Broadcast legend Jerry Blavat, the Geator with the Heater, the Boss with the Hot Sauce, is dead at 82. My roommate and I used to call in to Blavat’s request program in Philadelphia back in the mid-1980s. Already, he seemed as if he had been around forever, but of course he was only in his 40s. On one memorable occasion, we got into an on-air contest of matching Woody Allen character names with their respective movies. These were simpler times, before the very mention of Woody stirred controversy. Of course, the Geator himself was not without his complexities. The Boss was saucy to the end, with his annual oldies all-star concert at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center pending. As Jerry proclaimed in the title of his autobiography, you only rock once. R.I.P.
PHOTOS: (left) The Geator strikes a characteristic pose; and (top to bottom) spinning discs at his club, Memories; with James Brown; and on “The Monkees”
A few more memories of WWFM – The Classical Network for the station’s 40th anniversary.
TOP: Live broadcast of Choral Arts Philadelphia performance of Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio,” with Rachel Katz and Alice Weiss
BOTTOM (left to right): Hand-in-hand with David Dubal; from an old program guide, with Bliss Michelson, Richard Gladwell and Marjorie Herman, and Heidi Jamieson, Win Howard, Ted Otten, and Michael Kownacky; with Mike Harrah at one of the editing booths
There’s been frost on the pumpkins, but the last of the crickets fiddle still. Likewise, The Classical Network aims to continue to provide music all through the winter months. Help keep us warm and well-provisioned with your contribution today. In turn, we will do our best to make your listening environment homey and happy.
On Day 5 of our “7 Days for $70K” membership campaign – a pop-up fundraiser designed to wrap-up before Thanksgiving – join us in giving thanks for great music on the radio. Make a donation today at 1-888-232-1212 or online at wwfm.org.
Our gratitude is in our grace notes. Thank you for your support of WWFM – The Classical Network!
That’s what we’re hoping for at WWFM – The Classical Network, as we embark on our fall fundraiser, “7 Days for $70K” – seven days peppered over October and November, during which we hope to elicit your continued support for great music on the radio.
The first of those days is now! WWFM hosts will be on hand to encourage your support until 7 pm EDT. Make your donation today by calling 1-888-232-1212 or contributing online at wwfm.org.
Thanks for the melodies. Your generosity is literally music to our ears!
I’ve been thinking about Bliss Michelson incessantly since I learned of his death late yesterday afternoon. Bliss, who was production manager at WWFM The Classical Network from 1992 to 2011, died on Sunday of complications from COVID-19. His wife, Peggy, preceded him on February 26.
First of all, thank you for your condolences. I want to make it very clear that this is not “my” loss, so much as it is a loss to anyone who knew or listened to him. Bliss was so talented at what he did. I already stated, he was probably the best all-around radio host I ever worked with, in terms of being able to do it all – knowledgeable, efficient, personable, conversational, an avuncular presence, impeccable in his pronunciation, and a varied, balanced, and interesting programmer – a real pro. I never saw anyone navigate production work the way he did, while simultaneously doing a live air shift. And he was such a nice man.
I certainly do not want to give the impression that we were joined at the hip, but we did have a very long association, dating back to 1995, which continued when we worked together at WRTI. If anything, he was like an uncle to me. You can learn a little more about our interactions if you read my post from yesterday.
Of course, on the most basic level, we shared a passion for music, and because of Bliss’ love of composers from the Northern countries, I have a lot of fond memories of our bonding over Sibelius.
Perhaps cryptically, I concluded last night by mentioning Sibelius’ Fourth. This is Sibelius’ weirdest, gloomiest symphony, a work written under the shadow of death, as the composer had recently undergone a series of surgeries for throat cancer. It is an austerely beautiful piece, though admittedly it does go to some very strange places.
Bliss’ morning air shift on The Classical Network ran to 10 a.m. Earlier in the morning, he would mix up the Vivaldi and the Haydn and the Dvořák, with enough lesser-known repertoire to keep it fresh and engaging. But by 9, he would often go for something a little longer, and sometimes a little more challenging. Personally, with Sibelius’ Fourth, I can’t understand what all the fuss is about, but it tends to rub listeners the wrong way. Or at least it manages to wind up the one crank in the audience who is going to call and complain.
Bliss was generally pretty unflappable, but I remember at least once he was not happy with a phone message from a listener that it fell upon me to convey. I hasten to add, for the most part Bliss was a teddy bear, not a bottle of nitroglycerin, as I tend to be. But I chuckle sometimes to think of his reaction.
At any rate, a memo was passed around that we shouldn’t be playing Sibelius’ Fourth in the mornings. I prefer to think that this was not disobeyed, but rather conveniently forgotten.
This one’s for you, Bliss.
(By coincidence, the video was posted by someone using the screen name Furtwangler, who happened to be one of Bliss’ favorite conductors.)
