Each year, Bob Abrahamian marked the anniversary of Sitting in the Park by revisiting his favorite soul sides from the previous 12 months. This 11th-anniversary special—broadcast from WHPK 88.5 FM in Chicago—finds Bob diving deep into rare and regional soul with thoughtful commentary and handpicked tracks from groups like The Carlettes, Formula 12, and The Rhythm Machine. His selections offer a soul lover’s journey through the margins of the genre, with heartfelt ballads and deep cuts from New Jersey to San Francisco. It’s a deeply personal musical diary, capturing Bob’s unmatched dedication to the spirit and history of soul.
Carlettes - Lost without your love - Bobby Robinson
Ramona King - Oriental garden - Eden
Pinkertones - It’s not what you are (but what you can do) - Queen G
Len Wade - Whatcha gonna do - Dial
Forumula 12 - Where is she? - Catamount
Freda Payne - We’ve gotta find a way back to love - Invictus
Greg Perry - One for the road - Casablanca
Trumains - Ripe for the picking - RCA
Bonnie Pointer - I wanna make it in your world - Motown
Sensations of Soul - Memories just for tonight - Grajon
Capricorns - Hello love - Phoenix
Lovers - One way to love - Frantic
Del Capris - Our love (it ain’t the same no more) - Silver Dollar
Rhythm Machine - Brenda and me - Lulu
Carrie Riley and the Fascinators - Living in a lonesome house without you - Music City
Opells - You know I love you - Linco
Charisma - Don’t act surprised - Beauty
Small Society - Just loving you - Cadde
Andrea Hammond and JT’s Connection - Misty lover - Golden Magic
Larry Sanders - Where did peace go? - Sound of Soul
Magnetic Force Inc - For the love - no label
Jaava - Being in love - Breakthrough
Rhythm Machine - Got to believe in love - M-ODD
Love Peace and Happiness Band - It’s what’s in your mind - LPH
Jack and the Soul Injections - Do you believe it? - RAYDAR
Black Exotics - What am I waiting for - United
McArthur - It’s real - Brown Dog
LJ Johnson - Staring in space - AVI
Joe Brown - Mr magic man - W
Every so often, a radio program transcends its role as entertainment and becomes a cultural archive. That’s exactly what Sitting in the Park has been for 11 years—and on this anniversary broadcast, Bob Abrahamian gives us more than just a setlist. He offers a soul scholar’s time capsule, filled with heart, memory, and rare grooves that speak volumes about the genre’s hidden legacy.
Aired from Chicago’s WHPK 88.5 FM, this special anniversary episode is less about hits and more about history. As always, Bob steers his listeners off the well-worn highways of mainstream soul and into the side streets where overlooked brilliance resides. His tone is informal but reverent—reminding us that deep soul isn’t just a style; it’s a feeling, a philosophy, and a preservation effort all at once.
Bob opens the show with The Carlettes’ “Lost Without Your Love,” a New York group whose haunting harmonies reflect the aching sincerity that defines his aesthetic. From there, he stitches together tracks like Len Wade’s “What You Gonna Do” and The Pinkertones’ “It’s Not Who You Are, But What You Can Do”—songs from regions like San Diego and San Francisco that rarely get airtime outside collector circles. Each song is presented with warmth and context, reflecting Bob’s encyclopedic knowledge and his emotional connection to the music.
He reflects candidly on how songs earn a place on his annual playlist—not through hype, but through endurance. “Sometimes a song will sound really good at first, but I get bored with it quickly,” he admits. “Other times, a song might not hit right away, but after repeated listens, it really starts to grow on me.” This comment underscores Bob’s guiding principle: timelessness over trend.
The playlist leans toward ballads, especially in the latter half of the show—a deliberate shift meant to slow the tempo and deepen the mood. Highlights include “Where Is She?” by Formula 12, a New Jersey group with an aching falsetto-led performance, and Greg Perry’s “One for the Road,” which epitomizes that blend of heartbreak and groove that defines classic deep soul. The show also features a regional spread that spans from Indianapolis (The Rhythm Machine’s “Brenda and Me”) to Auburndale, Florida (Carrie Riley and the Fascinations’ “Living in a Lonesome House Without You”).
But what makes this broadcast more than just a playlist is Bob’s human touch. Between sets, he shouts out longtime listeners—from Corey in Chattanooga to Ruben Molina in Los Angeles—and gently jokes about forgetting names, inviting callers to help him remember. These moments serve as reminders that Sitting in the Park is more than a music show—it’s a community hub, a gathering place for kindred souls.
Bob’s nod to other WHPK programming, like the Doo-Wop-focused From the Subway to the Street Corner, reveals his commitment to the broader preservation of Black musical traditions. By name-dropping these shows and directing listeners to resources like AHRQ.gov and FeedthePig.org, Bob positions himself not just as a DJ, but as a cultural caretaker—someone who understands that soul music’s roots are tangled up in the everyday realities of working-class life, health, love, and survival.
The final stretch of the show is a whirlwind of under-the-radar gems. From Small Society’s “Just Loving You” to Joe Brown’s closing cut “Mr. Magic Man,” Bob closes the program not with grandiosity but with a sense of shared journey—an emotional crescendo of sound and sentiment. He thanks Zoë for letting him overrun her timeslot, a small gesture that underscores the spirit of community and generosity that drives this endeavor.
Ultimately, this 11th-anniversary special is a testament to Bob Abrahamian’s enduring mission: to give voice to the unsung, to document the undocumented, and to ensure that the music of forgotten artists lives on not just in grooves and acetates, but in memory, feeling, and collective appreciation.
Bob Abrahamian 00:00
Okay, you're tuned to WHPK 88.5 FM, Chicago. You're now listening to a very special edition of the Sitting in the Park show. Thanks to DJ Bob Miner for letting me go on a little early.
Regular listeners know that once a year, on the anniversary of my show, I do a special program where I go back and play my favorite records that I’ve played over the past year—and this is that show.
Um, if you ever tape the show, this is the one to tape.
Today, I’m celebrating the 11th anniversary of the show. I started Sitting in the Park in 2002, but I’ve been on WHPK since ’95. I’m not taking requests today, because I’ve got the whole show planned out—but you can still call me up if you want. The number here is 773-702-8424.
I’m going to start off the show in New York with a group called the Carlettes. This track is called "Lost Without Your Love."
Bob Abrahamian 11:52
Okay, you're tuned to WHPK 88.5 FM, Chicago. You’re listening to Sitting in the Park. My name is Bob. You’re tuned into the 11th anniversary show of Sitting in the Park, which airs every Sunday night from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
Tonight, I’m going back and playing my favorite records that I’ve played over the last year.
That last record you just heard was a singer named Len Wade with “What You Gonna Do”. Before that, from San Diego, the Pinkertones with “It’s Not Who You Are, But What You Can Do.” Before that, I think from San Francisco, Ramona King with “Oriental Garden”, and I started off the set with a group from New York City, The Carlettes with “Lost Without Your Love.”
Okay, I’ve got my show all planned out today, so I’m not taking requests—but if you want to call me up, the number is 773-702-8424.
This next record is from a group who I think are from New Jersey. The group is called Formula 12, and this track is called “Where Is She?”
Bob Abrahamian 28:59
You're tuned to WHPK 88.5 FM, Chicago. You're listening to the Sitting in the Park show. My name is Bob. This show happens every Sunday night from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
Today is a special show because I’m doing the 11th anniversary special of Sitting in the Park.
Regular listeners know that every year on my anniversary, I go back and play my favorite songs from the previous year.
Just a note on how I picked them—I always listen to my shows over and over and over again, and the songs that I go back to after listening to the show to death are the ones that become my favorites.
Sometimes a song will sound really good at first, but I get bored with it quickly. Other times, a song might not hit right away, but after repeated listens, it really starts to grow on me.
So this is the kind of song I’m focusing on in this show.
That last set you just heard:
Bonnie Pointer – I Want to Make It in Your World
The Tremaines – Ripe for the Pickin’
Greg Perry – One for the Road
Freda Payne – We’ve Got to Find a Way Back to Love
And starting off the set, Formula 12 – Where Is She?
Okay, I think I have pretty much ballads for the rest of the show, in case you were worried about it being too fast.
Still not taking requests for today, but if you want to call me up, the number is 773-702-8424.
I’ll try to do a regular music show next week. It'll be my first show of my 12th season.
I guess this next record is a group from New York called The Sensations of Soul.
This track is called “Memories, Just for Tonight.”
Bob Abrahamian 41:50
Okay, you're tuned to WHPK 88.5 FM, Chicago. You're listening to the Sitting in the Park show. My name is Bob. This show happens every Sunday night from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
Today is a special show because I’m going back and playing my favorite records that I’ve played over the past year, in honor of my 11th anniversary.
That last record you just heard was a group from New Jersey, that was The Del Capris with *"Our Love (It Ain’t the Same No More)."
Before that, from San Francisco, The Lovers with "One Way to Love".
From Los Angeles, The Capricorns with "Hello Love".
And starting off the set, from New York, The Sensations of Soul with "Memories, Just for Tonight."
Okay, I just want to give a shout-out. And again—this is leaving out, well, not again—but this is leaving out tons of people that I didn’t think of.
So feel free to call up and remind me to give you a shout-out.
But I wanted to say a few names—some of the regular listeners who frequently call up:
