Photo Via WUWM.com
Bob Reitman and son Bobby
Bob Reitman and his son Bobby in the WUWM studio, hosting "It's Alright Ma, It's Only Music."
Bob Reitman will retire on Friday, April 19, WUWM’s general manager David Lee announced. WUWM was where Reitman’s long career in Milwaukee radio began back in 1966. He hosted a poetry program that morphed into a show that epitomized the best of freeform FM rock radio.
During the ‘70s, at WQFM (and a short stint at WZMF), Reitman had an incalculable role in moving the imagination of a younger generation of listeners. I spent hours with his prime-time program, absorbing the music of Bob Dylan, Lou Reed and other vital artists—not just the hits but the deep cuts, sometimes entire LPs, delivered with his commentary. Reitman played Patti Smith’s self-released single, “Hey Joe” (1974), and with the release of her debut album, Horses (1975), he devoted much of the evening to playing it from track one through the end. In an era when information and access to non-mainstream music was hard to find, Reitman was a beacon, setting a template that remains alive in Milwaukee today at WMSE.
A good deal of legendry has accumulated around ‘70s FM rock radio in Milwaukee. In truth, Reitman was among a handful of local DJs who resisted the encroachment of restrictive playlists, a formula that jelled into Album Oriented Rock by decade’s end.
With the passing of WZMF and WQFM, Reitman moved on to WKTI, a short-lived music gig followed by his 25-year engagement cohosting the station’s popular morning show with Gene Mueller. Once in the early ‘80s I criticized Reitman in the Express for, in effect, selling out by working for corporate radio. He reached out and met me for coffee. I was probably too young, too self-conscious, to tell him how much I admired him and how influential he was. It was a good conversation nonetheless.
In 2007, Reitman came full circle, returning to WUWM for “It’s Alright Ma, It’s Only Music,” a weekly program cohosted with Bobby Reitman III. They played a mix of old and new in the freeform style the elder Reitman pioneered in Milwaukee.
