Jazz host Bob Perkins in his office at WRTI. One day in late summer last year, his familiar and congenial voice the aural equivalent of a cup of hot chocolate and a soft blanket went silent. And for 50 of those years he's been on the radio to the delight of thousands and thousands of listeners. This website uses cookies. We love your GM("Good Music")and you! I was weaned on radio. Experience Board Chair Orennia 2021 - Present 2 years. 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. Jazz radio legend Bob Perkins, 88, will retire in June from his full-time role as a host at Philadelphia's WRTI-FM. Bob Perkins's Phone Number and Email. Im waiting for my doc to give me clearance to return to work so that I can keep putting out that good GM . A mainstay of the jazz music and radio community, Perkins has been on-air at WRTI since 1997. I went in and knocked on the door and they said, we listened to you on WJLB, and we liked your work there, but you dont know news. For younger listeners who might not be as familiar with jazz and are exploring the genre, BPs show is an introductory primer: Jazz 101. He began his career at WGPR Detroit. The jazz hosts show offers a break from the stresses of COVID-19. The Philadelphia Sunday SUN - P.O. This music conjures up some beautiful memories. 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? Please let Bob know in the comments section below. 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 . His stories are not secondhand.. But the idea stayed in the back of my mind., To work in radio, I was told Id have to go work in the boonies (the boondocks) and get the mistakes out, Perkins continued. TN: People staying at home have been listening more to the radio and less to streaming services. announced his retirement from weeknight shows in April, California residents do not sell my data request. Lead a team to the Super Bowl, Student community health ambassadors look out for their fellow Owls, Temple faculty organizes lecture series for Ukrainian students at alma mater in Kharkiv, Behind the music: Grammy-nominated Fox alum finds success as an audio engineer and producer, Eco-friendly faces: Meet Temples EcoReps advocating for a sustainable campus, Charles Library shapes the future at Temple and beyond, Student and faculty musicians are Grammy hopefuls. Am I going to capture their imagination today? Do you have any anecdotes about BP you'd like to share? But theres something about music. My mom would let me stay up on the weekends and sometimes we would pick up stations in other states. I told the general manager about the job offer I had just received from the insurance company, and he replied, Take whichever job comes first., The general manager called me a couple days later and offered me the job, he said. Last Update. 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. At the end of this Black Music Month, Bob Perkins will be retiring at the ripe young age of 88. It gives you a feeling of a time gone by, a past era where jazz was the music of the day.. TN: Why was it important for you to keep doing your show? After a longtime gig at WHYY, he joined WRTI in 1997. Once Mom made transition, I decided to go for it, and so I packed my bags, and I was off to Detroit. I wrote for Hugo Warren for 20 years. 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 Ive helped keep jazz music alive in Philadelphia, and beyond.. BP broke into radio in Detroit on WGPR/WCHB/WCHD in 1964. 2023 WWB Holdings, LLC. I wondered to myself, could I get hired for two jobs in one day?, I went upstairs in the building where the radio station was located and I met the general manager, Perkins continued. Perkins, a longtime jazz DJ, will continue hosting his weekly "Sunday Jazz Brunch show. Each Friday at 6 PM, there's Nouveau Jazz . WRTI, which broadcasts classical music from 6 a.m.-6 p.m. each day, and jazz from 6 p.m.-6 a.m. - What would I do without Bobbi Booker as my gentle alarm clock? Targa Resources 20 years . After a longtime gig at WHYY, he joined WRTI in 1997. Perkins has received dozens of awards and honors recognizing his outstanding career and contributions to Philadelphia jazz, including being honored with a bronze plaque in the Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame on the citys Avenue of the Arts in 2016. Bobs staying power is a testament to his greatness. Perkins. Maybe its one of the high points in their life, Perkins told The Inquirer in 2020. He fell ill around 1940 with rheumatoid arthritis, and was forced to leave his job as an elevator operator. Hed just play people that he liked. TN: Have you made any changes to your playlist, in light of whats happening? 1101 W. Montgomery Avenue WRTI (90.1 FM) is a non-commercial, public radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, . BP: Well, I still like it. Perkins, 88, has been at the station since 1997 and has a media career that has spanned nearly six decades. His show appeals to me in that way. Ive been in radio for about 55 years and in Philadelphia for 50 years. 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. He wasn't doing well at, Classical Events Calendar Submission Form. 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. He went on to work for WDAS and while in Philadelphia, [2] in 1997, he joined WRTI-FM Temple University Radio. For nearly six decades, Philadelphia has been a unique voice in jazz music. BP means a great deal to listeners of all ages. Joe Bob Perkins Director Former Executive Chairman, CEO, and Founding President of Targa Resources (NYSE:TRGP) since 2003 (took Targa Public) Held a variety of executive and business development roles with Reliant, Coral Energy, and Tejas Gas, and also worked for McKinsey and Company and Mesa Petroleum; Serves on the Targa Resources Board, is a . Mr. Bob Perkins, WRTI's own "BP with the GM," is retiring from full-time broadcasting after 25 years at the station and 57 on the air. You can never know. All the girls belong to me!". 1 photo. And I would sit with him and we would listen. 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. I became the news and editorial director after Jim Clash died at WDAS, Perkins said. The world is a lot different than it used to be.. I guess I couldnt help but love radio, because from the time I was a little boy, radio was very much a part of my day every day growing up in South Philadelphia.. 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. "He is a gentleman, a kind soul, and every bit as nice in person as you hear on-air. "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. Mr. Perkins in 2006. I looked around, and I found a station that wanted a newsman. In 1988, big changes came to WDAS, and I was amongst the first of the old group of employees to be let go, he continued. Black Music Month means heritage, he said. But you try to always put that best music forward. Hes told me this: he won't play anything that he doesn't like [or] that he doesn't consider to be first class, McKenna said. Any birthday wishes? Bob Perkins at home at WRTI-FM studios. And he knows the history of the music so well. 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. In this new age of music streaming, where a service like Spotify uses neural networks, big data language analysis, and artificial intelligence machine learning techniques to winnow songs that are channeled down a high-tech digital assembly line to listeners, Perkins relies on a soft, squishy computer that he admits is a bit more unreliable since his stroke and which he refers to in his characteristic parlance as the old noggin. In other words, he plays what he knows and likes. Perkins is the PM drive time jazz radio personality and host for WRTI-FM Temple University Radio in Philadelphia. I knew that people kind of liked my music. Im just playing music. BP with jazz pianist McCoy Tyner at WRTI in 2015. They can take you away. By, Classical Events Calendar Submission Form, Bob Perkins Talks About Dave Brubeck's Legacy Back in 2012, BP Remembers The Glorious Jazz Vocalist Gloria Lynne. Perkins then moved to public radio station WHYY to host a weekend jazz music show before joining WRTI. Thursday marks the end of an era at 90.1 WRTI-FM, with longtime jazz DJ Bob Perkins signing off from his final weeknight shift after 25 years at the station. Went to Texas A&M University. He could pick up stations that no one else that I knew could get. Jazz host Bob Perkins in his office at WRTI. In 2007, he was recognized with a proclamation by Philadelphia Mayor John Street, Philadelphia City Council and the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Like the theme song from the 1944 film Laura, played by saxophone legend Coleman Hawkins. Bob Perkins will retire from his full-time position hosting nights at Temple University Jazz 90.1 WRTI Philadelphia. His show is an oasis, a source of comfort as listeners cope with the challenges of life during a pandemic. By Bob Perkins | WRTI-FM (Philadelphia, PA) One November night in the year 1934, a 17-year-old girl was about to take the stage at the Apollo theater's Amateur Night program and planned to do a dance routinebut changed her mind and decided to sing a song instead. They were very kind at WDAS, and they also allowed me to moonlight at WHYY-FM. Eventually, they changed their format to Jazz and Classical music. 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. 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. He is genuine, a real original.. I knew the Athletics batting averages like they were my own name. 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? 12 of 12. Read More. We all need that role model, that patriarch to keep it going. 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. That petered out, but I was still at WHYY playing jazz music and loving it. People say, You ought to give it up, man, go retire somewhere. Why? WRTI, this 600th review is for you! Information about his on-air schedule may be found at WRTI's website. 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. 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.. Electronics and technology are magnificent. The host entered the Philadelphia radio world in 1967 with WDAM, where he served as a news and editorial director. I dont know why music is so much more powerful than some other entity. Ive got high mileage on my odometer, Perkins wrote. We have a father right now and that's Bob Perkins.. And to have that kind of confidence in a guy whos just sitting around playing music [laughs], thats pretty good. Radio was saturated into me like a sponge thats put in water, Perkins said. Bob Perkins: I do itand Im not trying to be funnybut I do it really by braille, a feel. (Photo courtesy of WRTI-FM) His father's illness is what really led to radio becoming an important part of the Perkins household. 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. Perkins was born and raised in South Philadelphia and currently lives in Glenside, Pennsylvania, with his wife Sheila. I went downstairs at the same building, and told the insurance company, Im here to quit a job I never started. Leaving out the door of the insurance company, the man who had offered me a job selling insurance said, Do you know what theyre going to pay you up there? 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. Language: English Contact: WRTI-FM 1509 Cecil B. Moore Avenue, 3rd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19121 Website: http://www.wrti.org/ Email: Bob@wrti.org Episodes Ive gotta find something else to do, he said. Bob Perkins, a legendary DJ at the radio station WRTI, spun everything from Duke Ellington to Miles Davis. But it seems like the longer I stayed out, [chuckles] the more positive response I got. 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. 1. Or when times are not tight and everythings loose? Temple Public Radio 90.1 FM is amazing! Twitter: @WRTImusic Language: English Contact: Happy Birthday BP! One of the most familiar voices on Philadelphias airwaves, BP is also an elder statesman of the citys jazz community, cherished by listeners and musicians alike. My father must have been listening to radio from the very start. I think its magic, the music I play. I think what separates him from some of the other programming is that Bob is tried and true, said vocalist Denise King. Maybe were getting back to that today. He has earned well over forty different honors and awards from major government, artistic, journalistic and community organizations. 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. Previously, Bob was a Board Member at Jazz Bridge and also held positions at Data Site, Unisys, WDAS Fm. It takes a little bit of thought. You dont know whos listening, how many people: could be one, could be 10,000. At 90.1 FM. And people do forget. 2/17/2019. Bob Perkins has been a fixture on Philadelphias airwaves for 50 years. Listener-supported. BP brought the GM back for the first time in more than four months his longest absence from the Philadelphia airwaves in 50 years on a Thursday night in December, followed a few days later by his Sunday show at 9 a.m. What he will bring to the microphone in a neat control room on Cecil B. Moore Boulevard just west of Broad Street is something his colleague Bob Craig describes as a style that is very, very warm and very personal and very loose. Jazz radio legend Bob Perkins, 88, will retire in June from his full-time role as a host at Philadelphia's WRTI-FM. WRTI listeners will still be able to join him for Sunday Jazz Brunch, from 9 AM to 1 PM. Bob is jazz radio, David Conant, former general manager at WRTI, told The Inquirer in 2016. But at age 88, Perkins is signing off passing the ball to the next era of jazz lovers. 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. Thursday marks the end of an era at 90.1 WRTI-FM, with longtime jazz DJ Bob Perkins signing off from his final weeknight shift after 25 years at the station. Bob Perkins, age 8. Who knows what lies behind that smile? BP: I dont know. 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. Robert Bob Perkins (born December 6, 1933) is an American radio personality. Bell Building PERKINS, 88, has been hosting at WRTI for 25. "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.. From 1988 to 1997 he hosted a well-known jazz program on Saturday nights on WHYY-FM before moving to WRTI. You had to wear earphones to hear whatever stations you were lucky enough to hear that would come through. You can touch a button and get any answer to any question that you have. This job and that job until I really found my niche in radio and I just happened to walk into a radio station one day and they happened to need someone. 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. Those letters always remind me that you have people out there listening to you and theyre expecting some good things from you. BP: No, I just put out the music. Thats the magic part about this thing called music. Not doing anything heroic. Five of the most outstanding jazz personalities had. Jazz radio host and South Philadelphia native Bob Perkins, a mainstay on Temple University's public WRTI-FM station, plans to significantly scale back his hours this summer. 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. Lance Venta is Owner and Publisher of RadioInsight.com. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. 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. Temple Now: How do you choose the music that you play? And the only way you can make it accurate is you have to be there, he said. [8] Philadelphia honored him in 2017 when he was inducted in Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame.[9]. 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