Keep On Rocking: Remembering Jerry “The Geator” Blavat, radio icon, gone at 82

The Geator’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Rhythm & Blues Express hit the XPN airwaves on Saturday, January 7, 2006. An hour of radio featuring Blavat’s inimitable presentation combined with his encyclopedic knowledge of rock and roll, R&B, Blues, and pop standards, each hour was a history lesson delivered with intense love and passion for the music. The Geator had his own radio language, and for those growing up in Philadelphia, he was as Philly as Tastycakes, soft pretzels, the Liberty Bell, and the Mummers. At the time, The Geator was a wonderful fit for XPN. As Blavat used to say “I play music from the heart not a research chart,” and his show fit perfectly into our mission of music discovery.

While his show no longer airs on Saturday evenings, we’ll be making many of his previous shows permanently available on this page. Since Blavat’s passing, Keely Stahl, Blavat’s partner, has been curating the shows that we’ve been broadcasting. Keely will continue to curate the Geator archives, the only official place fans can hear past episodes of his shows.

As The Geator used to say: “Keep on rockin’ cause you only rock once.” The records, the memories remain an important part of XPN, and we’re doing what we can to make sure you can continue to experience them anytime.

Listen to past shows from The Geator’s Rock ‘n’ Roll, Rhythm & Blues Express