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Tracing the Soul Map: Chicago to the Bay

MOSESDILLARD-Nice2014.jpg
Show:
Sitting in the Park
Station:
WHPK 88.5 FM, Chicago
Date:
2012-07-08
Guests:
None
Genre:

Tracing the Soul Map: Chicago to the Bay

2012-07-08
Host: Bob Abrahamian

From rare Chicago 45s to sunlit Bay Area grooves, Bob Abrahamian’s “Sitting in the Park” crafts a loving tribute to forgotten soul. This episode offers deep digs from Pam Bowie, The Emotions, and Moses Dillard, reflecting the power of regional soul scenes in shaping America’s musical landscape. Bob’s curated flow—spanning Chicago, L.A., Milwaukee, Florida, and beyond—preserves the legacy of community-rooted artistry. Whether revealing early work from future stars like Peabo Bryson or spotlighting elusive vinyl by Push or Marlin, the show is a cultural time capsule that champions the unsung architects of soul.

Setlist

Commentary

Transcript

Pam Bowie - He’s All I Need - Aquarius Devastations - What Makes Me Feel This Way - Gimp Imported Moods - I’m a Scorpio - Hi McArthur - It’s So Real - Brown Dog Moses Dillard & the Tex Town Display - I Promise to Love You - Shout Festivals - So In Love - Gordy Love, Peace & Happiness Band - It’s What’s In Your Mind - L.P.H. Sensations of Soul - Memories Just For Tonight - Grajon Gary & the Browns - Promise of a Better World - Selma Emotions - Shouting Out Love - Stax Dale Darby - Let’s Get It Together - Wesgate Edwards Generation - I Need Only You - Tight Fabulous Playmates - Don’t Turn Your Back (On Loving) - Select Traffic Jam - I Can’t Get Over Loving You - Toeholt Push - You Turn Me On - Sound of Seattle Low-down - Music is the Answer - Javar Marlon - It’s Summer - First Production Joe Washington & Wash - Look Me in the Eyes - West Sounds Ponderosa Twins Plus One - Bound - Astroscope Sly, Slick and Wicked - Tonight’s the Night - Bad Boy
“Sitting in the Park” was never just a radio show. For Bob Abrahamian, it was a ritual, a preservation, and a love letter to the vinyl ghosts of soul music’s past. This April broadcast on WHPK 88.5 FM feels like a blueprint for how regional soul flourished and intertwined across America—from Chicago’s South Side streets to sun-soaked California corners. Bob opens with a gem he’s long chased: Pam Bowie’s “He’s All I Need.” A rare Chicago cut, this 45 embodies the magic of local presses and small studios capturing moments of deep emotional resonance. Her vocals are warm yet haunting—hallmarks of the sweet soul style that Chicago fostered in its corners far removed from the Motown glitz or Stax swagger. This wasn’t about polish—it was about heart. From there, Bob guides us through a lush sequence of deep soul cuts. Gary and the Browns’ “Promise of a Better World” from Milwaukee pulses with the optimism and grit that defined Rust Belt soul—an area often overlooked in the mainstream narrative. Then, the Sensations of Soul deliver “Memories Just for Tonight,” a track dripping with longing, before we slip into the psychedelic-tinged grooves of the Love, Peace and Happiness Band. Each song is a piece of a larger puzzle. For example, Moses Dillard and the Tex-Town Display’s “A Promise to Love You” might slide past an inattentive listener—but Bob flags something crucial: the possibility that the lead singer is Peabo Bryson, long before his smooth ballads hit the national charts. It’s this level of insight—these breadcrumbs of legacy—that Bob wove into every show, gently reminding us that soul’s future legends often began in obscurity. Bob’s radio set plays like a cultural atlas. We hop from MacArthur’s “It’s So Real” to The Imported Moods from Florida, then groove into The Devastations and finally circle back to Chicago’s own Emotions with “Shouting Out Love.” That track—Bob’s “Classic Chicago Dusty of the Day”—links directly to another voice, Vita Brown, whose version he’d aired months prior. It’s a subtle but meaningful comparison that underscores how different interpretations of the same song can highlight unique emotional textures. What Bob does best here is remind us that soul was never a monolith. Take, for instance, the Fabulous Playmates’ “Don’t Turn Your Back on Loving.” He recalls playing its B-side weeks earlier, encouraging listeners to hear both sides—literally and metaphorically. The soul genre thrived on such B-sides: stories that didn’t make the charts but defined communities, school dances, and heartbreaks alike. Midway through the show, Bob plugs his website and invites listeners to dive deeper into his treasure trove of interviews and archived shows. It’s more than promotion—it’s preservation. His digital archive ensures that these voices, songs, and stories don’t dissolve into obscurity, lost to scratched records and dust. Then comes a sweet transition to Push from Seattle with “You Turn Me On,” followed by Marlin’s “It’s Summer”—a sun-drenched Bay Area groove that fits the weather, Bob notes with a smile. It’s these details—personal, observational—that keep the show grounded and intimate. He doesn’t just play music; he narrates life alongside it. Finally, the episode closes with a poignant stretch: The Sly (a Hispanic group from L.A.) performing “Tonight’s the Night,” alongside The Ponderosa Twins + One with “Bound,” and Joe Washington Wash with “Look Me in the Eyes.” This triad encapsulates the deep emotional register of soul—from joy to ache to resilience. In just under ninety minutes, Bob Abrahamian accomplishes what few curators can: he creates a musical roadmap stitched with emotion, geography, and history. Each record is a pin on the map of Black American creativity, each transition a reminder that these songs are not relics, but living, breathing testaments to lives lived and loves lost.

Bob Abrahamian 0:00
This first record is a Chicago record that I’ve been looking for, for a very long time. This is a singer named Pam Bowie, and the track is called He's All I Need.

Bob Abrahamian 06:30
Okay, you’re tuned to WHPK 88.5 FM in Chicago. You’re listening to Sitting in the Park. My name is Bob. The show happens every Sunday night— supposed to start at 7:30, and it goes till 9 PM.
That was a long set, so let’s count back from the last cut.
The last one you heard was from Milwaukee—Gary and the Browns with Promise of a Better World.
I played an earlier version before, not sure if that one was aired yet, but it was a bit different.
Before that, a group called Sensations of Soul with Memories Just for Tonight, then Love, Peace and Happiness Band with It’s What’s In Your Mind, followed by The Festivals with So in Love.
Then Moses Dillard and the Tex-Town Display with A Promise to Love You. I think he was still in the group at that time—the lead might actually be Peabo Bryson. Before that, MacArthur with It’s So Real, then The Imported Moods with I’m a Scorpio—they’re from Florida.
After that, The Devastations with What Makes Me Feel This Way, and we started off that set with a Chicago cut—Pam Bowie with He's All I Need.

Bob Abrahamian 08:40
Okay, let me give you some info before I play more music.
When it comes to having money, don’t rely on luck. Brown-bag it to work instead of ordering in.
For more free ideas on how to save, go to FeedThePig.org.
Also, did you know that African Americans are twice as likely to suffer a stroke as white Americans?
But there are steps you can take to beat the odds.
Join the Power to End Stroke. Start by calling 1-888-4-STROKE or go online at StrokeAssociation.org to learn what you can do.

Bob Abrahamian 09:45
Another show you might like on this station is called Dustin’s Party.
It airs every Thursday night from 9 to midnight, and there’s a rotating lineup of DJs who play soul, funk, blues, and jazz from the '60s, '70s, and '80s.
And one more show you might enjoy is From the Subway to the Street Corner.
That show happens every Sunday night from 6 to 7:30—right before my show.
The host, Bob—a different Bob than me—plays doo-wop music.
So tune in Sundays, 6 to 7:30 PM.
Okay, I’ve got about half a show left.
If you want to call me up, the number here is 773-702-8424.
This next record is my Classic Chicago Dusty of the Day.
This is The Emotions with Shouting Out Love.

Bob Abrahamian 11:30
You’re tuned to WHPK 88.5 FM in Chicago.
You’re listening to Sitting in the Park. My name is Bob. This show happens every Sunday night from 7:30 to 9 PM.
We started off that set with The Emotions, with Shouting Out Love.
A few months ago, I played the Vita Brown version of that one.
After that, from L.A., Dale Darby with Let’s Get It Together.
Then we heard The Edwards Generation with I Need You Only,
The Fabulous Playmates with Don’t Turn Your Back on Loving—I played the other side of that a few weeks ago.
After that, a West Coast group called Traffic Jam with I Can’t Get Over You.

Bob Abrahamian 13:00
Okay, if you like my show, one other thing you might like is my website — www.sittinginthepark.com. On that site, I have audio from all the shows I’ve done over the past five or six years, and I’ve got audio from interviews I’ve done with Chicago groups. So check it out if you want to hear more of this music. I’ll have tonight’s show up probably in a few days. If you want to call me up, the number again is 773-702-8042. Up next is a group from Seattle called Push. The track is called You Turn Me On.

Bob 16:45
This next track is a really nice Bay Area cut that’s appropriate for today — and I’m really glad the temperature’s cooled down a little bit, at least. I think it’s a group named Marlin—although it sounds like a person’s name. This track is called It’s Summer.

Bob Abrahamian 19:40
Okay, you’re tuned to WHPK 88.5 FM in Chicago. This is the end of the Sitting in the Park show. It happens every Sunday night from 7:30 to 9 PM. The last track you just heard was a Hispanic group from L.A. called The Sly, with Tonight’s the Night— very different from the Cleveland group. That track was one of their two original songs; most of their catalog consists of covers. Before that, from Cleveland, The Ponderosa Twins + One with Bound, and before them, Joe Washington Wash with Look Me in the Eyes. And the first two cuts in that set were both from the Bay Area. The second one was by a group called Marlin — or possibly a solo artist — and the track was called It’s Summer.

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