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Robert Kurt Curtis "KOTO"uot;uot;uot;
passed away 9/15/2004 of natural causes.

Kurt Curtis was an unusual man, a man with a penchant for Florida music history. KOTO as he was known (King of The Oldies) traveled the state many times over the last 20 years, compiling information for a book he was writing, a Florida Rock & Roll Encyclopedia.

His manuscript, a mere 1500 pages, contained not only information and a discography of the musicians, but also their photos. This was truly a life’s quest.

KOTO listed every Florida band to ever record a song, who played on the session, and what had become of the people involved. Truly a magical compilation for any Florida music historian.

Kurt Curtis loved music, he ate it, slept it, and lived it. At an early age, his Mom dropped him off at WLCY Radio, the Top 40 monster of its day, to meet the legendary afternoon DJ Roy Nilsson. KOTO was hooked, he wanted a career in broadcasting.

KOTO would listen everyday, memorizing the lyrics, and collecting the 45s, thousands of them. He knew every singer, song writer, and label. Truly a music and radio junkie.

Getting into the radio biz proved very difficult for Curtis, so he started mixing at local clubs. KOTO became a legend on the Tampa Bay club circuit. Versatile, he knew all types of music, which paid off for him down the road with the changing musical tastes of the country.

In the late 80s, his dream finally came true as he landed a weekend slot at U92 with Scott Robbins, playing his favorite type of music, the oldies. It was a fulfillment words could not describe, in fact years later his eyes would swell as he spoke of his brief time in the radio limelight.

Management changes brought an end to his radio stint, and it was back off to the night clubs, and spinning discs for the younger crowd. He did not love it, but hey, it was as close to being a radio DJ as he could be.

After a more than 22 year quest, KOTO found a publisher for his book, Doug Cifers. After a little more than a year of editing (1500 pages would put War & Peace to shame), the book was finalized, it was set to be published in mid October of this year. A long journey was coming to fruition, his baby was about to be born.

Kurt Curtis never lived to see that dream materialize, as he died of an apparent massive heart attack on Wednesday September 15th at his apartment in St Petersburg..

KOTO’s body was found by co workers at the club, who became suspicious when he did not return phone calls.

Robert Kurt Curtis, King of The Oldies, would be proud to see his offering “The Famous and The Forgotten” hit the book stores. The 54 year old entertainer, who suffered from diabetes had a fear he would not outlive his mission. KOTO was right. He died the day it went to press.

He will be missed by those who knew him professionally, and those of us who knew him personally as a man of passion who loved the oldies.

Rest my dear friend, rest.

Tedd Webb
tedd@teddwebb.com

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Obituary
Kurt Curtis, collector, rock 'n' roll chronicler
The self-proclaimed King of the Oldies died before his encyclopedia of Florida rock 'n' roll could be published.
By CRAIG BASSE, St. Petersburg Times Obituaries Editor
Published September 17, 2004

ST. PETERSBURG - Kurt Curtis spent nearly a quarter century pursuing his passion: Florida's rock 'n' roll history.

The huge book he wrote about it became his life's work. He dreamed of seeing it published.

Wednesday, as his publisher was packing up the book to send to the press, Mr. Curtis, 53, collapsed at his St. Petersburg apartment and died.

Shocked, his publisher, E. Douglas Cifers at Florida Media Inc. in Orlando, decided to hold off on printing the encyclopedia to make some appropriate changes.

"We pulled it to give some time to see what we could add," he said. "It is sad that he didn't see his work come to fruition."

The cause of his death was not immediately determined, said a niece, Cindy Szabries of St. Petersburg.

Mr. Curtis had spent $250,000, he once said, amassing information for a journey back to the days of drive-in restaurants, bands that rocked around the clock and teens who twisted the night away, according to an account in the Times four years ago.

The result was a completed manuscript approaching 2,000 pages, accompanied by countless photos. He titled the encyclopedic history of Florida's rock, soul and dance music from 1955-1985, Florida's Famous and Forgotten.

He set up a Web site offering to accept deposits for the encyclopedia "to secure your piece of Florida music history."

A visitor to his cluttered St. Petersburg condo in 2000 described Mr. Curtis as a man with swept-back black hair, a Wolfman Jack goatee and a commitment to his project that went beyond obsession.

"Some people like to lay around on the couch and watch Jerry Springer, but I've been working every day for two decades to make this book a reality, and I want that to be my legacy," the self-proclaimed King of the Oldies - KOTO for short - said at the time.

"This is my mission in life. I want to be remembered as the guy who saved the history of Florida rock music."

There were framed album covers of Little Anthony and the Imperials, concert posters of Bo Diddley, and a photo montage of Mr. Curtis with scores of rock 'n' roll greats he met, such as Dick Clark, Chubby Checker, Del Shannon and Wolfman Jack.

Two huge wooden cabinets and old metal file drawers contained, by his estimate, more than 200,000 vintage 45s. He stopped keeping count years ago.

Born in St. Petersburg, Mr. Curtis grew up listening to rock 'n' roll. In his early teens, he started playing records at dances, drummed in a St. Petersburg rock band and then attended Northeast High School.

After Navy service, he became a professional nightclub DJ and worked in clubs from Miami to Houston to Philadelphia - even overseas. In 1992 he began focusing all his spare time on the encyclopedia.

by Kurt “King of the Oldies” Curtis