Bob Reitman, host of WUWM’s weekly music program It’s All Right, Ma, It’s Only Music, will retire on Friday, April 19, 2024. The show will air its last new, live episode on Thursday at 8 p.m., which will repeat on Saturday at 9 p.m.
Bob Reitman started his radio career at WUWM in 1966, when he started hosting a poetry show called Sense Waves. He later served as the host of an alternative music show called It’s Alright, Ma, It’s Only Music. The title of the show refers to a partial lyric in a Bob Dylan song.
Reitman returned to WUWM in 2007 and relaunched It’s Alright, Ma, a weekly live music program that highlights his insight and love of all music genres that continues today.
>> Find show playlists and Reitman's final sign on / off here.
“For the past 17 years, Reitman was a bridge between our past and our future. Reitman’s underground and freeform style, which he pioneered with us, will always be a part of our ethos here at WUWM and we will miss him greatly,” says general manager David Lee.
Retiman has been integral to the fabric of radio in Milwaukee for 60 years. He worked at several radio stations in the Milwaukee area including: WZMF, WAWA, WTOS, WQFM and WKTI. At WKTI, he teamed up with Gene Mueller, cohosting the morning show for over 25 years. Bob and Gene broadcasted from the Soviet Union as well as from six Olympic games.
“Bob Reitman is the best of what we do in radio, from his origins at WUWM to his blockbuster career throughout Milwaukee, and back to where it all started. We are lucky to have been the home to It’s Alright Ma, It’s Only Music and are thankful for everything he’s done for our radio listeners. I am going to miss him so much,” Ele Ellis, WUWM's vice president of content and programming, shares.
Reitman earned a bachelor’s of arts degree in English from Marquette University and holds a master’s degree in urban education from the UWM School of Education.
The playlist from Reitman's last show:
