I had a mild stroke. So when I came back I got these emails saying, Oh, were glad youre back. I save all my emails. He has been with the station since 1997. I [then] looked up and I saw a sign that read WGPR-FM. Its almost like were trying to do too much. But he played the radio, that was his only salvation from the pain. My father must have been listening to radio from the very start. We would listen to WAR in Detroit, which is 500 miles away. 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 think its magic, the music I play. People say, You ought to give it up, man, go retire somewhere. Why? He wanted to share his obsession. My dad was my radio school, the 86-year-old remembered. Any birthday wishes? [citation needed], Perkins started his radio career in Detroit over five years, from 1964 to 1969. BP broke into radio in Detroit on WGPR/WCHB/WCHD in 1964. Music they danced and romanced to when they were young people.. Bob Perkins has been instrumental in establishing WRTI as one of the premier jazz stations in the country since 1997. His show appeals to me in that way. Radio started I think, in 1920 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 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. Growing up in a two-bedroom rowhouse near 19th and Reed in South Philly during World War II, Bob Perkins received intimate and powerful instruction on the healing properties of radio. In addition to his job as WRTI jazz host, Perkins has written numerous columns and commentaries on jazz, and has hosted a multitude of concerts at jazz clubs and festivals. BP with jazz pianist McCoy Tyner at WRTI in 2015. He made his own antennas and we could sit and listen to Chicago, Detroit. Lance also advises stations, talent and brands on digital content strategies, programming integrations, and brand extensions. We all need that role model, that patriarch to keep it going. He went on to work for WDAS and while in Philadelphia, [2] in 1997, he joined WRTI-FM Temple University Radio. Am I going to capture their imagination today? 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. Information about his on-air schedule may be found at WRTI's website. 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. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. I wrote for Hugo Warren for 20 years. Its a rallying cry. I was weaned on radio. Listener-supported. [citation needed]. 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. 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. Music. Not doing anything heroic. I never knew exactly how my father came to love radio so much, but he was an avid radio listener, Perkins recalled. [citation needed], Perkins is also a first-call jazz MC. We listened sometimes to WGN in Chicago that was like 650 miles away. Maybe were getting back to that today. 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. Philadelphia,PA19122 USA. TN: It sounds like being a DJ is something you were always meant to do. The world wasnt moving quite as fast. Bob Perkins said of his retirement, 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 Ive been, with whom Ive 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 wandered into the station at WGPR-FM and got a position as on-air DJ and Announcer. Radio was drilled in my head.. 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. In 2016, he was inducted into the Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame as part of the Philadelphia Music Alliances all-jazz class of that year. PublishedDecember 6, 2013 at 5:49 AM EST. Some of the management of that station listened to me on WGPR and they liked what they heard, he said. 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. He went on to work for WDAS and while in Philadelphia, [2] in 1997, he joined WRTI-FM Temple University Radio. 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. He was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame in 2003. WRTI, this 600th review is for you! Joseph V. Labolito. "[4] He is also an accomplished radio news journalist and a First Call Master of Ceremonies for regional jazz music events. Leah Fletcher, Account Executive, WRTI: Philadelphias Invisible Jazz Station, A Historical Approach to the Positive Music: Jazz in Philadelphia, Gospel Roots of Rock and Soul will be broadcast by US public radio stations during Black History Month, including WXPN and WRTI, Biden declares Kyiv stands in surprise visit to Ukraine, Supreme Court seems ready to reject student loan forgiveness, Former Philadelphia Eagle, CBS anchor Irv Cross had brain disease CTE, Queen Latifah will host the 2023 NAACP Image Awards on Feb. 25 in Pasadena CA. WRTI listeners will still be able to join him for Sunday Jazz Brunch, from 9 AM to 1 PM. #WRTImusic 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!. Listen to BP's last weeknight shift on Thursday, June 30th from 6 to 9 PM. Jazz also captivated Perkins at a young age. BP broke into the radio business in 1964 when he landed an on-air job in Detroit. Perkins was honored with a bronze plaque in the Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame on the citys Avenue of the Arts in 2016 and was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame in 2003, among other awards and accolades. announced his retirement from weeknight shows in April, California residents do not sell my data request. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. And he knows the history of the music so well. Perkins, known to listeners as "BP . BP: No, I just put out the music. He will continue to host his Sunday program. TEMPLE UNIVERSITY Jazz-Classical WRTI/PHILADELPHIA evening host BOB PERKINS is stepping away from his weekday 6-9p (ET) show on JUNE 30th. Thats the magic part about this thing called music. The thing I liked about what Bob did was that he didnt call it a jazz show. 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. What makes Bob so incredibly important to our music history and the history of Philadelphia is: he was there. Hes one of the last purveyors of our actual history. 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!". Jazz radio legend Bob Perkins, 88, will retire in June from his full-time role as a host at Philadelphia's WRTI-FM. Joe Blocks parents were fans of WRTI and the pianist grew up listening to BP, becoming a fan himself. Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. Bob Perkins has been a fixture on Philadelphia's airwaves for 50 years. But you try to always put that best music forward. Discovery, curation, community, performance, preservation. He began his career at WGPR Detroit. BP talks about Charlie Parker back in 2020 with WRTI's Susan Lewis: His presence is felt throughout the city. [1] His radio career began in 1964 in Detroit, Michigan. ", BP going one on one with the audience shows a very strong kinship, said Craig, himself a 40-year veteran of local radio. 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. Perkins spoke about the evolution of radio. Bob's contributions to jazz are innumerable. 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. Bob Perkins at home at WRTI-FM studios. He currently hosts from 6 pm to 9 pm Monday through Thursday, and from 9 am to 1 pm Sundays. 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. All the girls belong to me!". Perkins' jazz show has been broadcast Monday through Thursday from 6-9 p.m. and from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Sundays. Radio was saturated into me like a sponge thats put in water, Perkins said. 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 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? [8] Philadelphia honored him in 2017 when he was inducted in Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame.[9]. Jazz radio legend Bob Perkins, 88, will retire in June from his full-time role as a host at Philadelphia's WRTI-FM. I think in some way, Bob is able to bridge that gap, King said. 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? I had also served in the United States Army from 1956 to 1958. Something they can hum. How does it connect with them in a way other things dont? Temple Now:The official source for Temple news.Copyright 2015, Temple University. 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 remember telling my friends about it, McKenna adds. I try to ameliorate that and take the rough edges off if I can, with the music. Maybe its one of the high points in their life. He is a gentleman, a kind soul, and every bit as nice in person as you hear on-air. 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. Mr. Bob Perkins ("BP with the GM") WRTI jazz host extraordinaire turns 80 years old today. His father built homemade antennas that could pick up broadcasts from hundreds of miles away and the two would sit and listen together. 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