WBLS
   HOME
*



picture info

WBLS
WBLS (107.5 MHz) is an urban adult contemporary formatted FM radio station, licensed to New York City. It is currently owned by Mediaco Holding and operated by Emmis Communications under a shared services agreement, along with sister stations WLIB (1190 AM) and WQHT (97.1 FM). The three stations share studios in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, and WBLS' transmitter is located at the Empire State Building. It was previously owned by YMF Media LLC, owned jointly by investor Ronald Burkle and Magic Johnson, which had assumed control of WBLS and WLIB's former parent company, Inner City Broadcasting Corporation, on October 19, 2012, at a purchase price of $180 million. History Early years The 107.5 frequency in New York City signed on in July 1951 as WEVD-FM, simulcasting its sister station at 1330 AM. Within a few years, WEVD-FM moved to 97.9, and 107.5 went off the air. Several years later the New Broadcasting Company, then-owners of WLIB, was awarded a cons ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Frankie Crocker
Frankie "Hollywood" Crocker (December 18, 1937 – October 21, 2000) was an American disc jockey who helped grow WBLS, the black music radio station in New York. Early soul radio According to popeducation.org, Crocker began his career in Buffalo at the AM Soul powerhouse WUFO (also the home to future greats Gerry Bledsoe, Eddie O'Jay, Herb Hamlett, Gary Byrd and Chucky T) before moving to Manhattan, where he first worked for Soul station WWRL and later top-40 WMCA in 1969. He then worked for WBLS as program director, taking that station to the top of the ratings during the late 1970s and pioneering the radio format now known as urban contemporary. He sometimes called himself the ''"Chief Rocker"'', and he was as well known for his boastful on-air patter as for his off-air flamboyance. "Moody's Mood for Love" When Studio 54 was at the height of its popularity, Crocker once rode in through the front entrance on a white stallion. In the studio, before he left for the day, Crocker ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


WLIB
WLIB (1190 AM) is an urban contemporary gospel radio station licensed to New York City. WLIB is owned by Emmis Communications, along with sister stations WBLS (107.5 FM) and WQHT (97.1 FM). The three stations share studios in the Hudson Square neighborhood of lower Manhattan, and WLIB's transmitter is located in Lyndhurst, New Jersey. History The station's origins reach back to December 1941, when WCNW went on the air from Brooklyn. Sharing time with WWRL on 1600kHz, WCNW was granted permission to move down the dial to 1190 kHz. WCNW, which broadcast foreign language programs, was purchased by Elias Godofsky, who was the General Manager of the station, in 1942. It was Godofsky who would change the call letters to the present WLIB. The station's target audience was upper middle-class and wealthy New Yorkers, as evidenced by its format of classical music and popular standards which competed with WQXR. The station was purchased by ''New York Post'' publisher Dorothy Schiff in ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Emmis Communications
Emmis Communications is an American media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Emmis, based on the Hebrew word for Truth (Emet) was founded by Jeff Smulyan in 1980. Emmis has owned many radio stations, including KPWR and WQHT, which have notoriety for their Hip Hop Rhythmic format as well as WFAN, which was the world's first 24-hour sports talk radio station. In addition to radio, Emmis has invested in TV, publishing, and mobile operations around the United States. History 1980s In 1980, Emmis Broadcasting founder Jeffrey Smulyan purchased his first radio station, WSVL-FM Shelbyville, Indiana. In July 1981, Smulyan changed the format from country music to adult contemporary and renamed the station WENS and later to WLHK. In 1982, Emmis acquired WLOL in Minneapolis, MN and quickly became a top contender for ratings. Around 1984, the company bought Magic 106 in Los Angeles, California; at the time, L.A. Lakers player "Magic" Johnson was an early spokesperson for ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Inner City Broadcasting Corporation
The Inner City Broadcasting Corporation ("ICBC") was an American media company based in New York City. It was one of the first broadcasting companies wholly owned by African-Americans. History Inner City was founded in 1970 by a group of prominent African-American New Yorkers active in business and civic affairs. They were led by Percy Sutton, an attorney and a former president of the New York borough of Manhattan; and Clarence Jones, a former publisher of the ''New York Amsterdam News''. Sutton and Jones were joined by over fifty shareholders including legendary disk jockey Hal Jackson; Sutton's fellow "Gang of Four" member David Dinkins, who would later become New York's first African-American mayor; Wilbert (Bill) Tatum, who succeeded Jones as publisher of the ''Amsterdam News''; future New York state senator and comptroller Carl McCall; Betty Shabazz, the widow of Black Muslim minister and civil rights leader Malcolm X; civil rights activist, journalist and congressional ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

WQHT
WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding and operated by Emmis Communications under a shared services agreement. WQHT's studios are located in the Hudson Square neighborhood of lower Manhattan, and its transmitter is located at the Empire State Building. History WQHT began as an experimental station, W2XWG, licensed to the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and located at the Empire State Building in New York City. W2XWG started operations in April 1939, initially as an "Apex" station, used for determining the coverage area of transmitting frequencies higher than those used by the standard AM broadcast band."NBC New York FM Station to go to 10,000 ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

WKTU
WKTU (103.5 FM) is a rhythmic adult contemporary formatted radio station licensed to Lake Success, New York, a suburb of New York City. WKTU is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios in the former AT&T Building in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan; its transmitter is located at the Empire State Building. History WGLI-FM–WTFM (1958–1982) In 1958, 103.5 MHz was assigned to Babylon, New York for WGLI-FM, simulcasting sister station WGLI 1290AM. William Reuman, the founder and owner of WWRL in New York City, was the owner of WGLI. 103.5 MHz had previously been assigned to WPAT-FM in Paterson, New Jersey, which went on the air as WNNJ in 1949, and was deleted in early 1951. In March 1960, Friendly Frost Inc. (a Long Island-based appliance store chain) acquired WGLI Inc. from Reuman and his partners. In November 1961, Friendly Frost moved the station from Babylon to Lake Success, and the call sign was changed to WTFM. WTFM transmitted with 20 kW fro ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the state of New York. The building has a roof height of and stands a total of tall, including its antenna. The Empire State Building was the world's tallest building until the World Trade Center was constructed in 1970; following the collapse of the World Trade Center in 2001, the Empire State Building was New York City's tallest building until it was surpassed in 2012. , the building is the seventh-tallest building in New York City, the ninth-tallest completed skyscraper in the United States, the 54th-tallest in the world, and the sixth-tallest freestanding structure in the Americas. The site of the Empire State Building, in Midtown South on the west side of Fifth Avenue between West 33rd and 34th Streets, was developed in 1893 as th ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Urban Adult Contemporary
Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on their playlists, and generally include some mix of contemporary R&B and traditional R&B (while urban oldies stations emphasize only the latter). Urban adult contemporary playlists generally consist of many different genres that originated amongst Black Americans including R&B, soul, funk, disco, jazz, pop, hip-hop, electro, quiet storm, gospel, new jack swing, and hip-hop soul. Summary The format usually plays some classic R&B hits, as well as hits that are ten years old or more. Classic dance music also has a great impact in this format. Disc jockeys use a more relaxed sound than their younger counterparts. News and current events have a major impact on the older audience. Around the evening, urban AC stations play smooth jazz and ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Urban Adult Contemporary
Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on their playlists, and generally include some mix of contemporary R&B and traditional R&B (while urban oldies stations emphasize only the latter). Urban adult contemporary playlists generally consist of many different genres that originated amongst Black Americans including R&B, soul, funk, disco, jazz, pop, hip-hop, electro, quiet storm, gospel, new jack swing, and hip-hop soul. Summary The format usually plays some classic R&B hits, as well as hits that are ten years old or more. Classic dance music also has a great impact in this format. Disc jockeys use a more relaxed sound than their younger counterparts. News and current events have a major impact on the older audience. Around the evening, urban AC stations play smooth jazz and ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Mutual Black Network
The Mutual Black Network (MBN) was founded by the Mutual Broadcasting System in 1972 as the first national full-service radio network aimed at African Americans; it was initially branded as Mutual Reports before the branding change to MBN. With 98 affiliated stations across the United States, including flagship WNJR in New York, the network broadcast an hourly five-minute newscast at 50 minutes past the hour. It also aired sports and feature programs, and for one year beginning in the spring of 1974, a 15-minute daily soap opera called ''Sounds Of The City''. Some of its special programming focused on African-American history, much of which was researched, written and narrated by MBN news anchor Ben Frazier. Other MBN news anchors included Glen Ford, John Askew and Ed Castleberry; Castleberry also hosted a celebrity interview program, ''Soul of Entertainment''. In 1981, the Mutual Black Network was purchased by Sheridan Broadcasting, an African American-owned company which had ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

American Urban Radio Networks
American Urban Radio Networks (AURN) is the only African-American owned and operated Nielsen RADAR-rated radio network in the United States. Privately held for the last three years with new ownership, AURN reaches an estimated 25 million listeners weekly and provides the advertising community with multiple networks and marketing & digital capabilities. AURN Inspirational is a 24/7 Gospel music network featuring Inspirations with Liz Black, The Hezekiah Walker Show, The Hezekiah Walker Gospel Countdown, and The Bobby Jones Show. AURN handles affiliations, sales, and marketing for national morning programs Streetz Morning Takeover with Yung Joc and Ebro in The Morning with Laura Stylez and Peter Rosenberg Peter Elliot Rosenberg (born July 23, 1979)Chris Richards''Washington Post'', May 31, 2013. is an American radio disc jockey, television show host, and professional wrestling personality, who is signed to WWE where he is a one-time WWE 24/7 C ..., as well as Nessa on Air ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major form of musical expression in traditional and popular music. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, complex chords, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. Jazz has roots in European harmony and African rhythmic rituals. As jazz spread around the world, it drew on national, regional, and local musical cultures, which gave rise to different styles. New Orleans jazz began in the early 1910s, combining earlier brass band marches, French quadrilles, biguine, ragtime and blues with collective polyphonic improvisation. But jazz did not begin as a single musical tradition in New Orleans or elsewhere. In the 1930s, arranged dance-oriented swing big bands, Kansas City jazz (a hard-swinging, bluesy, improvisationa ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]