A Film on Legendary DJ Georgie Woods

"The Georgie Woods story from the Eyes of Minister Joshua Coates", is the working title of a movie on the legendary Philadelphia DJ. Release date for the film is some time in 2011. The movie includes fascinating interviews with Dick Clark and the late Ed Bradley from CBS News.

An integral part of the film is Georgie Woods' connection with the once vibrant, now dormant Uptown Theatre in Philadelphia. Some of you may recall during the 2009 BET Awards that The Ojays mentioned the Uptown Theatre as the place where they first met Michael Jackson and The Jackson 5.

The following videos on the process of putting together the bio-pic of Georgie Woods are from 20/20 Visions Entertainment Group.

During the first video segment, it is implied from the narration, that the 60's rock and roll group, The Beatles played the Uptown. That never happened. Georgie Woods did however play Beatles and Elvis Presley records on WDAS radio in Philadelphia.

The film, if for nothing else, it's an interesting perspective on the influence that local radio DJ's had not only in the music industry, but also in the community. The influence of a Georgie Woods was duplicated by many other DJ's in Black Radio radio across the country throughout the 50's, 60's and 70's.


It was a powerful position that no longer exists in local radio anywhere. Media consolidation has effectively killed it off on a local level. Of course today it only exists nationally by one radio personality in Black radio, Tom Joyner; but it's minuscule in comparison to the power and influence of syndicated talk show hosts Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck on a national scale. Radio was and continues to be a powerful medium.














It's hard to believe that this "back in the day" entertainment mecca was once more powerful than Harlem's famed Apollo Theatre.



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Pictured below is the Uptown Theatre as it appears today.