For more than 50 years, Hy Lit rocked Philadelphia as a radio and television personality. He was a humorous, talented disc jockey who introduced some of the biggest bands of all time to the City of Brotherly Love.

The famous Hy - short for Hyman - Lit, passed away in 2007, but these days, his son, Sam, carries on his spirit in a radio station that he created with his father.

Today, Sam Lit continues the family tradition, only he isn't sending out the good vibes and rock and roll tunes through transistor radios, as his father did.

These days, Lit is rocking around the clock on the Internet.

And "around the clock" it is indeed.

The station features a 24-hour broadcast featuring a continued stream of Lit's five-hour long shows, recorded every Wednesday, live from Finnigan's Wake in Northern Liberties at Third and Spring Garden streets.

For the past four years, Lit has been playing the hits from the '50s and '60 on an Internet-based radio show that features the doo-wop and rock 'n' roll tunes of a bygone age.

The show can be found at hylitradio.com.

This past week, Bob Murphy, owner of Fishtown's Music Fountain Cafe and the Fishtown Airways art gallery, joined Lit as a featured guest for a show dedicated to the history and ongoing resurgence of Fishtown.

The fact that the Music Fountain Cafe is a '50s-themed ice cream shop was also a topic of discussion.

"Hy Lit Radio is all about hometown flavor," said Lit between songs as he ran his radio show on Wednesday, Oct. 21. "It's home-cooking. These local neighborhoods are very important to me."

Lit, now a resident of the suburbs, once owned a home on York Street in the neighborhood. He said he's a "hometown guy" who keeps Philadelphia's neighborhoods close to his heart.

According to Lit, his passion for the oldies is similar to his passion for Philly's neighborhoods.

Lit said that in many large cities, smaller neighborhoods have lost their character, just as throughout the radio dial, radio stations have become watered down replicas of their former selves.

But, here in Philly, neighborhoods have kept their most charming traits, just as his Hy Lit Radio show has stayed true to the music and style of the '50s and '60s, when his father was a radio pioneer.

"Today, radio is very homogenized. But, once you discover us, the radio is too good," said Lit. "You just can't go back to terrestrial radio."

Lit's father became a Philadelphia icon in the 1950s for his ability to captivate an audience with his fun-loving personality and his uncanny ability to find music that would prove to be the most popular on any radio dial.

One of his common catch phrases was "If this ain't a hit, I quit." That attitude enabled the popular DJ to secure a radio and television career for more than half a decade.

Sam's show is a tribute to his father, not only in name, but also in style.

He plays nothing but oldies hits from the '50s and '60s, he talks fast while on the air and uses many of his father's catch phrases - "I want to see your face in the place" is another he uses often.

The younger Lit even brings a restored 1957 Chevy to the Northern Liberties bar when he's on the air.

Sam said that in finding Bob Murphy and his '50s-themed Music Fountain Cafe, he knew he had to have Murphy on the show to talk oldies.

"It's really an amazing thing," Lit said of Murphy's Girard Avenue cafe as he introduced him to his Internet audience last week. "Where else can you see an authentic '50s trolley ride along in front of an authentic '50s cafe?"

While on air, Murphy talked about the history of the Fishtown name and the ongoing resurgence the community has undergone as a new destination for creative Philadelphians.

Murphy discussed his love of the oldies, and some of the designs that went into the decor at the Music Fountain Cafe.

There, he features his collection of antique radios and displays pictures and posters of famous Philadelphia-born musicians.

"It's dedicated to Philadelphia," Murphy said of the cafe, located at 308 E. Girard Ave. "It's an ice cream place that plays '50s and '60s music. It's a little vacation."

Murphy hung out with Lit throughout much of the five-hour long program and the two joked between songs as they listened to some of their favorite music.

"That's was really great," said Murphy after he spoke on the air. "It was really a lot of fun."

Hy Lit Radio is available on the Internet at www.hylitradio.com. The show is broadcast live every Wednesday from Northern Liberties at Finnigan's Wake, at Third and Spring Garden streets. The show starts at 5 p.m. and ends at 10 p.m. A list of other dates and locations for broadcasts is available on the Web site.

Reporter Hayden Mitman can be reached at 215-354-3124 or hmitman@phillynews.com