Previously, Bob was a Board Member at Jazz Bridge and also held positions at Data Site, Unisys, WDAS Fm. PERKINS, 88, has been hosting at WRTI for 25. Went to Texas A&M University. Maybe its one of the high points in their life, Perkins told The Inquirer in 2020. Radio started I think, in 1920 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 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. I was out for almost four months. Robert "Bob" Perkins (born December 6, 1933) is an American radio personality. Five of the most outstanding jazz personalities had. I know Ive been very blessed. Its almost like were trying to do too much. I met saxophonist Sam Reed well before he became a legendary figure on the Philadelphia jazz scene. We love your GM ("Good Music . 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. All the girls belong to me!". Its not the same. You know, its magic that Ive been around that long and people have that much confidence in me. Perkins wandered into the station at WGPR-FM and got a position as on-air DJ and Announcer. Classical music and jazz public media. Bob Perkins: I do itand Im not trying to be funnybut I do it really by braille, a feel. In addition to his radio duties, Perkins has written jazz columns for multiple publications over the years and has hosted concerts at jazz clubs and festivals. "You guys go home! 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. I dont think that there's anybody in Philadelphia who's a true jazz fan who doesn't know who he is, McKenna said. It was typically BP in tone. BP with jazz pianist McCoy Tyner at WRTI in 2015. He currently hosts from 6-9pm Monday through Thursday, and from . [citation needed]. For the last 25 years, hes become known for his warm, personable on-air style, extensive knowledge of jazz, and thoughtful, wide-ranging music mix. 2023 WWB Holdings, LLC. 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. Bob Perkins, age 8. Who knows what lies behind that smile? 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. But I mimicked what I thought the great guys Id grown up with would do, and I got away with it for years.. He said yesand hes been here ever since. BP broke into the radio business in 1964 when he landed an on-air job in Detroit. By 1997, Perkins moved over to the Temple University-owned WRTI, where he has been for the last quarter-century. [3] One of his well-known sayings is "This is BP with the GM!". He goes way back and he studied by listening to some of the great commentators and broadcasters over the years, he said. A mainstay of the jazz music and radio community, Perkins has been on-air at WRTI since 1997. Please let Bob know in the comments section below. Bob Perkins' first radio gig at WGPR-FM in Detroit, 1964. I leaned on them when I got into radio until I got my own sea legs and could navigate on my own.. 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. Looking back over his broadcast career, Perkins said he had dual passions one for anchoring the news, the other for playing jazz greats on the radio. TN: People staying at home have been listening more to the radio and less to streaming services. Joe Blocks parents were fans of WRTI and the pianist grew up listening to BP, becoming a fan himself. Information about his on-air schedule may be found at WRTI's website. 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. They offered me a job and I accepted. 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. Bob is jazz radio, David Conant, former general manager at WRTI, told The Inquirer in 2016. Bob says that it was Joe who first introduced him to jazz. Joseph V. Labolito. But I mimicked what I thought the great guys Id grown up with would do, and I got away with it for years., READ MORE: Talking all that jazz with WRTI legend Bob Perkins. 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. I try not to ad-lib and talk about what is going on. [1] His radio career began in 1964 in Detroit, Michigan. We had great announcers back then. Mr. Perkins in 2006. The host entered the Philadelphia radio world in 1967 with WDAM, where he served as a news and editorial director. Am I going to capture their imagination today? In turn, news reporters from WDAS would report via radio, in Detroit, about what was happening of importance in the city of Philadelphia., The management team at WDAS liked my work very much, and one day they asked me the question, Do you want to come home and work in Philadelphia radio? We would listen to the great John Facenda out of Philadelphia and to other great broadcasters from other cities. He later joined WHYY with a weekend jazz show before landing at WRTI. Dave and Bob share the same birthday! It has to be accurate. I did what I could, he said, because I didnt know a thing about writing editorials. Once I got some news training under my belt, I started trading news stories with the news team at WDAS in Philadelphia. Mr. Bob Perkins ("BP with the GM") WRTI jazz host extraordinaire turns 80 years old today. Remember, I came up as a war baby. After 58 years of working in broadcast radio, Philadelphias Bob Perkins will lay down his microphone by the end of this month. Once Mom made transition, I decided to go for it, and so I packed my bags, and I was off to Detroit. Or Tony Bennett singing My Foolish Heart accompanied by pianist Bill Evans. 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. As of 1997, Perkins landed at WRTI-FM. We listened sometimes to WGN in Chicago that was like 650 miles away. I was a war baby. They can take you away. Jazz host Bob Perkins in his office at WRTI. He is a jazz program host and DJ for WRTI. Bob Perkins reflects on his memories of Philadelphian tenor saxophonist Sam Reed, who passed away earlier this month.. 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. And hopefully its working. When WHYY dropped its music programming to concentrate on news and information, Perkins moved uptown. He got his first job in radio during a trip to visit his two brothers in Detroit in 1964. His show is an oasis, a source of comfort as listeners cope with the challenges of life during a pandemic. Domain Insight 2/27: The First Audacy Atlas Divestiture Will Go To. He was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame in 2003. 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. 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? WRTI's legendary jazz DJ Bob Perkins retires at age 88 For nearly six decades, Philadelphia has been a unique voice in jazz music. BP's last WRTI weeknight shift is on Thursday, June 30th from 6 to 9 PM. He also wrote editorials and other articles for the former Philadelphia New Observer. It seems like our attention spans are so divided in this new age of technology. The mix of music was an image of the man who chose it: smart and warm and nostalgic, displaying impeccable taste and a steady, low-key, and almost offhand hipness. Perkins is currently engaged for the annual Cape May Jazz Festival Concert Series and the Tony Williams Jazz Festival Concert Series. Jazz radio legend Bob Perkins, 88, will retire in June from his full-time role as a host at Philadelphia's WRTI-FM. The estimated net worth of Joe Bob Perkins is at least $6.75 million as of November 2nd, 2022. ), I remember telling my friends about it, McKenna adds. He also hosts concerts at jazz clubs and at regional festivals. Maybe were getting back to that today. 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. Perkins was born and raised in South Philadelphia and currently lives in Glenside, Pennsylvania, with his wife Sheila. His stories are not secondhand.. Wait two seconds and you'll hear about yet another award bestowed on "Ol' BP," as he calls himself. Perkins sat and listened and learned his lessons and developed a calling. Bob Perkins's Phone Number and Email. He is one of the few DJs at WRTI, or any radio station in existence nowadays, allowed such a luxury. Especially jazz music. I knew that people kind of liked my music. His Sunday 'Jazz Brunch' show will continue. 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. 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'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. 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? My dad was my radio school, the 86-year-old remembered. 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. Bob Perkins, WRTI DJ has been spinning music in Philadelphia since 1969. Five days a week, on WRTI, "BP with the GM" (that's Bob Perkins with the Good Music), plays jazz with a connoisseur's ear and an infectious sense of joy. He wasn't doing well at, Classical Events Calendar Submission Form. 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. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of the music and the musicians, and has known many of the greats. It gives you a feeling of a time gone by, a past era where jazz was the music of the day.. But he played the radio, that was his only salvation from the pain. PublishedDecember 6, 2013 at 5:49 AM EST. You dont know whos listening, how many people: could be one, could be 10,000. I couldnt leave Mom Perkins to go chasing after radio, he said. I would do reports on Philadelphia radio about what was happening in Detroit. 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. Perkins, 88, has been at the station since 1997 and has a media career that has spanned nearly six decades. BP: It seems that way. And you had to visualize this man who could make himself invisible. "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. This website uses cookies. Michael Tanenbaum But it seems like the longer I stayed out, [chuckles] the more positive response I got. He credits his love for radio to his father who repaired radios as a hobby when he was young. ABOVE PHOTO: The Legendary BP with the GM (Photo courtesy of WRTI-FM). Bell Building Pianist Orrin Evans believes BP is vital to Philadelphias jazz scene. Perkins has been ill and off the air for a few months but will make his return in the first week of January. 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. It took Perkins a little while to break into radio. 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. You had to wear earphones to hear whatever stations you were lucky enough to hear that would come through. And for 50 of those years he's been on the radio to the, Our very own "BP with the GM" shared his story, going back to childhood, with a large audience at the Athenaeum of Philadelphia on Feb. 22, 2019. Music they danced and romanced to when they were young people.. Beginning in June, he will end the weekday program and continue with the Sunday broadcast on, Fans mourn death of legendary Philly radio host Sid Mark, Questlove, The Balvenie award first scholarship for PhD in Creativity at University of the Arts, Philadelphia Film Society to host series of family-friendly movie screenings, Eagles name Alex Tanney QB coach, plus other coaching staff updates, The food you eat impacts the health of your eyes, Construction of Penn's Landing park over I-95 finally approved to begin, PennDOT says, Joanna McClinton becomes first woman elected as speaker of Pa. House, Rocco's Italian Sausage, a cult favorite at Home Depot stores in Philly, to expand in Bucks County, Low-calorie sweetener tied to higher risk of heart attack and stroke, study finds. 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. Robert Bob Perkins (born December 6, 1933) is an American radio personality. But on the other side of the coin, technology can be very dangerous.. He has earned well over forty different honors and awards from major government, artistic, journalistic and community organizations. "He is a gentleman, a kind soul, and every bit as nice in person as you hear on-air. 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. 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. Hed just play people that he liked. Read more MICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer 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. I lived on the same block as the famous Heath Brothers in South Philadelphia growing up, he said. Lets sit around and gab, whatever the case may be. 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. Courtney Blue, KLN '12, hosts Late Evening Jazz, The Jazz Request Show and Nouveau Jazz Showcase. Happy Birthday BP! Black Music Month means heritage, he said. 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. For younger listeners who might not be as familiar with jazz and are exploring the genre, BPs show is an introductory primer: Jazz 101. It was a small station. 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