LEWISTON – Try as they might, it’s just hard for some people to imagine rock n’ roll radio without Mark Persky. As WBLM disc jockey for nearly three decades, Persky provided the soundtrack to countless keg parties, beach bashes and work commutes.
“It’s just remarkable that he’s retiring,” said local disc jockey Nick Knowlton. “It makes me feel old and I don’t like it.”
Persky has announced he will leave the radio station after a 28-year career. A station that started in a Litchfield trailer, the “Blimp” soon became favored among young people craving rock n’ roll, or older folks nostalgic for the music of their youth.
“We always had him on the radio. Always,” said 42-year-old Randy Demers. “WBLM was popular from the get-go.”
WBLM’s morning host, Herb “Captain” Ivy has been working with Persky for 18 years. He described the DJ as a legend.
“It’s been an amazing thrill ride doing the show with Mark,” Ivy said. “Mark made every day an adventure and was fearless when it came to doing just about anything for this show. He’s a true radio legend, and all of us on the Blimp wish him much happiness.”
Persky has been absent from the WBLM lineup for several weeks. But it wasn’t until this week that the rock jock made his plans to leave the station official.
“It has been so much fun. It sure doesn’t seem like 28 years,” Persky wrote in a statement posted on the WBLM Web site. “It has always felt like I was talking to my friends every morning.”
There was no immediate word on plans to replace Persky, who said he has plans to return to radio after a hiatus. It was believed a conflict between Persky and station managers led to his absence recently from the airwaves, although neither would discuss the matter.
Known mostly for his on-air repertoire and his fondness for classic rock, Persky was also active in community affairs. In recent years, he came to Lewiston to speak with schoolchildren about the business of operating a radio station and about advertising in that medium.
“He was very professional, very friendly,” Demers said.
For most, however, Persky’s name conjured memories of long summers or long drives with classic music pounding over stereo speakers.
“He’s been an institution in rock n’ roll,” Knowlton said.
Comments are no longer available on this story