How is someone out there feeling? 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. The Philadelphia Sunday SUN - P.O. He is a jazz program host and DJ for WRTI. Scroll down to see recent playlists. Perkins, known to listeners as "BP . WRTI, this 600th review is for you! Bob Perkins's Phone Number and Email. 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 They don't think that it's accessible to younger people. At 90.1 FM. On the set of his jazz cable TV show at the old Greater Media Cable in South Philly in the early '90s with guest vocalist Paula Johns. I next made a move over to WRTI, which is Temple Universitys radio station, as a volunteer DJ playing jazz music. TEMPLE UNIVERSITY Jazz-Classical WRTI/PHILADELPHIA evening host BOB PERKINS is stepping away from his weekday 6-9p (ET) show on JUNE 30th. We werent sure at first when hed be back, so we didnt say anything. Finally, in mid-November, a post went up on the WRTI web page. 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. But BP programs his own. It was a small station. The music that appeals to BPs old noggin is what he calls the melodic stuff with no expiration date, most of it recorded decades ago. He currently hosts from 6-9pm Monday through Thursday, and from . [citation needed]. I think its magic, the music I play. Perkins's CEO profile on Targa Resources's website states that he has both an engineering and a business background when it comes to his education. The station, run by Temple University, plays classical music during the day and transforms in the evenings into one the countrys premier jazz music broadcasters. 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. Its not the same. You know, its magic that Ive been around that long and people have that much confidence in me. In celebration of Women's History Month, we're shining a spotlight on the female hosts of WRTI. [1] His radio career began in 1964 in Detroit, Michigan. But I didnt really visualize the response that I got. 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. BP: I dont know. BP: Well, I still like it. My father just loved to have the radio on. I leaned on them when I got into radio until I got my own sea legs and could navigate on my own.. He announced his retirement from weeknight shows in April. He was known for his laid-back and mellow style. BP with Dave Brubeck in 1983 - backstage at the Academy of Music. 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. Perkins credits his father for being the one who gave him the love for radio. Im just about 90% recovered and the letters that they sent, it was embarrassing to me because of the flattery that they gave me. Perkins was also one of Pennsylvania's favorite night-time jazz listeners, in the Philadelphia area. Lance Venta is Owner and Publisher of RadioInsight.com. But I had some qualifications, too, because my dad got into radio back in the 1920s, when radio was in its infancy. Everything is so fast nowadays. He has a very comforting presence on the air. I look to my dad and my older brother, Perkins said, and I guess I was just programmed to do what I do. Lets sit around and gab, whatever the case may be. (Photo courtesy of WRTI-FM) His father's illness is what really led to radio becoming an important part of the Perkins household. 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. "[4] He is also an accomplished radio news journalist and a First Call Master of Ceremonies for regional jazz music events. 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. Hes speaking their language especially people who have been listening for years and years.. It took Perkins a little while to break into radio. 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. He was too ill to work; he had rheumatoid arthritis. BP: Yes, it really did. Longtime jazz radio host Bob Perkins will retire from full-time hosting on WRTI-FM/Philadelphia in June, the public radio station of Temple University in Philadelphia announced Tuesday. He also wrote editorials and other articles for the former Philadelphia New Observer. I think what separates him from some of the other programming is that Bob is tried and true, said vocalist Denise King. Perkins has been ill and off the air for a few months but will make his return in the first week of January. King agrees. He began his career at WGPR 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. Mr. Bob Perkins, WRTIs own BP with the GM," is retiring from full-time broadcasting after 25 years at the station and 57 on the air. 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. He could pick up stations that no one else that I knew could get. Radio was saturated into me like a sponge thats put in water, Perkins said. Classical music and jazz public media. His salvation was radio, Perkins said. Ive met a lot of good people, a lot of entertainers, musicians, and politicians along the way. Please let Bob know in the comments section below. I lived on the same block as the famous Heath Brothers in South Philadelphia growing up, he said. I look forward to you lending me your finely tuned ears very soon.". My mom would let me stay up on the weekends and sometimes we would pick up stations in other states. If you, WRTIs Bob Perkins joined the 2016 Philadelphia Music Alliance Walk of Fame class on October 19th. 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. Bob Perkins has been a fixture on Philadelphias airwaves for 50 years. My dad was my radio school, the 86-year-old remembered. Read more MICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer IE 11 is not supported. 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. 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. Happy Birthday BP! 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. Eventually, they changed their format to Jazz and Classical music. Five of the most outstanding jazz personalities had. They just let me have my own way and they seem to like what I play. Ive got high mileage on my odometer, Perkins wrote. We have a father right now and that's Bob Perkins.. Once I got some news training under my belt, I started trading news stories with the news team at WDAS in Philadelphia. This was in the mid-1920s., My father was kind of a genius in handling his radio, Perkins continued. He is known as "BP with the GM," short for Bob Perkins with the Good Music. He is genuine, a real original.. 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. They were very kind at WDAS, and they also allowed me to moonlight at WHYY-FM. Maybe its one of the high points in their life. You can touch a button and get any answer to any question that you have. A Philadelphia man has become an institution by keeping the sounds of Philly and American Jazz alive for decades. Since I turned 65, he reports with a tone more of irony than self-pity, its been one thing after another. 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. All rights reserved. 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. And for 50 of those years he's been on the radio to the delight of thousands and thousands of listeners. The great alto saxophonist and jazz icon Charlie "Yardbird" Parker was only 34 years old when he died in 1955. And it is. Remember, I came up as a war baby. Jazz radio legend Bob Perkins, 88, will retire in June from his full-time role as a host at Philadelphia's WRTI-FM. 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. I couldnt leave Mom Perkins to go chasing after radio, he said. I remember saying, I dont know how to write editorials. LeBaron Taylor said [to me], You take the job and if you mess up, well get somebody else. I did that for 13 years pretty good. 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. I enjoy it. Robert Bob Perkins (born December 6, 1933) is an American radio personality. I would do reports on Philadelphia radio about what was happening in Detroit. I got a job working at a Black-owned insurance company, Great Lakes Mutual, in Detroit. A mainstay of the jazz music and radio community, Perkins has been on-air at WRTI since 1997. Perkins recalled that his father, at the age of about 40, had such severe arthritis that he could barely walk. He announced his retirement from weeknight shows in April. He got his first job in radio during a trip to visit his two brothers in Detroit in 1964. Jazz radio legend Bob Perkins, 88, will retire in June from his full-time role as a host at Philadelphia's WRTI-FM. As of 1997, Perkins landed at WRTI-FM. It takes a little bit of thought. 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