Pierre Robert (DJ): Difference between revisions

Pierre Robert
Pierre Robert
	Robert (left) at WMMR's Preston and Steve's Campout for hunger in 2011
Born	William Pierre Robert; August 1, 1955 (age 69); Truckee, California, U.S.
	Career
Show	The Pierre Robert Show
Station	93.3 WMMR in Philadelphia
Time slot	around 11:00am - 3:00pm Monday-Friday
Style	Disc jockey / radio personality
Country	United States
Website	www.wmmr.com/shows/pierre-robert

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William Pierre Robert (born August 1, 1955) is a radio disc jockey who, since 1981, has been a highly popular on-air personality for 93.3FM WMMR in Philadelphia, one of the nation's most prominent rock music stations.

He is WMMR's most identifiable personality, and is often described as a hippie by many locals. Robert is also famous for addressing his listeners as "citizens," and saying "Great day in the morning!"

Robert holds significant stature in the American rock music industry, where he is held in high esteem by many rock musicians and groups, many of whom have granted Robert rare interviews and appeared in person on his program.

Early life

Pierre Robert (pronounced "row-BEAR") was born August 1, 1955, in Truckee, California.

Career

Robert began his radio career at 94.9 KSAN-FM in San Francisco, one of the country's first progressive rock stations. When KSAN changed its format to an Urban Country and Western format in the early 1980s, Robert assumed the on-air name "Will Robertson" for a brief period of time because he was opposed to the new format.^[1]

Not long after, Robert drove a friend to school in Philadelphia in his 1970 Volkswagen van, nicknamed Minerva,^[2] which then had bald tires. He sent 93.3 WMMR a demo tape but was initially turned down for a position with the station, and took a job at Essene, a health food store and vegetarian restaurant. He later had a reading by a palm reader on South Street, who told him, "you're gonna get a letter very soon". He returned to find a letter from Joe Bonnadonna, then WMMR's station manager, indicating there was an opening. Robert joined WMMR in 1981.

Robert has held several positions at WMMR, including broadcasting during morning, overnight, and midday shifts. His current time slot is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., though his program frequently runs longer, an anomaly he describes as "Pierre Standard Time."

Features of his show include the "Coffee Break Music Marathon", "Pierre's Planner", and the Work Force Blocks, during which he plays three to four song blocks of a particular artist based on listener requests.

In the 1980s, Reginald the Butler joined Pierre in kicking off his work force blocks by ringing his lunchtime bell.

Robert also features the "Vinyl Cut", where he plays a track from one of the many vinyl records in the WMMR archive.

He is also known to play all 18 minutes and 20 seconds of Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" multiple times during his annual Thanksgiving broadcast.

Robert has admitted that he does not follow Philadelphia sports, which is unusually in the sports-obsessed city. He typically refers to all Philadelphia sports teams as "The Boys in Blue" regardless of the actual team colors. As a running joke, he is known to say the phrase "Sports Up!", mostly during his overlap towards the end of the Preston and Steve show in the morning.

Notable events

Pierre's first VW micro-bus "Minerva" was impounded by the Philadelphia Parking Authority and later crushed in a junkyard.
Pierre Robert often declared on the air, "God Bless the Grateful Dead." At the beginning of their concert at the Spectrum on October 7, 1994, Robert presented the Grateful Dead with a flag recognizing their 50th performance at the venue.
In 2001, WMMR threw a party at the Spectrum for Robert's 20th anniversary, and gave him a 1972 Volkswagen Type 2 (T2) Westfalia to replace his old 1970 VW mini-bus. This new bus was named "Minerva 2" in honor of the original Minerva that he drove from California to Philadelphia.
In 2002, "Minerva 2" was driven by Pierre Robert in the 93.3 WMMR Ozz-Fund, a four-day fundraiser to collect money for the Fox Chase Cancer Center in the name of Ozzy Osbourne's wife Sharon Osbourne. Robert drove all over the Delaware Valley collecting donations from fans and station listeners^[3]
Throughout the first 25 days of November 2006, WMMR paid tribute to Pierre for his 25 years of service to the station.^[4]
In November 2011, Bob Beru of the Beru Revue played a show at The World Cafe Live in honor of Pierre's 30th year with WMMR.^[5]
In September 2012, the owners of the building that houses WMMR threatened to have "Minerva 2" towed. The car was in fairly rough shape with flat tires, holes in the floorboard, and a broken window. After considering all the options, Robert was approached by CollisionMax about restoring Minerva. Minerva was completely restored by CollisionMax with custom airbrushing done by Franny Drummond of PaintZoo. Rich Tornetta, CollissionMax's director of marketing, recorded weekly videos documenting the repair work done on the VW bus.^[6]Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).^[7]
In October 2019, Robert was inducted into the Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame along with The Hooters, a Philadelphia band that is one of Robert's favorites.^[8]
In 2021, to celebrate his 40th year with WMMR, the studio that houses the station was renamed the "Pierre Robert Studio"

References

^ What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding?
^ December 2011 Philadelphia Magazine
^ 93.3 WMMR Ozz-Fund | A Four-Day Fundraiser for Fox Chase Cancer Center
^ WMMR Presents Pierre Robert 25 Years in 25 Days
^ "Pierre Robert's 30th Anniversary Party". Archived from the original on 2011-12-08. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
^ WMMR's Pierre Robert Meets Fran Drummond of PaintZoo
^ THE IMPORTANCE OF DOING WHAT’S UNNECESSARY
^ White, Abbey. "Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame: 2019 class announced, including the Philadelphia Orchestra and Pierre Robert". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved 2019-11-01.

External links

[1] What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding?

[2] December 2011 Philadelphia Magazine

[3] 93.3 WMMR Ozz-Fund | A Four-Day Fundraiser for Fox Chase Cancer Center

[4] WMMR Presents Pierre Robert 25 Years in 25 Days

[5] "Pierre Robert's 30th Anniversary Party". Archived from the original on 2011-12-08. Retrieved 2012-09-11.

[6] WMMR's Pierre Robert Meets Fran Drummond of PaintZoo

[7] THE IMPORTANCE OF DOING WHAT’S UNNECESSARY

[8] White, Abbey. "Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame: 2019 class announced, including the Philadelphia Orchestra and Pierre Robert". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved 2019-11-01.

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-'''William Pierre Robert''' (born August 1, 1955) is a radio [[disc jockey]] who, since 1981, has been a highly popular on-air personality for 93.3FM [[WMMR]] in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]], one of the nation's most recognized rock music stations.
+'''William Pierre Robert''' (born August 1, 1955) is a radio [[disc jockey]] who, since 1981, has been a highly popular on-air personality for 93.3FM [[WMMR]] in [[Philadelphia]], one of the nation's most prominent [[rock music]] stations.
-He is known as WMMR's most identifiable personality, and is often described as a [[hippie]] by many locals. Robert is also famous for addressing his listeners as "citizens," as well as saying "Great day in the morning!"
+He is WMMR's most identifiable personality, and is often described as a [[hippie]] by many locals. Robert is also famous for addressing his listeners as "citizens," and saying "Great day in the morning!"
-Robert also holds significant stature in the American rock music industry, where he is held in high esteem by many rock musicians and groups, many of whom have granted Robert rare interviews and appeared in person on his program.
+Robert holds significant stature in the American rock music industry, where he is held in high esteem by many rock musicians and groups, many of whom have granted Robert rare interviews and appeared in person on his program.
-==Radio career==
+==Early life==
+Pierre Robert (pronounced "row-BEAR") was born August 1, 1955, in [[Truckee, California]].
-Pierre Robert (pronounced "row-BEAR") began his radio career at 94.9 [[KSAN-FM]], one of the country's first [[progressive rock (radio format)|progressive rock]] stations, in his hometown of [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]]. When KSAN changed its format to an Urban Country & Western style in the early 1980s Robert assumed the on-air name "Will Robertson" for a brief period of time because he was morally opposed to the new format.<ref>[http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and-opinion/cover-story/38352779.html?printView=y What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding?]</ref>
+==Career==
-Not long after, Robert joined a friend destined for school and moved to [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]] in Robert's 1970 Volkswagen van (named Minerva)<ref>[http://www.phillymag.com/articles/one-of-us-pierre-robert/ December 2011 Philadelphia Magazine]</ref> with bald tires. He sent 93.3 WMMR a demo tape but was initially turned down. Pierre took a job at Essene (a [[health food store]] and vegetarian restaurant) until a fateful day at a palm reader's table on [[South Street (Philadelphia)|South Street]], where he was told "you're gonna get a letter very soon". This letter was waiting for him at home and was from Joe Bonnadonna (then WMMR's station manager) indicating there was an opening. Robert joined WMMR in 1981.
+Robert began his radio career at 94.9 [[KSAN-FM]] in [[San Francisco]], one of the country's first [[progressive rock (radio format)|progressive rock]] stations. When KSAN changed its format to an Urban Country and Western format in the early 1980s, Robert assumed the on-air name "Will Robertson" for a brief period of time because he was opposed to the new format.<ref>[http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and-opinion/cover-story/38352779.html?printView=y What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding?]</ref>
+Not long after, Robert drove a friend to school in [[Philadelphia]] in his 1970 [[Volkswagen]] van, nicknamed Minerva,<ref>[http://www.phillymag.com/articles/one-of-us-pierre-robert/ December 2011 Philadelphia Magazine]</ref> which then had bald tires. He sent 93.3 WMMR a demo tape but was initially turned down for a position with the station, and took a job at Essene, a [[health food store]] and vegetarian restaurant. He later had a reading by a palm reader on [[South Street (Philadelphia)|South Street]], who told him, "you're gonna get a letter very soon". He returned to find a letter from [[Joe Bonnadonna]], then WMMR's station manager, indicating there was an opening. Robert joined WMMR in 1981.
-Robert has had many positions at WMMR, including mornings, overnights and middays. His current time slot is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. though his program frequently runs longer (an anomaly explained as "Pierre Standard Time.")
+Robert has held several positions at WMMR, including broadcasting during morning, overnight, and midday shifts. His current time slot is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., though his program frequently runs longer, an anomaly he describes as "Pierre Standard Time."
-Features of his show include the "Coffee Break Music Marathon", "Pierre's Planner" and the Work Force Blocks where he plays 3 to 4 song blocks of a particular artist based on listener requests.
+Features of his show include the "Coffee Break Music Marathon", "Pierre's Planner", and the Work Force Blocks, during which he plays three to four song blocks of a particular artist based on listener requests.
-In the 80s, Reginald the Butler joined Pierre in kicking off his work force blocks by ringing his lunchtime bell.
+In the 1980s, Reginald the Butler joined Pierre in kicking off his work force blocks by ringing his lunchtime bell.
 Robert also features the "Vinyl Cut", where he plays a track from one of the many [[Gramophone record|vinyl records]] in the WMMR archive.
-He is also known to play all 18 minutes and 20 seconds of Arlo Guthrie's "[[Alice's Restaurant]]" multiple times during his annual Thanksgiving Day broadcast.
+He is also known to play all 18 minutes and 20 seconds of [[Arlo Guthrie]]'s "[[Alice's Restaurant]]" multiple times during his annual [[Thanksgiving]] broadcast.
-Robert has admitted that he does not follow Philadelphia sports. He typically refers to all Philadelphia sports teams as "The Boys in Blue" regardless of the actual team colors. As a running joke, he is known to say the phrase "Sports Up!" sarcastically—mostly during his overlap towards the end of the [[Preston and Steve|Preston and Steve Show]].
+Robert has admitted that he does not follow [[Sports in Philadelphia|Philadelphia sports]], which is unusually in the sports-obsessed city. He typically refers to all Philadelphia sports teams as "The Boys in Blue" regardless of the actual team colors. As a running joke, he is known to say the phrase "Sports Up!", mostly during his overlap towards the end of the ''[[Preston and Steve]]'' show in the morning.
 == Notable events ==
 [[File:Pierre Robert's 1972 Volkswagen Type 2 (T2) Westfalia named "Minerva 2".jpg|thumb|Pierre Robert's 1972 [[Volkswagen Type 2]] (T2) Westfalia named "Minerva 2"]]
 *Pierre's first VW micro-bus "Minerva" was impounded by the [[Philadelphia Parking Authority]] and later crushed in a junkyard.
-*Pierre Robert often declared on the air, "God Bless the Grateful Dead."  At the beginning of their concert at the old Spectrum on October 7, 1994, he presented the band with a flag recognizing their 50th performance at that venue.
+*Pierre Robert often declared on the air, "God Bless the [[Grateful Dead]]."  At the beginning of their concert at the [[Spectrum (Philadelphia)|Spectrum]] on October 7, 1994, Robert presented the Grateful Dead with a flag recognizing their 50th performance at the venue.
-*In 2001, WMMR threw a party at [[Philadelphia Spectrum|The Philadelphia Spectrum]] for Pierre Robert's 20th anniversary and gave him a 1972 Volkswagen Type 2 (T2) Westfalia to replace his old 1970 VW mini-bus. This new bus was named "Minerva 2" in honor of the original Minerva that drove him from California to Pennsylvania.
+*In 2001, WMMR threw a party at the Spectrum for Robert's 20th anniversary, and gave him a 1972 Volkswagen Type 2 (T2) Westfalia to replace his old 1970 VW mini-bus. This new bus was named "Minerva 2" in honor of the original Minerva that he drove from California to Philadelphia.
 *In 2002, "Minerva 2" was driven by Pierre Robert in the 93.3 WMMR Ozz-Fund, a four-day fundraiser to collect money for the [[Fox Chase Cancer Center]] in the name of [[Ozzy Osbourne]]'s wife [[Sharon Osbourne]]. Robert drove all over the [[Delaware Valley]] collecting donations from fans and station listeners<ref>[http://www.thefreelibrary.com/93.3+WMMR%2FPhiladelphia+Raises+$20,000+for+the+Fox+Chase+Cancer+Center...-a089011725 93.3 WMMR Ozz-Fund | A Four-Day Fundraiser for Fox Chase Cancer Center]</ref>
 *Throughout the first 25 days of November 2006, WMMR paid tribute to Pierre for his 25 years of service to the station.<ref>[https://archive.today/20130131100332/http://www.phillyadclub.com/wmmr-presents-pierre-robert-25-years-in-25-days-0750-news.html WMMR Presents Pierre Robert 25 Years in 25 Days]</ref>
 *In November 2011, Bob Beru of the [[Beru Revue]] played a show at [[World Cafe (radio program)|The World Cafe Live]] in honor of Pierre's 30th year with WMMR.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://tickets.worldcafelive.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=2891 |title=Pierre Robert's 30th Anniversary Party |access-date=2012-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111208213247/http://tickets.worldcafelive.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=2891 |archive-date=2011-12-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
-*In September 2012, the owners of the building that houses WMMR threatened to have "Minerva 2" towed. She was in pretty rough shape (tires flat, holes in the floorboard, and window broken). After considering all the options, Pierre was approached by CollisionMax about restoring Minerva. Minerva was completely restored by CollisionMax and custom airbrushing was done by Franny Drummond of PaintZoo. Rich Tornetta (Director of Marketing for CollisionMax) recorded weekly videos documenting the repair work done on the VW bus.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLqZrPSlPf4 WMMR's Pierre Robert Meets Fran Drummond of PaintZoo]</ref> The Minerva Project can be found here: http://www.collisionmax.com/minerva.<ref>[http://www.collisionmax.com/minerva The Minerva Project]</ref> An article was written about The Minerva Project on 4-3-2013 by Mark Ramsey Media.<ref>[https://www.markramseymedia.com/2013/04/the-importance-of-doing-whats-unnecessary/ THE IMPORTANCE OF DOING WHAT’S UNNECESSARY]</ref>
+*In September 2012, the owners of the building that houses WMMR threatened to have "Minerva 2" towed. The car was in fairly rough shape with flat tires, holes in the floorboard, and a broken window. After considering all the options, Robert was approached by CollisionMax about restoring Minerva. Minerva was completely restored by CollisionMax with custom airbrushing done by Franny Drummond of PaintZoo. Rich Tornetta, CollissionMax's director of marketing, recorded weekly videos documenting the repair work done on the VW bus.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLqZrPSlPf4 WMMR's Pierre Robert Meets Fran Drummond of PaintZoo]</ref><ref>[http://www.collisionmax.com/minerva.<ref>[http://www.collisionmax.com/minerva The Minerva Project]</ref><ref>[https://www.markramseymedia.com/2013/04/the-importance-of-doing-whats-unnecessary/ THE IMPORTANCE OF DOING WHAT’S UNNECESSARY]</ref>
-*In October 2019 Pierre was inducted into the Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame along with one of his favorite bands, The Hooters.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.inquirer.com/entertainment/music/philadelphia-music-walk-of-fame-2019-philadelphia-orchestra-hooters-20190807.html|title=Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame: 2019 class announced, including the Philadelphia Orchestra and Pierre Robert|last=White|first=Abbey|website=www.inquirer.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-01}}</ref>
+*In October 2019, Robert was inducted into the Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame along with [[The Hooters]], a [[Philadelphia]] band that is one of Robert's favorites.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.inquirer.com/entertainment/music/philadelphia-music-walk-of-fame-2019-philadelphia-orchestra-hooters-20190807.html|title=Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame: 2019 class announced, including the Philadelphia Orchestra and Pierre Robert|last=White|first=Abbey|website=www.inquirer.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-01}}</ref>
-*In 2021, to celebrate His 40th year with WMMR, the Studio that housed the station was renamed to the "Pierre Robert Studio"
+*In 2021, to celebrate his 40th year with WMMR, the studio that houses the station was renamed the "Pierre Robert Studio"
 == References ==
 {{Reflist}}
-==External links==
 {{Portal|Biography}}
-*[http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and-opinion/cover-story/38352779.html ''Philadelphia Weekly'' June 13, 2001 | Pierre celebrating his 20th year at WMMR]
+==External links==
+*[http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and-opinion/cover-story/38352779.html "Pierre celebrating his 20th year at WMMR"], ''[[Philadelphia Weekly]]''
 *[http://www.thefreelibrary.com/93.3+WMMR%2FPhiladelphia+Raises+$20,000+for+the+Fox+Chase+Cancer+Center...-a089011725 93.3 WMMR/Philadelphia Raises $20,000 for the Fox Chase Cancer Center In the Name of Sharon Osbourne]
-*[http://www.phillymag.com/articles/one-of-us-pierre-robert/ One of Us: Pierre Robert | ''PhillyMag.com'']
-*[https://web.archive.org/web/20111208213247/http://tickets.worldcafelive.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=2891 Beru Revue's 30th Anniversary Show at The World Cafe Live]
-*[https://archive.today/20130131100332/http://www.phillyadclub.com/wmmr-presents-pierre-robert-25-years-in-25-days-0750-news.html ''Philly Ad Club'' November 2, 2006]
-*[http://www.wmmr.com WMMR Website]
-*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060426234107/http://citypaper.net/articles/072596/article002.shtml ''Philadelphia City Paper'' article on Robert from 1996]
-*[https://web.archive.org/web/20111114191950/http://www.wmmr.com/events/2011/pierres-30th-anniversary/Index.aspx WMMR Celebrates 30 years with Pierre]
-*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120508020144/http://greatermedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/201204grapevine.pdf ''Greater Media'' Special Feature "The Man. The Music. The Legend."]
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Robert, Pierre}}