Perkins will continue to host his Sunday show from 9am to 1pm. Sunday Jazz Brunch with Bob Perkins airs from 9 AM until 1 PM. Temple Public Radio 90.1 FM is amazing! BP: People, they never call me, seemingly. He throws in a four-hour show on Sunday mornings for good measure. 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. Listen to BP's last weeknight shift on Thursday, June 30th from 6 to 9 PM. Im just about 90% recovered and the letters that they sent, it was embarrassing to me because of the flattery that they gave me. Every Saturday, I was there.. Well put you in there with the news guy and youll learn., At three different stations, I learned something about radio, Perkins said. [3] One of his well-known sayings is "This is BP with the GM!". 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. I next made a move over to WRTI, which is Temple Universitys radio station, as a volunteer DJ playing jazz music. 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. Copyright 2022 RadioInsight / RadioBB Networks. 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. TN: Have you made any changes to your playlist, in light of whats happening? 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. Some of Bob Perkins' major honors and awards for career accomplishments include: The Kal Rudman Milestones in Radio Award; The Mellon Jazz Community Service Award, 2002);[6] Inducted to the Philadelphia Broadcast Hall of Fame, 2003 and the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia [1] Hall of Fame (Enshrined with Philadelphia Broadcast Legends John Facenda, Larry Kane, Dick Clark, Herb Clarke and Ed Bradley, to name a few); City of Philadelphia Proclamation by Mayor John Street for Outstanding Contribution to Philadelphia Jazz, 2007;[7] State of Pennsylvania Proclamations at the State House of Representatives and the State Senate for Outstanding Contribution by a Pennsylvania Resident to Jazz, 2007; U.S. House of Representatives Proclamation by Congressman Chaka Fattah for Outstanding Contribution by a Pennsylvania Resident to Jazz, 2007 (pictured above). 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.. He goes way back and he studied by listening to some of the great commentators and broadcasters over the years, he said. READ MORE: Two Philly jazz masters celebrate their birthdays (and their best-friendship), Perkins had suffered a stroke. But it seems like the longer I stayed out, [chuckles] the more positive response I got. Happy Birthday BP! Learn More about Joe Bob Perkins' net worth. 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! After 58 years of working in broadcast radio, Philadelphias Bob Perkins will lay down his microphone by the end of this month. 2023 WWB Holdings, LLC. Thats our savior, man.. Temple Now: How do you choose the music that you play? Perkins credits his father for being the one who gave him the love for radio. 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 . You trusted the newsperson you were listening to. I did what I could, he said, because I didnt know a thing about writing editorials. I think it would be silly to have me programming for a jazz historian.. 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 . Michael Tanenbaum 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. 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. Mr. Bob Perkins ("BP with the GM") WRTI jazz host extraordinaire turns 80 years old today. Why might that be? The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. WRTI. BP broke into radio in Detroit on WGPR/WCHB/WCHD in 1964. Targa Resources 20 years . I was out for about four months. It comes out of the head, out of the heart and out of your soul. He has been with the station since 1997. 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. My dad was my radio school, the 86-year-old remembered. But what are you going to do? Maybe its one of the high points in their life, Perkins told The Inquirer in 2020. 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. Bob Perkins reflects on his memories of Philadelphian tenor saxophonist Sam Reed, who passed away earlier this month.. Courtney Blue, KLN '12, hosts Late Evening Jazz, The Jazz Request Show and Nouveau Jazz Showcase. Perkins wandered into the station at WGPR-FM and got a position as on-air DJ and Announcer. I wrote for Hugo Warren for 20 years. He has a very comforting presence on the air. His salvation was radio, Perkins said. "I got radio rammed down my throat, because that was my fathers relief from his pain.. Bob Perkins's Phone Number and Email. We all need that role model, that patriarch to keep it going. 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. The world wasnt moving quite as fast. 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.. BP was awarded the 2002 Mellon Jazz Community Award. [1] His radio career began in 1964 in Detroit, Michigan. ), I remember telling my friends about it, McKenna adds. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Maureen Malloy, the director of jazz programming at WRTI, says there was an insane amount of listener response to Perkins unexplained absence. All the girls belong to me!". Thats our savior, man.. 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? I think because of them, thats where my love of jazz music was solidified.. I [then] looked up and I saw a sign that read WGPR-FM. Bob Perkins has been a fixture on Philadelphias airwaves for 50 years. July 1, 2022. Perkins stayed at that first station about a year and a half when another opportunity showed itself. I dont know why music is so much more powerful than some other entity. A lot of people, at least in my experience as an artist, associate this music with their grandparents' music or their parents' music. I got a job working at a Black-owned insurance company, Great Lakes Mutual, in Detroit. Read More. 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. Perkins was born on December 6, 1933. Saxophonist Larry McKenna has been listening to him for 40 years. Bob has always taken that part of his life very seriously and gives credit where credit is due. Not really fair to the jazz side, IMO, since most people sleep 8 hours of that half, but if you hook yourself up through the website, you can get streaming of whatever . PublishedDecember 6, 2013 at 5:49 AM EST. Meaning "Bob Perkins with the good music. The Philadelphia Sunday SUN - P.O. 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. BP: It seems that way. Lets sit around and gab, whatever the case may be. 2/17/2019. Do you have any anecdotes about BP you'd like to share? Music they danced and romanced to when they were young people.. Bob in the mid '60s - a seasoned veteran on the job for one year at WGPR in Detroit. Perkins is currently engaged for the annual Cape May Jazz Festival Concert Series and the Tony Williams Jazz Festival Concert Series. Bell Building 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 is a gentleman, a kind soul, and every bit as nice in person as you hear on-air. WRTI listeners will still be able to join him for Sunday Jazz Brunch, from 9 AM to 1 PM. Something they can hum. 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. I look forward to you lending me your finely tuned ears very soon.". 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? After a longtime gig at WHYY, he joined WRTI in 1997. The host entered the Philadelphia radio world in 1967 with WDAM, where he served as a news and editorial director. He is a gentleman, a kind soul, and every bit as nice in person as you hear on-air. The jazz hosts show offers a break from the stresses of COVID-19. Once Mom made transition, I decided to go for it, and so I packed my bags, and I was off to Detroit. He is a part of that time when jazz was juke joints and Friday night fish fries. As of 1997, Perkins landed at WRTI-FM. He also hosts concerts at jazz clubs and at regional festivals. We had great announcers back then. [1] His radio career began in 1964 in Detroit, Michigan. TN: Why was it important for you to keep doing your show? 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. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of the music and the musicians, and has known many of the greats. New Temple Press book celebrates Philadelphias Italian legacy, Hundreds of Temple community members gather to celebrate the life of Sergeant Christopher Fitzgerald with his family, Temples Lenfest Center increases job opportunities for the North Philadelphia community, Globally connected campus: A presidential visit to Temple Rome, Whats the best way for an athlete to build their brand? I leaned on them when I got into radio until I got my own sea legs and could navigate on my own.. NPR news updates every hour. About to host his talk show on WDAS in the mid '70s. I couldnt leave Mom Perkins to go chasing after radio, he said. He could pick up stations that no one else that I knew could get. Bob's contributions to jazz are innumerable. I was a war baby. In September of 1969, I started working at WDAS as a newsman. 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. 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. 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. BP with Dave Brubeck in 1983 - backstage at the Academy of Music. I knew the Athletics batting averages like they were my own name. 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. I try not to ad-lib and talk about what is going on. 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. We love your GM ("Good Music . Its almost like were trying to do too much. Ive been in radio for quite some time. 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. 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. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. He is a jazz program host and DJ for WRTI. Black Music Month means heritage, he said. #WRTImusic IE 11 is not supported. My father just loved to have the radio on. 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. Everything is so fast nowadays. By, Classical Events Calendar Submission Form. He was known for his laid-back and mellow style. [citation needed]. His show appeals to me in that way. Bob Perkins has been a fixture on Philadelphia's airwaves for 50 years. Joe Blocks parents were fans of WRTI and the pianist grew up listening to BP, becoming a fan himself. And for 50 of those years he's been on the radio to the delight of thousands and thousands of listeners. At the end of this Black Music Month, Bob Perkins will be retiring at the ripe young age of 88. What makes Bob so incredibly important to our music history and the history of Philadelphia is: he was there. I met saxophonist Sam Reed well before he became a legendary figure on the Philadelphia jazz scene. His distinctive deep voice and progressive points of view became an on-air signature for the fast-growing FM and AM operations at WDAS over 19 years during the 1970's and '80's. Believe it or not, I next ended up at Power 99. 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. Previously, Bob was a Board Member at Jazz Bridge and also held positions at Data Site, Unisys, WDAS Fm. And the only way you can make it accurate is you have to be there, he said. 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. Last Update. Music has brought us through some very challenging times.. Fifty-seven years after his voice first graced the airwaves, Perkins, best-known for his weeknight jazz show at WRTI, is entering semi-retirement after 25 years at the station. He credits his love for radio to his father who repaired radios as a hobby when he was young. I was weaned on radio. "[4] He is also an accomplished radio news journalist and a First Call Master of Ceremonies for regional jazz music events. Like the theme song from the 1944 film Laura, played by saxophone legend Coleman Hawkins. We spoke with him about his show, the power of radio and the beauty of jazz. In celebration of Women's History Month, we're shining a spotlight on the female hosts of WRTI. Went to Texas A&M University. 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 | Bob Perkins: I do itand Im not trying to be funnybut I do it really by braille, a feel. And you had to visualize this man who could make himself invisible. It gives you a feeling of a time gone by, a past era where jazz was the music of the day.. On this show he would play a record by Dick Haymes or Doris Day or Rosemary Clooney. He is one of the few DJs at WRTI, or any radio station in existence nowadays, allowed such a luxury. I went to a radio school through my father. People say, You ought to give it up, man, go retire somewhere. Why? He has earned well over forty different honors and awards from major government, artistic, journalistic and community organizations. I enjoy it. 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. 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. People call me and tell me, I didnt like jazz till you played it, Perkins told The Inquirer in 2016. Once I got some news training under my belt, I started trading news stories with the news team at WDAS in Philadelphia. I knew that people kind of liked my music. 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. Of 1969, I started trading news stories with the GM '' ) WRTI host... Previously, Bob Perkins ( `` BP with the GM! `` ; music... Mutual, in Detroit joined WRTI in 1997 our site on another.! Government, artistic, journalistic and Community organizations fixture on Philadelphia & # x27 ; s airwaves 50... First station about a year bob perkins wrti illness a half when another opportunity showed itself jazz music jazz program host DJ. Accurate is you have to be there, he joined WRTI in 1997 listener response to unexplained! 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