Bobby Poe R.I.P.

BOBBY "POE KAT" POE, 77, who promoted a series of annual conventions for the Top 40 format for more than 25 years until his retirement in 1996, passed away last Saturday (1/22) from complications of a blood clot, after fighting cancer for the past two years. The Kansas native got into the business as a rock and roll performer (Bobby Poe and the Poe Cats), songwriter, promoter and then newsletter publisher of the Washington, DC-based Pop Music Survey. Poe and his group got the attention of Sun Records’ Sam Phillips, who recorded their first single, “Rock and Roll Record Girl,” based on the music of the standard “Chattanooga Shoe Shine Boy.” Read his highly entertaining and candid blog here. Poe is survived by his wife Ora Mae, son Bobby Jr., and daughter Terri Poe Coats. Memorial services will be held at the First Christian Church in Grove, OK, on Thursday (1/27). Friends and family may leave online condolences by viewing his obituary at www.ellisfuneralhome.com. The family asks in lieu of flowers, a donation be made in his name to the Bogart Pediatric Cancer Research Program. (1/24p)