A thirtysomething guy was telling me just the other day how much he enjoyed listening to Jerry Blavat’s oldies show on WXPN on Saturday evenings. If you’ve never heard it, the Geator with the Heater, who died at age 82 yesterday, spun tales of his early days in the music business and rhapsodized about the soul and R&B records he played, songs that were being called “oldies” 50 years ago.
Blavat’s knowledge of the music of the ’50s and early ’60s was unsurpassed, and his rapid-patter delivery put the records in the perfect context — you weren’t just listening to ’60s songs, you were listening to ’60s radio. I particularly enjoyed the way he’d make a medley of several versions of the same song so you could hear the near-misses as well as the hits.
WXPN hasn’t yet announced whether The Geator’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Rhythm & Blues Express will continue or how its timeslot will be filled, but today the station will celebrate the Philadelphia icon with a special tribute show from 2 to 7 p.m.
Blavat got his start in showbiz at age 13, as a dancer on the original pre-Dick Clark “Bandstand” TV program. When Clark moved the show to Los Angeles in 1965, Blavat started a local dance program called “The Discophonic Scene” to replace it. This was the theme song.
