With his longtime friend and Blues Hall of Fame member Little Milton making the Grammy classic "Wind Beneath My Wings" sound like it was written for Phil Givant himself, the life of the longtime KVMR blues show host was fondly remembered and celebrated at a memorial service in January. The place was packed to the rafters with hundreds of his friends, family and admirers -- from blues musicians and blues lovers to academic colleagues, college administrators and even a repairman -- whose lives had been touched by Phil.

Host of the Tuesday afternoon "Blues With Phil" on KVMR since 1985, Givant passed away at the age of 66 on January 5 of complications from heart disease. He'd only recently had to give up the weekly series because of his health, which also forced his retirement after 41 years as a mathematics professor at American River College in December.

Phil was an inspirational figure to all who love the blues," says KVMR program director Steve Baker. "He was a walking textbook on the history of African-American music and its rightful place in our politics and culture.

Indeed, KVMR blues broadcaster (and membership coordinator) Richard Tewes was among those eulogizing Phil at the memorial service, closing his remarks with the provocative words that ended each "Blues With Phil" broadcast (see separate article).

Tewes, KVMR programmer/Sierra Blues Society President Thom Myers, blues musicians Little Milton, Mick Martin and Guitar Mac (often Phil's radio co-host) and a bevy of others remembered Givant's intense zest for music, politics, sports and more --as well as his unabashed love for family and academic excellence.

Givant's childhood associates recalled his early years in the Bay Area (he was born in Germany and moved here when his family fled the wrath of Hitler). In supreme irony, during World War II, Givant was harassed by some elementary school classmates as being "a Nazi" because of his German origins.

The lessons learned there and the fact his Jewish father was a refugee -- apparently stuck throughout his life, as he was an unabashed civil rights proponent and was "colorblind," as some speakers said. Givant was even the faculty advisor to American River College's Black Student Union in the 1960s. Said his son Phil, Jr., a high school guidance counselor, "He saw blacks being made the Jews" of North America.

And he fought for change. When appropriate, his college classroom could focus as much on politics and cultural injustice as it would on math. There'd be spirited debates, but friends say Givant always listened and was always ready for them.

The blues arrived in Phil's life as he wrestled with his mother's illness and death in his early teens. In an era of listening to Patti Page and Frankie Lane, he once found himself depressed and walking the streets of Oakland.

I heard this guy playing a guitar outside the Time Out Club and I hadn't heard that kind of music," Phil told Tewes in a 1999 Listener's Guide profile. "I walked over and stood in the

door for a minute and watched this incredible guy doing all kinds of acrobatics, doing the splits and playing the guitar with his teeth, playing the guitar behind his back. It was T-Bone Walker and Givant had found the blues. He then spent a lifetime advocating and educating the rest of us on the music, just as he spent a lifetime teaching college students math.

Said Givant, "The more history I got into and started reading people like Richard Wright and James Baldwin and Ralph Ellison and people like that and then listening to (music by) T-Bone Walker, Dinah Washington and Big Joe Turner, the more I saw all that stuff related to each other. So I say this is America's music

Givant was the founder, driving force and risk-taker associated with the Sacramento Blues Festival from 1976 to 1993. The festival started at the college but grew into a yearly "who's who" in blues -- plus an array of undiscovered and under-appreciated artists to boot. Muddy Waters, Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker, Junior Wells, Chuck Berry and others appeared there. Mick Martin remembers it as one of the three major blues festivals of its initial era.

In 1987, Givant was awarded the National Blues Foundation's "W.C. Handy" award as "blues promoter of the year." Shortly after that, Givant was thrilled to nominate and induct his longtime friend Little Milton into the Blues Hall of Fame.

In the late '70s, Givant tried his hand at radio at stations like KERS (now KXPR) and commercial station KPOP, both in Sacramento, and later at KDVS/Davis. Then he met the late Ken Crow, an original blues host on KVMR, and got infatuated with the station. Soon thereafter, "The Blues With Phil" was born.

Tewes recalls Givant's generous donations to the station including a "challenge to others" that helped KVMR complete its fundraising to replace an aging transmitter and tower. "Phil, as much as anyone, understood the importance of independent community radio.

In his early years on KVMR, he was known for long lists of dedications to loyal listeners and for sometimes playing, back-to-back, different versions of the same song. And he'd repeat the lyrics after a song, just to be sure you got the message and understood the heritage.

Blues is more than music," Givant said. "Economics, history and civil rights all come into it. And I can present it the way I want to (on KVMR). I try to do my show the way I teach.

And then some, we suspect.

Givant graduated from San Francisco State and taught there before moving to Sacramento and American River College in 1960. He'd just married Kathy, "the greatest inspiration in my life," and leaves her, son Phil Givant, Jr. of Sacramento and daughters Laruie Givant-Eastlick of Sacramento and Julie Silver of Boston, plus his beloved grandchildren.

I've known Kathy since 1957," Givant told Tewes. "So like what T-Bone Walker says: 'love is just a gamble, it's nice and sweet when you're a winner' And I've been a winner.