Homewood pediatrician Robert A. Levin, MD, was a 21-year-old senior business major at the University of Pennsylvania when he decided he wanted to be a physician. Following graduation, he returned home to Birmingham, took the required science courses and entered medical school at age 24. After years of training for his vocation as a pediatrician, Levin is now in his 29th year of practicing medicine at Alabama Pediatrics. “Training to be a doctor was a lot of work, but I’m glad I did it. I love taking care of my patients,” he said.
Over the years, Levin has enjoyed several media-related avocations for which he has received no training but that have made him a familiar face in the Birmingham area.
Of these hobbies, Levin is best known as the “Voice of the Million Dollar Band” at the University of Alabama. “I love being the band announcer” he said. “To me, it’s a privilege to do the job. I go to all the games, travel with the band and sit in the press box. That experience is thrilling to me.”
Levin, who has been announcing the band’s pre-game and halftime shows at University of Alabama football games since 1990, said he was in the right place at the right time when the opportunity came about. “I’ve always been known for my imitations, and I was imitating the Legion Field public address announcer one night at a gathering of some friends. Kathryn Scott, director of the band, was there,” Levin said. “She must have liked my voice, because she asked if I would be interested in announcing the band show for one game during that football season. I did, and I was later asked to be the full-time announcer.”
Being part of the pomp and circumstance of Southeastern Conference (SEC) football games is one of the things Levin likes best about his announcing career. “The activity, color and entire atmosphere of the game is exciting,” he said. Each year at homecoming, Levin stands at midfield to introduce the homecoming court. “I like being out amongst the activity, because it makes it all seem more real. There are only a few people in the PA booth, so it is somewhat isolated. Being on the field is refreshing and exhilarating.”
Levin’s patients were surprised to find out that he was the voice they heard at Alabama games. “People would see my name in the program and ask if I was the announcer for the Million Dollar Band. They’d say, ‘It didn’t sound like you!’” he said. “I do try to use a more dignified, professional tone in the office. There’s definitely a special time and place for the announcer’s voice.”
Levin works hard at his band job, scripting his own halftime comments which he tries to make interesting and clever. “When I’m there, I’m totally focused on what I’m doing, because I don’t get a second chance at calling a band show. It gets my mind off my job as a physician and gives me a look into another world.”
Levin’s first glimpse into the world of media was in 1986 when he did health reporting for the local Channel 6 television station in Birmingham. He worked for Channel 6 until 1996. “I guess I never thought much about my interest in media, but it must be in my blood,” he said.
Baseball is also in Levin’s blood, thanks to a father who never missed a World Series game. Levin is continuing that tradition. He also ventured into the world of baseball ownership in 1980 when he and his father joined a group of businessmen that bought the Montgomery Rebels baseball franchise and moved it to Birmingham. They changed the name of the team back to the original name, the Birmingham Barons. Levin enjoyed being part of the successful franchise until they sold the team to Suntory International in 1990.
Levin’s voice is becoming well known in central Alabama as a result of his “band voice” popularity, and it has opened some unlikely doors for him, such as doing play-by-play announcing for the SEC baseball tournament and introducing Faith Hill and Tim McGraw at a concert at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center.
“I stumbled into the position with the Million Dollar Band, but I guess you could say I’ve been training for it and these other opportunities all my life with my imitations,” Levin said. “All of my ‘hobbies’ are fun to me because they are so different from practicing medicine. I hope to do more.”
September 2007
