Ive been told way before I was born, people would come to our house back when my father had the first crystal radio set on the block. BP: Theres a man named Paul Robeson, one of my heroes, and he said, Never forget the power of music. When he went to sing concerts in other countries, he would sing songs indigenous to that particular culture. He announced his retirement from weeknight shows in April. Courtney Blue, KLN '12, hosts Late Evening Jazz, The Jazz Request Show and Nouveau Jazz Showcase. And Ive been a newsman, editorial writer, disc jockeyI guess just about everything with the spoken word in radio. Bob Perkins's Phone Number and Email. I next made a move over to WRTI, which is Temple Universitys radio station, as a volunteer DJ playing jazz music. King agrees. And I do it by feel what should follow this piece of music and is my next piece of music as good or better than the previous piece of music that I played? Music, said BP about the GM. 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. July 1, 2022. Temple Public Radio 90.1 FM is amazing! 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. They can take you away. But you try to always put that best music forward. You can make 20 times as much working down here. But I told him, I want the job in radio. That was my start in radio back in November of 1964.. Five of the most outstanding jazz personalities had. - regular airs Philadelphia Youth. Like the theme song from the 1944 film Laura, played by saxophone legend Coleman Hawkins. I try not to ad-lib and talk about what is going on. In September of 1969, I started working at WDAS as a newsman. TN: It sounds like being a DJ is something you were always meant to do. Or Tony Bennett singing My Foolish Heart accompanied by pianist Bill Evans. 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. All rights reserved. In 1969, WDAS offered him a news and editorial position and asked if he might be interested in moving back to Philadelphia. You can touch a button and get any answer to any question that you have. I knew that people kind of liked my music. Why might that be? You had to wear earphones to hear whatever stations you were lucky enough to hear that would come through. Please remove or replace such wording and instead of making proclamations about a subject's importance, use facts and attribution to demonstrate that importance. 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. I always felt like they hired me because they wanted to get back at WDAS. But I didnt really visualize the response that I got. BP: Well, I still like it. We all need that role model, that patriarch to keep it going. I think its magic, the music I play. 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 . 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 | Classical music and jazz public media. In addition to his job as jazz host, BP writes numerous columns and commentaries on jazz for local publications in Philadelphia. Melinda Whiting, Courtney Blue, Bobbi I. Booker, Susan Lewis and Maureen Malloy are familiar voices on WRTI. Mr. Bob Perkins ("BP with the GM") WRTI jazz host extraordinaire turns 80 years old today. He goes way back and he studied by listening to some of the great commentators and broadcasters over the years, he said. WRTI. WRTI's legendary jazz DJ Bob Perkins retires at age 88 For nearly six decades, Philadelphia has been a unique voice in jazz music. He went on to work for WDAS and while in Philadelphia, [2] in 1997, he joined WRTI-FM Temple University Radio. June is observed nationally as Black Music Month, and so it seems fitting that someone who has worked in radio for almost six decades the last 20+ years playing jazz music would close out their career in June. 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 know Ive been very blessed. And he knows the history of the music so well. "People say, You ought to give it up, man, go retire somewhere. Why? You had to sit around the radio and visualize. The radio station was owned by the Black Masons of Detroit. Well put you in there with the news guy and youll learn., At three different stations, I learned something about radio, Perkins said. Talking all that jazz with WRTI legend Bob Perkins, Two Philly jazz masters celebrate their birthdays (and their best-friendship), California residents do not sell my data request. Perkins, a longtime jazz DJ, will continue hosting his weekly "Sunday Jazz Brunch show. Perkins sat and listened and learned his lessons and developed a calling. Its a rallying cry. Lovingly known as "BP with the GM" (Bob Perkins with the Good Music), BP brings you that good music just in time for dinner during your work week. Bob Perkins has been instrumental in establishing WRTI as one of the premier jazz stations in the country since 1997. I did what I could, he told The Inquirer in 2020, because I didnt know a thing about writing editorials. He announced his retirement from weeknight shows in April. Ive got high mileage on my odometer, Perkins wrote. 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. A lot of people, at least in my experience as an artist, associate this music with their grandparents' music or their parents' music. Once I got some news training under my belt, I started trading news stories with the news team at WDAS in Philadelphia. You dont know whos listening, how many people: could be one, could be 10,000. 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. I stayed over there about two years, but it really wasnt a good fit. Contact. Any birthday wishes? 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. Jazz also captivated Perkins at a young age. 1 photo. Jazz radio legend Bob Perkins, 88, will retire in June from his full-time role as a host at Philadelphia's WRTI-FM. I wrote for Hugo Warren for 20 years. Bob is jazz radio, David Conant, former general manager at WRTI, told The Inquirer in 2016. I went to a radio school through my father. Ive been in radio for about 55 years and in Philadelphia for 50 years. The estimated net worth of Joe Bob Perkins is at least $6.75 million as of November 2nd, 2022. Bob in the mid '60s - a seasoned veteran on the job for one year at WGPR in Detroit. 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. We had great announcers back then. 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. IE 11 is not supported. I think hes been very good to all the local jazz musicians who have recorded music, McKenna said. Bob Perkins: I do itand Im not trying to be funnybut I do it really by braille, a feel. Tweet Share Pin Email Tweet Share Pin Email Related Posts AACP Philadelphia Branch Update NAACP Philadelphia Branch Tweet Share Pin Email ABOVE PHOTO: President Joe Biden walks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at St. Tweet Share Pin Email By MARK SHERMAN and JESSICA GRESKO WASHINGTON (AP) Conservative justices holding theSupreme Tweet Share Pin Email By DAN GELSTON PHILADELPHIA (AP) Irv Cross was a man of faith Tweet Share Pin Email Tweet Share Pin Email Related Posts Whats Cookin? A lot of us who live here, we don't have any other outlets and are not really known outside of this city, so we don't get airplay unless we go through WRTI., Bob is a proud Philadelphian, but he doesnt just play local music out of loyalty. PublishedDecember 6, 2013 at 5:49 AM EST. I dont know why music is so much more powerful than some other entity. 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. He makes it interesting and inclusive for everybody.. [citation needed]. Everything is so fast nowadays. Last edited on 21 February 2023, at 01:44, promotes the subject in a subjective manner, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Art of Aging: Bob Perkins, a Philly Institution", "Talking all that jazz with WRTI legend Bob Perkins", "Bob Perkins: The Art of Listening article @ All About Jazz", "Meet the Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame's Class of 2017", Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia website, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bob_Perkins_(radio_personality)&oldid=1140642424, This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 01:44. What Bob does, it makes people feel like youre coming home, she said. After breaking in as a DJ and announcer at WGPR-FM, he then expanded to news at WCHB-AM while also working as jazz program director for its twin, WCHD-FM. Temple Now:The official source for Temple news.Copyright 2015, Temple University. Bob Perkins at home at WRTI-FM studios. Its not the same. You know, its magic that Ive been around that long and people have that much confidence in me. I [then] looked up and I saw a sign that read WGPR-FM. Maureen Malloy, the director of jazz programming at WRTI, says there was an insane amount of listener response to Perkins unexplained absence. Bell Building Im waiting for my doc to give me clearance to return to work so that I can keep putting out that good GM . He went on to work for WDAS and while in Philadelphia, [2] in 1997, he joined WRTI-FM Temple University Radio. BP's last WRTI weeknight shift is on Thursday, June 30th from 6 to 9 PM. He began his career at WGPR Detroit. My dad was my radio school, the 86-year-old remembered. What makes history so important is it has to be true. Dave and Bob share the same birthday! PhillyVoice Staff, Monday through Thursday from 6-9 p.m. and from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Sundays. Perkins, 88, has been at the station since 1997 and has a media career that has spanned nearly six decades. Music has always been for us African American people something for us to hold onto no matter what, from Africa to anywhere in the Diaspora, to around the world, wherever our people live, music has been that sustaining force in good days and in bad, he said. Since I turned 65, he reports with a tone more of irony than self-pity, its been one thing after another. Perkins was born on December 6, 1933. A Philadelphia man has become an institution by keeping the sounds of Philly and American Jazz alive for decades. But theres something about music. And it is. Bob Perkins' Recollection of the Late Sam Reed, BP Tells a Little Story About Ella Fitzgeralds Connection to Orphaned Children, Bob Perkins Reflects On Oldtime Philly Legends, Including 2021 NEA Jazz Master Albert "Tootie" Heath, Bob Perkins Talks About Dave Brubeck's Legacy Back in 2012. His knowledge of jazz programming was instrumental to a significant increase in weekday Jazz listener-ship and a doubling of the Sunday Jazz audience for his time slot. When WHYY dropped its music programming to concentrate on news and information, Perkins moved uptown. His older brother had introduced him to the music of Duke Ellington, which sparked a lifelong love of big band and jazz music. They had hired me for all the wrong reasons in the first place. ABOVE PHOTO: The Legendary BP with the GM (Photo courtesy of WRTI-FM). BP: I dont know. But his well-honed approach to the music would remain unaffected. Radio was drilled in my head.. Read More. Read more MICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer 1. I was a war baby. Not doing anything heroic. I look forward to you lending me your finely tuned ears very soon.". 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. Perkins recalled that his father, at the age of about 40, had such severe arthritis that he could barely walk. Bob Perkins has been a fixture on Philadelphia's airwaves for 50 years. 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. That petered out, but I was still at WHYY playing jazz music and loving it. His Sunday 'Jazz Brunch' show will continue. In 2016, he was awarded a bronze plaque on Philadelphia Music Alliance's Walk of Fame on the Avenue of the Arts. The thing I liked about what Bob did was that he didnt call it a jazz show. Learn More about Joe Bob Perkins' net worth. Joe Blocks parents were fans of WRTI and the pianist grew up listening to BP, becoming a fan himself. At 90.1 FM. Visit our, Bob Perkins Retires From Fulltime Role At WRTI, Classic Country Makes The Grade In San Luis Obispo, First Listen: Spotify DJ, YouTube Radio Builder, Brooke Grimsley Joins 101 ESPNs Opening Drive, WRNQ Debuts Marino in the Morning with Marissa, Canadian Programming Vets Launch RMR Media Strategies. He was known for his laid-back and mellow style. Perkins wandered into the station at WGPR-FM and got a position as on-air DJ and Announcer. For nearly six decades, Philadelphia has been a unique voice in jazz music. I leaned on them when I got into radio until I got my own sea legs and could navigate on my own.. Ive been in radio for quite some time. Maybe were getting back to that today. Discovery, curation, community, performance, preservation. Particularly for older listeners, he gives them the comfort of something familiar, and makes them remember that this music that he's playing was the soundtrack to a lot of their lives. The music Perkins plays can summon Proustian recollections of a first kiss, a dance at the Savoy Ballroom or a joyful reunion after a long absence. The jazz hosts show offers a break from the stresses of COVID-19. Bob's contributions to jazz are innumerable. I never knew exactly how my father came to love radio so much, but he was an avid radio listener, Perkins recalled. Listen to BP's last weeknight shift on Thursday, June 30th from 6 to 9 PM. After 58 years of working in broadcast radio, Philadelphias Bob Perkins will lay down his microphone by the end of this month. I did what I could, he said, because I didnt know a thing about writing editorials. It took Perkins a little while to break into radio. Those letters always remind me that you have people out there listening to you and theyre expecting some good things from you. He credits his love for radio to his father who repaired radios as a hobby when he was young. His stories are not secondhand.. I'm a general assignment breaking news reporter. I had been selling insurance in North Philadelphia at the time, knocking on doors. He currently hosts from 6-9pm Monday through Thursday, and from . 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. "I got radio rammed down my throat, because that was my fathers relief from his pain.. WRTI's legendary jazz host, Bob Perkins, is surrounded by his cd collection of jazz recordings in his home in Wyncote in 2019. He began his career at WGPR Detroit. They offered me a job and I accepted. Perkins also independently produced radio documentary on the life of African American history icon, Paul Robeson, who was born in the region and spent his last years living in Philadelphia. The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. Million as of November 2nd, 2022 out there listening to some of great. 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Head.. read more 2015, Temple University source for Temple news.Copyright 2015, Temple University.! Working at WDAS in Philadelphia, [ 2 ] in 1997, he told the Inquirer 2016... To any question that you have a hobby when he went on to work for WDAS while!