Walter Blount Memorial – Rocco's Rocketship

Walter C. Blount III

January 5, 1948 - January 21, 2021

Remembering
Walter

Walter C. Blount III, beloved father and grandfather affectionately known as “Pop-Pop”, deejay for Washington DC’s Pacifica station WPFW, musicologist, stagehand, teacher, former employee for the National Urban League, and member of IATSE Local 22, passed away on January 21, 2021. He was 73. Blount was the deejay for his late-night show Rocco’s Rocketship on WPFW-FM and was known for playing an eclectic mix of world music, mixing genres, and telling never-before-heard stories of artists and musicians that befriended him. On his radio show he played otherworldly music from Sun-Ra to Alice Coltrane, Santana to local music from Go-Go bands and punk rockers, from Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings to straight-ahead jazz from Coltrane and Bird.

Memorial Service

Family and friends hosted a virtual memorial service on

Feb 21, 2021 12:00 PM EST. See the video recording 👈🏽

Share a Memory of Walter

From: Linda McNease Younger

My husband and I reconnected with Walter in 2007 when my daughter played at the Alice Coltrane Memorial. He was sitting outside waiting to go in when we approached him because he looked so familiar.

From: Jeffrey Obafemi Williams

My deepest condolences to the Blount family on the passing of my dear Howard buddy, Walter. We entered Howard together as freshmen, became close friends and even though later separated geographically.

From: Michael Gonzales

In the age of selfies, I can’t believe that never took a picture with my friend Walter Blount, who passed away suddenly on Friday. Though he and I had only been friends for a few years, we got close very fast,

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