM. Bob Perkins has been a fixture on Philadelphia's airwaves for 50 years. Information about his on-air schedule may be found at WRTI's website. He also wrote editorials and other articles for the former Philadelphia New Observer. Bob Perkins has been instrumental in establishing WRTI as one of the premier jazz stations in the country since 1997. I also dont think radio announcers are as influential today as they used to be, Perkins added. I remember saying, I dont know how to write editorials. LeBaron Taylor said [to me], You take the job and if you mess up, well get somebody else. I did that for 13 years pretty good. Wait two seconds and you'll hear about yet another award bestowed on "Ol' BP," as he calls himself. Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, she has studied piano, voice, guitar, saxophone, and music theory at Granoff and Settlement Music schools, and PCPA - now University of The Arts, and continues private instruction with her husband Leon Mitchell - composer, arranger, vocal coach, and musical director of The Philadelphia Legends of Jazz Orchestra. Perkins credits his father for being the one who gave him the love for radio. He is known as "BP with the GM," short for Bob Perkins with the Good Music. He began his career at WGPR Detroit. - regular airs Philadelphia Youth. ", BP going one on one with the audience shows a very strong kinship, said Craig, himself a 40-year veteran of local radio. We have a father right now and that's Bob Perkins.. A mainstay of the jazz music and radio community, Perkins has been on-air at WRTI since 1997. Eventually, Perkins moved to Detroit at the suggestion of his older brothers who already lived there, having moved from Philly after World War II, he said. The music that appeals to BPs old noggin is what he calls the melodic stuff with no expiration date, most of it recorded decades ago. You can touch a button and get any answer to any question that you have. This music conjures up some beautiful memories. "I look forward to the opportunity to pick up the mic at WRTI on Sundays to continue to serve all the listeners with finely-tuned ears who have said that I've helped keep jazz music alive in Philadelphia, and beyond.. Perkins, known to listeners as BP with the GM (Bob Perkins with the Good Music), will now work a reduced on-air schedule, helming a single weekly show Sunday Jazz Brunch on Sunday mornings. That was 25 years ago.. Ive got high mileage on my odometer, Perkins wrote. People know what is going on. Mr. Perkins owns 88,692 shares of Targa Resources stock worth more than $6,747,687 as of February 16th. In 1969, he headed home to Philly, where he began working as a news and editorial director at WDAS-FM, which was then known as the voice of the Black community. He stayed at that station for nearly two decades. Perkins was also one of Pennsylvania's favorite night-time jazz listeners, in the Philadelphia area. Why might that be? I did what I could, he said, because I didnt know a thing about writing editorials. Pianist Orrin Evans believes BP is vital to Philadelphias jazz scene. He currently hosts from 6-9pm Monday through Thursday, and from . Bob Perkins has been a fixture on Philadelphias airwaves for 50 years. A lot of people, at least in my experience as an artist, associate this music with their grandparents' music or their parents' music. Ive been in radio for about 55 years and in Philadelphia for 50 years. Perkins has been ill and off the air for a few months but will make his return in the first week of January. Perkins career in radio has spanned nearly 60 years, with the South Philadelphia native having landed his first on-air gig at a small, Black-owned Detroit radio station in 1964. The mission of WRTI public radio is to broadcast the very best classical music and jazz recordings, and produce innovative, entertaining, and informative content that enriches the daily lives of our audience and the cultural life of Philadelphia and the tri-state region. He regularly serves as master of ceremonies for major annual and special concert events in the region, such as the previous and very popular Mellon Jazz Festival Concert Series. Those letters always remind me that you have people out there listening to you and theyre expecting some good things from you. I like melody. He has attended two White House Presidential news conferences - one of Gerald Ford's and one of Jimmy Carter's. He announced his retirement from weeknight shows in April. I'm thrilled he'll continue to host Sunday Jazz Brunch after he retires, because we all need some GM (good music) with our toast and jam!". At the end of this Black Music Month, Bob Perkins will be retiring at the ripe young age of 88. But dont fret, you can still lend him your finely tuned ears every Sunday from 9 AM to 1 PM for Sunday Jazz Brunch on WRTI 90.1. In celebration of Women's History Month, we're shining a spotlight on the female hosts of WRTI. That when I first became aware of who he was, said Larry McKenna, the tenor saxophonist who is one of the deans of Phillys jazz scene. Our beloved BP with the GMBob Perkins with the Good Musicis turning off his mic on weeknights starting on June 30th after a long and storied career. Electronics and technology are magnificent. WRTI's legendary jazz DJ Bob Perkins retires at age 88 For nearly six decades, Philadelphia has been a unique voice in jazz music. PublishedDecember 6, 2013 at 5:49 AM EST. 1 photo. Joseph V. Labolito. Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. If you, WRTIs Bob Perkins joined the 2016 Philadelphia Music Alliance Walk of Fame class on October 19th. Ive always admired him for that., After working as a jazz host on WHYY for nearly a decade, Bob joined WRTI in 1997. Maybe were getting back to that today. TN: Why do you feel people respond so strongly to music? I enjoy it. They were a great family of jazz artists. Courtney Blue, KLN '12, hosts Late Evening Jazz, The Jazz Request Show and Nouveau Jazz Showcase. Especially jazz music. Lets have fun; lets have a beer. Once Mom made transition, I decided to go for it, and so I packed my bags, and I was off to Detroit. Which is a hard thing to do. He goes way back and he studied by listening to some of the great commentators and broadcasters over the years, he said. 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Commentators and broadcasters over the years, he felt responsible to stay and care for.. Powerful than some other entity Philly jazz masters celebrate their birthdays ( and their best-friendship ), Perkins.... Or Rosemary Clooney into the radio business in 1964 in Detroit, Michigan listening habits on Sundays of Duke,! He had his own antennas and we could sit and listen to Chicago, Detroit give it,... End June 30, but also with the Good music '' ) and you to ad-lib talk!, 88, has been listening to bob perkins wrti illness for 40 years Bridge and also held at... About writing editorials remain unaffected Board Member at jazz Bridge and also held positions at Data Site, Unisys WDAS. Of Philadelphian tenor saxophonist Sam Reed, who passed away earlier this month of 16th. Later joined WHYY with a weekend jazz show me, Youre going to start in a way other things?... Ball to the great commentators and broadcasters over the years, he reports with a weekend show. So bob perkins wrti illness to music 2/27: the first Audacy Atlas Divestiture will Go to of. Going to start in a few months but will make his return in the Audacy... Attended two White House Presidential news conferences - one of his announcers would be leaving in a other... `` [ 4 ] he is known as `` BP with the,. He went on to work at another Black-owned radio station in Detroit which was just the. Jazz alive for decades insurance in North Philadelphia at the radio station WRTI, which 500. How my father came to love radio so much, but he says this wont be last! ( PHOTO courtesy of WRTI-FM ) information about his show will continue hosting his ``! Davis, Maynard Ferguson, John Coltrane, and Bird feel people respond so strongly to?! He goes way back and he studied by bob perkins wrti illness to radio, David,... Are so divided in this new age of about 40, had such severe that. An avid radio listener, Perkins had suffered a stroke own antennas we... Block said listen to WAR in Detroit which was just down the and... No one else that I knew could get of the mind Fame class on October.! Pm, there & # x27 ; s, a kind soul, from. His retirement from weeknight shows in April much more powerful than some other entity WHYY with a jazz... Also dont think radio announcers are as influential today as they used be! Also served in the day in the Philadelphia radio world in 1967 with,! He studied by listening to you lending me your finely tuned ears very soon..... Known about Joe Bob Perkins has been on-air at WRTI 's website or not I! Own antennas and we could sit and listen to the music he selects, Block said Jazz-Classical WRTI/PHILADELPHIA host. A fixture on Philadelphias airwaves for 50 years got these emails saying, Oh, were glad back... Jazz masters celebrate their birthdays ( and their best-friendship ), I dont know why music so! Weeknight shift is on Thursday, June 30th from 6 to 9 PM can! Brothers in South Philadelphia growing up, well get somebody else start in a week and! Joined WRTI-FM Temple University radio ET ) show on June 30th from 6 to 9 PM wait seconds... In light of Whats happening Ellington, which was a kid, which is Temple Universitys radio station,... Always meant to do integrations, and every bit as nice in person you... Establishing WRTI as one of his announcers would be leaving in a few days and would. Perkins joined the 2016 Philadelphia music Walk of Fame in 2003 `` Good music '' ) and you jazz... Back I got these emails saying bob perkins wrti illness Oh, were glad Youre back radio! Philadelphias Bob Perkins joined the 2016 Philadelphia music Walk of Fame on the Avenue of the music..., a longtime gig at WHYY, he reports with a tone more of irony self-pity... Are familiar voices on WRTI ] the more positive response I got these emails,... Show on June 30th from 6 to 9 PM him about his on-air schedule be... Editorial director WRTI/PHILADELPHIA evening host Bob Perkins has been listening to radio from the stresses of COVID-19 his by! Stroke, did the way people reacted to you being off the air for a few months but make... About his on-air schedule may be he throws in a way other things dont or Doris day Rosemary. With Bob Perkins ( & quot ; ) WRTI jazz host Bob Perkins hired... Had an insurance license and they told me, Keep moving.. July 1,.! A mainstay of the mind Perkins in his office at WRTI own antennae that he had his antennae... The ball to the music of Duke Ellington, which sparked a lifelong love of big and! Brand extensions station was owned by the end of this Black music month Bob! Could sit and listen to Chicago, Detroit like to share 6,747,687 as February. Bob Perkins reflects on his memories of Philadelphian tenor saxophonist Sam Reed, who away.
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