William Pierre Robert (born August 1, 1955) is a radio disc jockey, a highly popular on-air personality for 93.3 WMMR FM in Philadelphia, one of the nation's most prominent rock music stations. He has been with WMMR since 1981.
Robert is WMMR's most identifiable personality, and is sometimes described as a hippie by locals. Robert is known 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 rock musicians and groups, many of whom have granted Robert rare interviews or 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 Bonadonna, 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 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., though his program occasionally starts late or 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 or four songs by 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.
Robert has admitted that he does not follow Philadelphia sports, which is unusual 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.
In January 2024, Robert signed a multi-year contract extension with WMMR.[3]
Robert's first VW micro-bus "Minerva" was impounded by the Philadelphia Parking Authority and later crushed in a junkyard.
Robert is known for often declaring 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 2Westfalia to replace his old 1970 VW mini-bus. The new bus was named "Minerva 2" in honor of the original Minerva, which he drove from California to Philadelphia.
In 2002, "Minerva 2" was driven by 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.[4]
Throughout the first 25 days of November 2006, WMMR paid tribute to Robert for his 25 years of service to the station.[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.[7][8][9][10]
In October 2019, Robert was inducted into the Philadelphia Music Walk of Fame along with The Hooters, a rock band from Philadelphia and one of Robert's favorites.[11]
In 2021, to celebrate his 40th year with WMMR, the studio that houses the station was renamed the "Pierre Robert Studio".
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