As another Labor Day weekend has come and gone, I am again left with the melancholy dread of another summer passing.<\/p>\n
For so many years my wife and I have spent our Saturday evenings in the same manner. Except for the times we were away on vacations, we would always attend Mass and head home, and I would make pizza while listening to Jerry Blavat\u2019s \u201cThe Geator\u2019s Rock & Roll, Rhythm & Blues Express,\u201d from 6 to 7 on the radio.<\/p>\n
Jerry had been a part of our lives since our teenage years in the 1950s and early \u201960s. He continued to emcee the soundtrack of our lives until 2023 when he passed away.<\/p>\n
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In this 2014 file photo, Jerry Blavat visits Aaron’s Books in Lititz to talk about his book, “You Only Rock Once.” Blavat, a favorite Philadelphia DJ of the author’s, died in 2023.<\/p>\n
LNP FILE PHOTO<\/p>\n
His show would continue in reruns for over a year until it finally left the airways after an entertainment career that spanned 63 memorable years.<\/p>\n
During that run of broadcasts, from 1960-2023, I could always count on his traditional Labor Day weekend show, signaling the end of summer, and Jerry\u2019s closing of his Memories club in Margate, New Jersey, for the season, heading back to the studio for the rest of the year.<\/p>\n
This last show of each year never failed to include the plaintive refrains of Frank Sinatra\u2019s recording, \u201cSummer Wind,\u201d one of Jerry\u2019s favorites.<\/p>\n
The lasting influence that Jerry has had on us, and on the thousands of his young teenagers in the Delaware Valley, and beyond, was always a reminder to cherish, respect and love all of those we have known, and those who have known us throughout or lives.<\/p>\n