Bob Robbins

Radio personality prizes family, career and the outdoors

Bob Robbins talks to KMJX 105.1 The Wolf listeners during his weekday morning show. Robbins began working in the Little Rock radio market in 1967. Starting out at KAAY, Robbins later transitioned to KSSN before making the move to The Wolf last year. Robbins is a familiar name and voice for morning-radio listeners in the area, joining the likes of Brother Hal, Sonny Martin and Tommy Smith as long-tenured radio disc jockeys in the market who have enjoyed success on the airwaves.
Bob Robbins talks to KMJX 105.1 The Wolf listeners during his weekday morning show. Robbins began working in the Little Rock radio market in 1967. Starting out at KAAY, Robbins later transitioned to KSSN before making the move to The Wolf last year. Robbins is a familiar name and voice for morning-radio listeners in the area, joining the likes of Brother Hal, Sonny Martin and Tommy Smith as long-tenured radio disc jockeys in the market who have enjoyed success on the airwaves.

Bob Spears has been on the radio since he was in junior high school. Now he goes by the name Bob Robbins, a moniker he picked up in his early days at KSSN. Though his life has been marred by tragedy, he has found lasting happiness with a highly rated morning show in Arkansas that has spanned decades and with a family that keeps him grounded.

Robbins’ mother died on Christmas Eve when he was 10, soon after moving from his birth home in Auburndale, Florida, to Alabama. Guardianship of the boy was then given to a man who would become Robbins’ adoptive father two years later.

“I actually signed my adoption papers when I was 12,” Robbins said.

Robbins’ adoptive father was a sergeant in the Air Force, and under his care, Robbins lived in Morocco, Spain, Florida and Washington.

“That’s where I got my first real job in radio — in Morocco,” Robbins said. “In Tampa, Florida, there at MacDill Air Force Base, I did a request show in junior high school. The call letters were WTSP there in Tampa— actually, in St. Pete right across the bridge. Then when I went to Morocco, Sgt. Bill Miller, who was in charge of the Armed Forces radio station, hired me and got me started in radio. That love developed, and here we sit today, a bunch of years later.”

Robbins started at KAAY, now known as KSSN, in 1967. KSSN was bought by iHeartMedia, then known as Clear Channel, in May 1997. Clear Channel also owns 105.1 The Wolf, Robbins’ current station. He hopped frequencies last year when the decision was brought down to him by iHeartMedia executives. His tenure is approaching 37 years.

“I’ve been doing it for a long time, and I love every bit of it, too,” Robbins said of his career in radio. “Next to my wife and kids, it’s my biggest love.”

The switch from KSSN to KMJX (The Wolf) made sense for Robbins as a reflection of his musical tastes. KSSN had increasingly begun to play newer, more-pop-influenced country. Robbins, however, is a purist when it comes to country music and enjoys what are now considered the classics of country.

“I love it,” Robbins said. “When we talked with management about the change, I was very receptive. I looked at the music I was playing over the years compared to what I was playing at that time. That wasn’t what I really thought country music was, and The Wolf is everything that I think country music is. It’s the second-greatest thing I ever did, when it comes to radio.”

Robbins’ good ratings have followed him to The Wolf, along with many of his fans. He admits that feeling is wonderful, seeing how well the show does in all demographics.

For more than 25 years, Robbins has been a resident of Sheridan, where he enjoys spending time with his grandchildren, hunting, fishing and even brushhogging on his rural property. Robbins said The Natural State and what it has to offer make him proud to say he’s from Arkansas. Before he and his family moved to Sheridan, they lived in Saline County. But Robbins’ family is always his first priority, so when his oldest child was old enough to drive, Robbins took it as a sign to move closer to his wife, Susan’s, hometown.

“We talked,” Robbins said. “I told her, ‘I don’t want them on the roads all the time. I’d rather it be me.’ We found the home we both dreamed about, just passed it one day and said, ‘Boy, I love that place.’”

The house then went on the market, and the couple purchased the home.

Now that he has grandchildren, Robbins cited them as the most important thing in his life.

“I just thought I was blessed when my three came along. I just thought I knew what love was,” Robbins said. “When I started having these grandchildren, I learned what it was really about.”

When not delivering yesteryear’s greatest country hits, Robbins is an outdoorsman who enjoys hunting, particularly squirrel hunting. The kennel for his dogs even comes complete with a septic tank.

“If you gave me just one choice, it’d be with my squirrel dogs,” Robbins said. “That squirrel hunting is one thing that I just really love.”

One of the dogs was given to him by his late friend Joe Brewer, who was also an avid squirrel hunter. Poshy was one of Brewer’s favorite dogs, and shortly before he died of lung cancer, he gave Poshy to Robbins.

“I see why he loved her so much,” Robbins said, “She’s really good.”

It seems like Robbins could talk all day about his family and the life he’s built in Sheridan. He said he makes a living for them, and they make his life worth living in return.

“I am just so honored that I have all of my family, my children and my grandchildren,” Robbins said. “Of course, the rock for all of us is Susan, my wife. She keeps us all going strong.”

Since he was orphaned when he was 10 years old, Robbins has come a long way, and there’s no doubt now that he has a complete family.

Staff writer Morgan Acuff can be reached at (501) 918-4508 or morgan@syncweekly.com.

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