Cruisin’ 92.1, WVLT’s Crazy Bob was heard in 2003 on Tuesday evenings on “Stuck in the Seventies” from 10 pm until 12 midnight.
Crazy Bob is a 1971 graduate of Oakcrest High School, Mays Landing, NJ. Bob says: “Not only was I stuck in the ' 70s, but I was also stuck in the eleventh grade for two years!"
In the early ' 70s, he worked as a movie theater projectionist in the Trenton and Atlantic City areas. Then he was drafted into the army where he studied electronics. “Not too long after that, I put a CB radio in my bright orange van (with shag carpet and 8-track player)” says Cruisin’ 92.1, WVLT’s Crazy Bob.
1974 was a busy year for Cray Bob. He says, “I got married, bought a house, started a family, and got a job with the US Postal Service as a Rural Letter Carrier.” He continued working part-time at the drive-ins and theaters, but longed to be a DJ at a radio station. However, he wasn’t sure what qualifications he would need.
Broadcast Pioneers Vice-President Gerry Wilkinson, a consultant for Cruisin’ 92.1, WVLT tells this story. “When I was Operations Manager at WDAS, Bob Klein was our General Manager. I once asked Bob what he qualities he thought a top DJ should have. We were looking for one, and it was my job to help locate qualified candidates. He said, You know, a Greek philosopher once said that if you spoke with a marble in your mouth and each day added one, you would have perfect diction when your mouth was full. He then said, well, being a top DJ is sort of like that, but in reverse. A disc jockey starts out with a mouthful of marbles and each day he removes one. When he has lost all his marbles, you are the perfect DJ.”
Cruisin’ 92.1, WVLT’s Crazy Bob thought, “that sounds like me. I really could be on the radio.” In 1999, Cruisin’ 92.1, WVLT gave him that opportunity. He had been a mobile DJ for almost ten years and worked one season at ATCO Raceway as a trackside announcer. He became involved in music in 1959 when his parents bought him an accordion and he took lessons. He thought he could be the next Lawrence Welk. Crazy Bob kids, “I practiced and practiced and the only thing that happened was I started talking with an accent.” Seriously, he did do quite well with it playing several area gigs including his first at the Tuckahoe, NJ grange hall. “I still have the accordion!” says Cruisin’ 92.1, WVLT’s Crazy Bob.
He drives a black '52 Chevy (shown above) that shoots flames out of the tail pipes. Didn’t we see that in a video game recently? Cruisin’ 92.1, WVLT’s Crazy Bob says, “I bought the car from Professor Ouch.” The Professor is heard Tuesdays from 9 to 11 pm, just before Crazy Bob.
He holds an advanced class FCC amateur radio license and he sells CB radios on his home-made website, http://www.ten4store.com.
Cruisin’ 92.1, WVLT’s Crazy Bob mentions, “I have recently retired from the Post Office and they don't call me Crazy Bob for nothing!" He met Sally Starr, through his wife's country band, and Sally became his mentor.
Cruisin’ 92.1, WVLT’s Crazy Bob says: “...I listened to the radio while delivering my mail. The music is stuck in my head.”
CRUISIN' 92.1 - WVLT |
