A few Philadelphia artists were sprinkled into the evening, including Perkins longtime friend, saxophonist Bootsie Barnes, and vocalist Phyllis Chapell, who dedicated her latest album to BP. BP's last WRTI weeknight shift is on Thursday, June 30th from 6 to 9 PM. Particularly for older listeners, he gives them the comfort of something familiar, and makes them remember that this music that he's playing was the soundtrack to a lot of their lives. The music Perkins plays can summon Proustian recollections of a first kiss, a dance at the Savoy Ballroom or a joyful reunion after a long absence. Classical 6am-6pm, and Jazz 6pm-6am. He is one of the few DJs at WRTI, or any radio station in existence nowadays, allowed such a luxury. What makes Bob so incredibly important to our music history and the history of Philadelphia is: he was there. Ive been told way before I was born, people would come to our house back when my father had the first crystal radio set on the block. ABOVE PHOTO: The Legendary BP with the GM (Photo courtesy of WRTI-FM). I program most of the music on the station, said Maureen Malloy. Bob in the mid '60s - a seasoned veteran on the job for one year at WGPR in Detroit. I look forward to you lending me your finely tuned ears very soon.". And to have that kind of confidence in a guy whos just sitting around playing music [laughs], thats pretty good. 2/17/2019. He was the youngest child and when his mother became ill, he felt responsible to stay and care for her. It seems like our attention spans are so divided in this new age of technology. Previously, Bob was a Board Member at Jazz Bridge and also held positions at Data Site, Unisys, WDAS Fm. Classical music and jazz public media. Happy Birthday BP! The late teen years. His stories are not secondhand.. I think what separates him from some of the other programming is that Bob is tried and true, said vocalist Denise King. I always felt like they hired me because they wanted to get back at WDAS. WRTI listeners will still be able to join him for Sunday Jazz Brunch, from 9 AM to 1 PM. Lance Venta is Owner and Publisher of RadioInsight.com. Bob's contributions to jazz are innumerable. 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. How does it connect with them in a way other things dont? Its almost like were trying to do too much. Wait two seconds and you'll hear about yet another award bestowed on "Ol' BP," as he calls himself. My dad was my radio school, the 86-year-old remembered. But it seems like the longer I stayed out, [chuckles] the more positive response I got. You should hear this guy.. He has attended two White House Presidential news conferences - one of Gerald Ford's and one of Jimmy Carter's. It comes out of the head, out of the heart and out of your soul. - regular airs Philadelphia Youth. Mr. Perkins owns 88,692 shares of Targa Resources stock worth more than $6,747,687 as of February 16th. 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. They just let me have my own way and they seem to like what I play. Any birthday wishes? At one time, you could hear him from 6-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and. BP talks about Charlie Parker back in 2020 with WRTI's Susan Lewis: His presence is felt throughout the city. Im just about 90% recovered and the letters that they sent, it was embarrassing to me because of the flattery that they gave me. Bob Perkins has been instrumental in establishing WRTI as one of the premier jazz stations in the country since 1997. Bob Perkins on Trumpeter Red Rodney, an Overlooked Philly Great! After 58 years of working in broadcast radio, Philadelphias Bob Perkins will lay down his microphone by the end of this month. 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. 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. TN: Have you made any changes to your playlist, in light of whats happening? [citation needed], Perkins started his radio career in Detroit over five years, from 1964 to 1969. 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 [then] looked up and I saw a sign that read WGPR-FM. At 90.1 FM. BP means a great deal to listeners of all ages. The thing I liked about what Bob did was that he didnt call it a jazz show. Especially jazz music. We would listen to WAR in Detroit, which is 500 miles 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. Robert "Bob" Perkins (born December 6, 1933) is an American radio personality. Fivedays a week, on WRTI, BP with the GM (thats Bob Perkins with the Good Music), plays jazz with a connoisseurs ear and an infectious sense of joy. That petered out, but I was still at WHYY playing jazz music and loving it. Maybe its one of the high points in their life. Im just playing 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. What makes history so important is it has to be true. In mid-December, as he planned his return to the airwaves, Perkins was worried that some physical effects of his stroke a few fingers that werent obliging might compromise his technical performance in the control booth. They were a great family of jazz artists. Over the last 20-some years, BP with the GM has become an icon of the Philadelphia airwaves, holding down a prime, three-hour early evening time slot Monday through Thursday on WRTI. He went on to work for WDAS and while in Philadelphia, [2] in 1997, he joined WRTI-FM Temple University Radio. I wrote for Hugo Warren for 20 years. Saxophonist Larry McKenna has been listening to him for 40 years. We spoke with him about his show, the power of radio and the beauty of jazz. 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. 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. Discovery, curation, community, performance, preservation. His show will come to an end June 30, but he says this wont be the last his fans hear from him. I think in some way, Bob is able to bridge that gap, King said. But his well-honed approach to the music would remain unaffected. 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. Perkins, known to listeners as "BP . 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. 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. He made his own antennas and we could sit and listen to Chicago, Detroit. I got a job working at a Black-owned insurance company, Great Lakes Mutual, in Detroit. 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. 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. 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. 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. Listen to BP's last weeknight shift on Thursday, June 30th from 6 to 9 PM. He could pick up stations that no one else that I knew could get. Perkins then moved to public radio station WHYY to host a weekend jazz music show before joining WRTI. Or when times are not tight and everythings loose? They were doing quite well, raising their families, Perkins said. Listener-supported. I had also served in the United States Army from 1956 to 1958. 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. Box 18869, Philadelphia, PA 19119 - Phone (215) 848-7864 - Fax (215) 848-7893 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. PERKINS, 88, has been hosting at WRTI for 25. Which is a hard thing to do. 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. And it is. Bob Perkins has been a fixture on Philadelphias airwaves for 50 years. We cant eat our dinner without you. BP: Yes, it really did. I guess along with fast food came fast everything fast cars, fast thoughts, fast relationships. He will continue to host his Sunday program. Every Saturday, I was there.. Radio was saturated into me like a sponge thats put in water, Perkins said. He goes way back and he studied by listening to some of the great commentators and broadcasters over the years, he said. Music they danced and romanced to when they were young people.. "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.. 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. 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. Perkins is the PM drive time jazz radio personality and host for WRTI-FM Temple University Radio in Philadelphia. Music. But he played the radio, that was his only salvation from the pain. 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. Bob says that it was Joe who first introduced him to jazz. 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. 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. I enjoy it. He is known as "BP with the GM," short for Bob Perkins with the Good Music. You can also hear the GM on Sunday Jazz Brunch with BP from 9 am to 1 pm. 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. 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. Hes speaking their language especially people who have been listening for years and years.. 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. Targa Resources 20 years . Black Music Month means heritage, he said. We listened sometimes to WGN in Chicago that was like 650 miles away. Radio has changed dramatically over the years, [particularly] with all the new technology, he said. He had his own antennae that he had drilled into his table model radio. 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