Pop Music Survey was founded by my father, Bobby Poe a/k/a The Poe Kat, in 1968. For the next 28 years, this small, industry "tip sheet" ended up on the desks of the most influential executives in the Top 40 record and radio industries. I'm Bobby Poe, Jr., and I joined the company in 1979. Bonnie Smith-Rollison, who worked as Music Director at several radio stations in the Washington, D.C. area, joined the company in 1987, remaining with us until July of 1996.
Throughout the 1980's and into the 1990's Pop Music Survey became known for putting on the most exciting, fun and legendary Top 40 music conventions there ever were. In June of 1996, The Poe Kat retired after our gala 25th Anniversary Convention, and I decided that it was a good time to go out on a high note and therefore discontinue publication of the weekly Pop Music Survey magazine as well.
If we inadvertently left your name off the list of Convention attendees (scroll down column to the right), please email us and we'll add you immediately!
Looking back over the years, many of the most incredible talents in the entertainment industry made our Convention something special, including Kip Adotta, Bananarama, Jellybean Benitez, The Bloodhound Gang, Michael Bolton, Toni Braxton, James Brown, Jimmy Buffett...
...Tevin Campbell, Rosanne Cash, David Cassidy, Boomer Castleman, Felix Cavaliere, Chad and Jeremy, Carol Channing, Charo, Cheap Trick, Marc Cohn, Natalie Cole, David Coverdale, Crowded House, Cy Curnin, Charlie Daniels, Paul Davis, Michael Des Barres, Divinyls...
...En Vogue, Expose', Maynard Ferguson, Fun Factory, Gallagher, Gilbert Gottfried, Amy Grant, Daryl Hall, Jimmy Harnen, Debbie Harry and Chris Stein of Blondie, David Hasselhoff, Sophie B. Hawkins, Isaac Hayes, Susanna Hoffs, Hootie and The Blowfish, Bruce Hornsby...
...Intrigue, Michael Jackson, Tommy James, Joshua Kadison, Robert Klein, Lenny Kravitz, Cheryl Ladd, Cyndi Lauper, Seiko Matsuda, John Mellencamp, Ronnie Milsap, Eddie Money, The Moody Blues, Eddie Murphy...
...Johnny Nash, Nelson, Donny Osmond, Robert Palmer, Ray Parker, Jr., Dolly Parton, Steve Perry, The Philosopher Kings, Webb Pierce, Pinkard and Bowden, Buster Poindexter, Genya Ravan, Helen Reddy, Cynthia Rhodes, Kenny Rogers, David Lee Roth...
...Carole Bayer Sager, Seal, Jon Secada, Ray Stevens, Supertramp, Andy Taylor of Duran Duran/The Power Station, Tanya Tucker, Was Not Was, Crystal Waters, Jane Weidlin of The Go-Go's, Vanessa Williams, Meri Wilson, XTC, Zim Zimeral and his Orchestra, ZZ Top and many, many others.
The "lost" Michael Jackson video acceptance speech from 1984, made from the only copy in existence. Michael was honored as the first recipient of "The Neil Bogart Memorial Award", presented by Bobby Poe at the annual Bobby Poe Convention!
Here's a picture of my dad from the 25th and final Pop Music Survey Convention in 1996. Click the picture above to visit Bobby Poe, Sr.'s Blog, which is a history of his life in the music business up to the time of Pop Music Survey. At the Blog you will also find links to music by Bobby Poe and The Poe Kats and Bobby Poe's autobiography.
For many years, the Pop Music Survey offices (left) were located on the second floor of the building at the corner of 28th and M Streets in Georgetown. Most recently, that building is now an Ethiopian Restaurant (right) and stands across the street from The Four Seasons.
The front cover of issue #1,323 of Pop Music Survey, commemorating the 25th annual Bobby Poe's Pop Music Survey Convention. The Convention was held in June of 1996 and marked The Poe Kat's retirement from the music business.
The back cover of the final issue of Pop Music Survey was a tongue-in-cheek tribute to The Poe Kat by David Leach and the Pop Promotion staff of Mercury Records. It's an original picture of Bobby Poe and The Poe Kats from 1958, with the heads of Mercury's Senior Pop Promotion staff superimposed on the other members of the band. (L-R: David Leach, Steve Ellis, untouched picture of The Poe Kat, Tony Smith)
One of my father's favorite pictures over the years was this one from a Pop Music Survey Convention in the 1990's. (L-R: Cyndi Lauper, The Poe Kat, Ora Mae Poe, Bobby Poe, Jr.)
Here's another of my father's favorite pictures, this time from the one and only Bobby Poe's Pop Music Survey Convention in Nashville, which was Convention #4 in 1975. (L-R) The Poe Kat, his good friend Shelby Singleton (President/Owner of Sun Records) and the legendary Carol Channing. Carol, who passed away in January of 2019, was Mistress of Ceremonies that year. Bobby Poe Sr. passed away in 2011 and Shelby passed away in 2009.
In 1989, the amazing staff at PolyGram presented live in their Hospitality Suite, none other than one of the greatest groups of all time, The Moody Blues. It was an unbelievable experience and we will be eternally grateful to PolyGram's David Leach, Andy Szulinski and everyone at the label for the honor. Special thanks to Donna Jean Rumbley of the Baltimore/Washington, DC PolyGram Branch for decorating PolyGram's Hospitality Sutie and for taking this picture. (L-R) Justin Hayward, Graeme Edge and John Lodge of The Moody Blues.
Visit Bobby Poe's Wikipedia Page:
Bobby Poe's Autobiography!
Now available in paperback and for Kindle from Amazon!
Also available at iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Sony and other online retailers!
Click on the book cover above to purchase the paperback version of Bobby Poe's autobiography "Bobby Poe and The Poe Kats" from Amazon! The autobiography is also available at Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Sony and many other online retailers as an eBook in various digital formats!
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