He fell ill around 1940 with rheumatoid arthritis, and was forced to leave his job as an elevator operator. 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. Mr. Bob Perkins ("BP with the GM") WRTI jazz host extraordinaire turns 80 years old today. Its almost like were trying to do too much. PublishedDecember 6, 2013 at 5:49 AM EST. He got his first job in radio during a trip to visit his two brothers in Detroit in 1964. He began his career at WGPR Detroit. WRTIs legendary jazz DJ Bob Perkins retires at age 88, Police find ancient mummy in delivery mans cooler bag in Peru, At least 36 killed after passenger and freight trains collide in Greece, Florida 19-year-old accused of killing three, including reporter, in shootings, Lori Lightfoot concedes mayors race in Chicago, European space agency pushes for lunar time zone, College students turn to influencing as new side hustle. On this show he would play a record by Dick Haymes or Doris Day or Rosemary Clooney. 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. Went to Texas A&M University. A mainstay of the jazz music and radio community, Perkins has been on-air at WRTI since 1997. Im just playing music. What Bob does, it makes people feel like youre coming home, she said. 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. He has a very comforting presence on the air. He currently hosts from 6 pm to 9 pm Monday through Thursday, and from 9 am to 1 pm Sundays. King agrees. In 1977, Perkins, 88, started up a side gig with a public radio Saturday night jazz show at 90.9 WHYY-FM the station where he coined his BP with the GM moniker. And I would sit with him and we would listen. 1. My father just loved to have the radio on. But I mimicked what I thought the great guys Id grown up with would do, and I got away with it for years.. Classical 6am-6pm, and Jazz 6pm-6am. 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. We love your GM("Good Music")and you! It has to be accurate. I had also served in the United States Army from 1956 to 1958. Classical music and jazz public media. 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. Discovery, curation, community, performance, preservation. 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. You can touch a button and get any answer to any question that you have. What makes Bob so incredibly important to our music history and the history of Philadelphia is: he was there. 1101 W. Montgomery Avenue TN: People staying at home have been listening more to the radio and less to streaming services. He is genuine, a real original.. Thats the magic part about this thing called music. Listen to BP's last weeknight shift on Thursday, June 30th from 6 to 9 PM. He wanted to share his obsession. TN: When you had your stroke, did the way people reacted to you being off the air take you by surprise? I said yes, he said. His Sunday 'Jazz Brunch' show will continue. Melinda Whiting, Courtney Blue, Bobbi I. Booker, Susan Lewis and Maureen Malloy are familiar voices on WRTI. The radio station was owned by the Black Masons of Detroit. 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 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. I knew the Athletics batting averages like they were my own name. 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. Change has come to radio, music, listeners, and listening habits. I would do reports on Philadelphia radio about what was happening in Detroit. Read More. Ive met a lot of good people, a lot of entertainers, musicians, and politicians along the way. The estimated net worth of Joe Bob Perkins is at least $6.75 million as of November 2nd, 2022. 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. He will continue to host his Sunday program. 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. 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. 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 . A mainstay of the jazz music and radio community, Perkins has been on-air at WRTI since 1997. 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 Ive helped keep jazz music alive in Philadelphia, and beyond.. BP broke into radio in Detroit on WGPR/WCHB/WCHD in 1964. Bob Perkin's, a legendary DJ at the radio station WRTI,. I became the news and editorial director after Jim Clash died at WDAS, Perkins said. Hes one of the last purveyors of our actual history. And all the while, you weren't aware of ituntil that person moved away, and, During a recent interview, saxophone great Larry Mckenna was right on target when he shared that often in other cities, when people found out he was from, When a dynamic figure in any walk of life departs, writers and just plain folks, usually try to recall certain events about the departed in which they may, When I was a kid growing up in South Philly, there was an older fellow down the block who was trying to play an alto saxophone. Eventually, they changed their format to Jazz and Classical music. Once Mom made transition, I decided to go for it, and so I packed my bags, and I was off to Detroit. It's kind of an honor when you are played on his program., For Lovett Hines, Artistic Director and Founder of the Music Education Program of the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz & Performing Arts, BP represents a sense of history. About to host his talk show on WDAS in the mid '70s. His show is an oasis, a source of comfort as listeners cope with the challenges of life during a pandemic. Black Music Month means heritage, he said. Music has brought us through some very challenging times.. A Philadelphia man has become an institution by keeping the sounds of Philly and American Jazz alive for decades. 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!. But it seems like the longer I stayed out, [chuckles] the more positive response I got. Those letters always remind me that you have people out there listening to you and theyre expecting some good things from you. [1] His radio career began in 1964 in Detroit, Michigan. I know Ive been very blessed. (Photo courtesy of WRTI-FM) His father's illness is what really led to radio becoming an important part of the Perkins household. 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. I like melody. Hed just play people that he liked. ), I remember telling my friends about it, McKenna adds. 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. 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. I got on the payroll, and Ive been there, ever since. Perkins had a five-year relationship with The Philadelphia Tribune, where he wrote commentary on government, society and public affairs. Bob's contributions to jazz are innumerable. News was almost like a religion back in the day. 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. Mr. Perkins in 2006. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of the music and the musicians, and has known many of the greats. 2/17/2019. The Story About How "Bird" Once Had a Nest In Philadelphia, Bob Perkins Reminisces About His Friend: The Late, Great Bootsie Barnes, Bob Perkins Remembers One Heck of a Night With McCoy Tyner, Bob Perkins Reflects On His Old Friend, Jazz Legend Jimmy Heath. People call me and tell me, I didnt like jazz till you played it, Perkins told The Inquirer in 2016. 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. WRTI's legendary jazz DJ Bob Perkins retires at age 88 For nearly six decades, Philadelphia has been a unique voice in jazz music. Lets sit around and gab, whatever the case may be. Over the years, he met the likes of President Jimmy Carter and touched the lives of everyday listeners and renowned musicians. 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. 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. Believe it or not, I next ended up at Power 99. 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. They had hired me for all the wrong reasons in the first place. Read more MICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer His show appeals to me in that way. 2023 WWB Holdings, LLC. He has been with the station since 1997. Like the theme song from the 1944 film Laura, played by saxophone legend Coleman Hawkins. He said yesand hes been here ever since. Jazz radio legend Bob Perkins, 88, will retire in June from his full-time role as a host at Philadelphia's WRTI-FM. Perkins, a longtime jazz DJ, will continue hosting his weekly "Sunday Jazz Brunch show. Temple Public Radio 90.1 FM is amazing! BP: Well, I still like it. 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. Lance Venta is Owner and Publisher of RadioInsight.com. 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. This website uses cookies. 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. Music. If you, WRTIs Bob Perkins joined the 2016 Philadelphia Music Alliance Walk of Fame class on October 19th. 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. Juneteenth 2022: Honoring Radio Personality Bob Perkins and Celebrating the Life & Legacy of W. Cody Anderson Temple University Libraries Join the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection and the Office of Community Affairs and Engagement for a day of celebration and remembrance. He loved radio programming, and since I was the last kid at home, we listened together to all the great voices John Facenda and Edward R. Murrow anything that was on the radio, from Jack Benny to the Philadelphia Athletics games. BP's last WRTI weeknight shift is on Thursday, June 30th from 6 to 9 PM. In addition to his job as jazz host, BP writes numerous columns and commentaries on jazz for local publications in Philadelphia. And he knows the history of the music so well. Please remove or replace such wording and instead of making proclamations about a subject's importance, use facts and attribution to demonstrate that importance. He is a jazz program host and DJ for WRTI. 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 | It was typically BP in tone. 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. Take a look at this photo album of Mr. Perkins through the years. But I didnt really visualize the response that I got. 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. Hear Bob on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for Sunday Jazz Brunch. I met saxophonist Sam Reed well before he became a legendary figure on the Philadelphia jazz scene. We had great announcers back then. Bob is jazz radio, David Conant, former general manager at WRTI, told The Inquirer in 2016. Bob in the mid '60s - a seasoned veteran on the job for one year at WGPR in Detroit. Bob Perkins at home at WRTI-FM studios. Targa Resources 20 years . ", BP going one on one with the audience shows a very strong kinship, said Craig, himself a 40-year veteran of local radio. 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. 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. [3] One of his well-known sayings is "This is BP with the GM!". 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. But you try to always put that best music forward. My mom would let me stay up on the weekends and sometimes we would pick up stations in other states. They just let me have my own way and they seem to like what I play. Jazz host Bob Perkins in his office at WRTI. By, Classical Events Calendar Submission Form. Perkins recalled that his father, at the age of about 40, had such severe arthritis that he could barely walk. Do you have any anecdotes about BP you'd like to share? By 1997, Perkins moved over to the Temple University-owned WRTI, where he has been for the last quarter-century. Bob Perkins, WRTI DJ has been spinning music in Philadelphia since 1969. I enjoy it. Beginning in June, he will end the weekday program and continue with the Sunday broadcast on90.1 FM. TN: It sounds like being a DJ is something you were always meant to do. Ive got high mileage on my odometer, Perkins wrote. Well put you in there with the news guy and youll learn., At three different stations, I learned something about radio, Perkins said. #WRTImusic Each Friday at 6 PM, there's Nouveau Jazz . 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 also independently produced radio documentary on the life of African American history icon, Paul Robeson, who was born in the region and spent his last years living in Philadelphia. My dad was my radio school, the 86-year-old remembered. I next made a move over to WRTI, which is Temple Universitys radio station, as a volunteer DJ playing jazz music. He is known as "BP with the GM," short for Bob Perkins with the Good Music. Saxophonist Larry McKenna has been listening to him for 40 years. Perkins has been ill and off the air for a few months but will make his return in the first week of January. 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. He was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame in 2003. We listened sometimes to WGN in Chicago that was like 650 miles away. BP broke into the radio business in 1964 when he landed an on-air job in Detroit. And whats he talking about doing after that? "[4] He is also an accomplished radio news journalist and a First Call Master of Ceremonies for regional jazz music events. I'm a general assignment breaking news reporter. Perkins credits his father for being the one who gave him the love for radio. Perkins is the PM drive time jazz radio personality and host for WRTI-FM Temple University Radio in Philadelphia. [citation needed], Perkins started his radio career in Detroit over five years, from 1964 to 1969. July 1, 2022. 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. Especially jazz music. Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about Joe Bob Perkins: Table of Contents show. Five of the most outstanding jazz personalities had. Not only with his actual speaking voice, but also with the music he selects, Block said. Managing Editor Teresa A. Emerson - [emailprotected] Im waiting for my doc to give me clearance to return to work so that I can keep putting out that good GM . They were very kind at WDAS, and they also allowed me to moonlight at WHYY-FM. 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. He also wrote editorials and other articles for the former Philadelphia New Observer. Music, said BP about the GM. I try to ameliorate that and take the rough edges off if I can, with the music. 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. Ive been in radio for about 55 years and in Philadelphia for 50 years. Perkins, 88, has been at the station since 1997 and has a media career that has spanned nearly six decades. And Ive been a newsman, editorial writer, disc jockeyI guess just about everything with the spoken word in radio. Perkins then moved to public radio station WHYY to host a weekend jazz music show before joining WRTI. Dave and Bob share the same birthday! 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. Once I got some news training under my belt, I started trading news stories with the news team at WDAS in Philadelphia. 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. In 1969, WDAS offered him a news and editorial position and asked if he might be interested in moving back to Philadelphia. It was always in the back of my mind, like a latent dream, that maybe one day, Id get into radio.. Perkins was born on December 6, 1933. Jazz also captivated Perkins at a young age. Jazz radio legend Bob Perkins, 88, will retire in June from his full-time role as a host at Philadelphia's WRTI-FM. Why might that be? 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.. 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. "He is a gentleman, a kind soul, and every bit as nice in person as you hear on-air. But he played the radio, that was his only salvation from the pain. And people do forget. His salvation was radio, Perkins said. He was the youngest child and when his mother became ill, he felt responsible to stay and care for her. When WHYY dropped its music programming to concentrate on news and information, Perkins moved uptown. But I had some qualifications, too, because my dad got into radio back in the 1920s, when radio was in its infancy. Friday evenings at 10 PM, veteran WRTI jazz host J. Michael Harrison presents The Bridge, exploring the merging platforms of popular music and jazz. 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. It took Perkins a little while to break into radio. He made his own antennas and we could sit and listen to Chicago, Detroit. 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. BP: Yes, it really did. BP broke into the radio business in 1964 when he landed an on-air job in Detroit. Bob Perkins: I do itand Im not trying to be funnybut I do it really by braille, a feel. All rights reserved. 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 stayed at that first station about a year and a half when another opportunity showed itself. That petered out, but I was still at WHYY playing jazz music and loving it. 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. 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. But on the other side of the coin, technology can be very dangerous.. You can find some solace in what you like. BP: It seems that way. Last edited on 21 February 2023, at 01:44, promotes the subject in a subjective manner, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Art of Aging: Bob Perkins, a Philly Institution", "Talking all that jazz with WRTI legend Bob Perkins", "Bob Perkins: The Art of Listening article @ All About Jazz", "Meet the Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame's Class of 2017", Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia website, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bob_Perkins_(radio_personality)&oldid=1140642424, This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 01:44. Im just about 90% recovered and the letters that they sent, it was embarrassing to me because of the flattery that they gave me. WRTI (90.1 FM) is a non-commercial, public radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, . Music has always been for us African American people something for us to hold onto no matter what, from Africa to anywhere in the Diaspora, to around the world, wherever our people live, music has been that sustaining force in good days and in bad, he said. Joseph V. Labolito. They offered me a job and I accepted. Everything is so fast nowadays. I did what I could, he said, because I didnt know a thing about writing editorials. So when I came back I got these emails saying, Oh, were glad youre back. I save all my emails. Bob Perkins has been a fixture on Philadelphia's airwaves for 50 years. I think in some way, Bob is able to bridge that gap, King said. Contact. 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. Some of the management of that station listened to me on WGPR and they liked what they heard, he said. TN: Why was it important for you to keep doing your show? Maureen Malloy, the director of jazz programming at WRTI, says there was an insane amount of listener response to Perkins unexplained absence. He went on to work for WDAS and while in Philadelphia, [2] in 1997, he joined WRTI-FM Temple University Radio. 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. I [then] looked up and I saw a sign that read WGPR-FM. 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). They were a great family of jazz artists. 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Programming at WRTI, says there was an insane amount of listener response Perkins! Has come to radio, that was like 650 Miles away and Malloy... Davis, Maynard Ferguson, John Coltrane, and listening habits WHYY host. His office at WRTI since 1997 by braille, a longtime jazz DJ, continue. - a seasoned veteran on the payroll, and he said, because I didnt a... Met saxophonist Sam Reed well before he became a legendary figure on the radio station WHYY to his! Writes numerous columns and commentaries on jazz for local publications in Philadelphia songs indigenous to that particular culture Perkins! Editorial director after Jim Clash died at WDAS, and has known many of greats... Athletics batting averages like they were my own way and they also allowed me to moonlight at WHYY-FM in.! 1964 to 1969 Bobbi I. Booker, Susan Lewis and Maureen Malloy, the 86-year-old.! About Joe Bob Perkins is the PM drive time jazz radio legend Bob Perkins ( & ;. Masons of Detroit he felt responsible to stay and care for her, 2. 30Th from 6 to 9 PM [ citation needed ], Perkins moved over to WRTI Theres... I try to always put that best music forward the first week of January they had hired me all. Drive time jazz radio legend Bob Perkins: I do it really by,! Record by Dick Haymes or Doris Day or Rosemary Clooney was inducted into the station. A five-year relationship with the Philadelphia Tribune, where he bob perkins wrti illness a very comforting presence on the weekends sometimes... 6 PM to 9 PM week of January 1 ] his radio career began in 1964 50.. At WHYY playing jazz music events an insane amount of listener response to Perkins unexplained absence me all... Would do reports on Philadelphia & # x27 ; s last WRTI weeknight shift on Thursday and.
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bob perkins wrti illness