Philly legend Jimmy Bishop Sr.'s gold records stolen in burglary ring recovered decades later
Pieces of Jimmy Bishop Senior’s legacy restored after stolen gold records recovered
Three of Bishop Senior’s, gold records for music from Eddie Holman, Earth Wind and Fire, and Barry White, that were recovered in 1986, from a pawn shop, as part of a police investigation into a burglary ring that hit locations in the Philly metro.
PHILADELPHIA - In the 1960’s, Jimmy Bishop Senior’s voice filled the Philly airwaves at WDAS-FM.
"Bishop was a very blessed man, he was able to communicate with the people," said Louise Bishop.
Bishop knows best because he is the father of her children and she, nicknamed the Gospel Queen, worked alongside him on the radio.
Through his work Jimmy helped give many big acts their first hit records, including The Jackson 5, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder and others.
"Being on stage at a young age we were exposed to a lot. You open the door, you’d see people like Gladys Knight, Al Green, The Jackson 5, they came over, we hung out, we barbecued," said Jimmy Bishop Jr.
While questions about Senior's current whereabouts still remain a mystery for his family, a few symbols of his legacy have been found.
"While most of the property we return is cash, there is also a lot of tangible items, like these gold records that find their way to our vault in Harrisburg," said Stacy Garrity, the Pennsylvania State Treasurer.
Three of Bishop Senior’s gold records for music from Eddie Holman, Earth Wind and Fire, and Barry White, were recovered in 1986, from a pawn shop, as part of a police investigation into a burglary ring that hit locations in the Philly metro.
After police finished their investigation, they reported them to the State Treasury as unclaimed property.
After failing to track down Bishop Senior and his family, the state reached out to his other family at WDAS.
"You know how you get a call, and you’re like ‘is this real?’, so doing some further investigation, I found out it was very real, and I said I’m going to connect the dots," said Patty Jackson, a Radio Personality with 105.3 WDAS-FM.
Jackson did just that and now the family has a special piece of Bishop Sr., back home.
"Each one of these means 500,000 records that were sold so, it’s a real part of his history," said Tabb Bishop, Jimmy’s son.
Bishop Jr. said, "It means a lot, it’s a legacy. I’ve got kids, stays in the family, hangs on the wall, goes with the others that we have it will fit real nice, we’ll find a nice place for it".