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WKCR-FM (89.9 FM) is a
radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
licensed to
New York, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...
, United States. The station is owned by
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
and serves the
New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...
. Founded in 1941, the station traces its history back to 1908 with the first operations of the Columbia University Radio Club (CURC). In 1956, it became one of the first college radio stations to adopt
FM broadcasting FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM). Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is cap ...
, which had been invented two decades earlier by Professor
Edwin Howard Armstrong Edwin Howard Armstrong (December 18, 1890 – February 1, 1954) was an American electrical engineer and inventor, who developed FM (frequency modulation) radio and the superheterodyne receiver system. He held 42 patents and received numerous aw ...
. The station was preceded by student involvement in
W2XMN W2XMN was an experimental FM radio station located in Alpine, New Jersey. It was constructed beginning in 1936 by Edwin Howard Armstrong in order to promote his invention of wide-band FM broadcasting. W2XMN was the first FM station to begin regula ...
, an experimental FM station founded by Armstrong, for which the CURC provided programming. Originally an education-focused station, since the
Columbia University protests of 1968 In 1968, a series of protests at Columbia University in New York City were one among the various student demonstrations that occurred around the globe in that year. The Columbia protests erupted over the spring of that year after students disco ...
, WKCR-FM has shifted its focus towards alternative musical programming, with an emphasis on
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 ...
, classical, and hip hop. WKCR has been described as one of the premier stations for jazz in the United States, having been involved in the New York jazz scene from its founding; one of its first broadcasts was the earliest performance by
Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...
on radio. Through ''
The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show ''The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show'' was an underground hip hop radio show broadcast in New York, originally on 89.9 WKCR-FM, from a basement station at Columbia University, and later on 97.1 WQHT-FM. The show was hosted by Adrian Bartos ...
'', it has played an instrumental role in the development of hip hop since the 1990s. It was also one of the first stations in the United States to broadcast
salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...
. The station made its first
AM broadcast AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmis ...
out of
John Jay Hall John Jay Hall is a 15-story building located on the southeastern extremity of the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University in New York City, on the northwestern corner of 114th St. and Amsterdam Avenue. Named for Founding Father, ''The ...
and its first FM broadcast from
Philosophy Hall Philosophy Hall is a building on the campus of Columbia University in New York City. It houses the English, Philosophy, and French departments, along with the university's writing center, part of its registrar's office, and the student lounge of it ...
, where Armstrong had invented FM. In 1958, it moved its transmitter to the
DuMont Building The DuMont Building (also known as 515 Madison Avenue) is a 532-foot (162 m) high, 42-story building located at 53rd Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan.Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stre ...
. Following a decade of bureaucratic struggle against the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorized ...
and the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
, it began transmitting from an antenna atop the
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
in 1985. After the towers' destruction in 2001, the station broadcast for a brief period of time from a backup transmitter on the roof of
Carman Hall Carman Hall is a dormitory located on Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus and currently houses first-year students from Columbia College as well as the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. History The building ...
, before moving to
4 Times Square 4 Times Square (also known as 151 West 42nd Street or One Five One; formerly the Condé Nast Building) is a 52-story skyscraper at Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Located at 1472 Broadway, between 42nd and ...
in 2003, where it remains today. Its studios are currently located in
Alfred Lerner Hall Alfred Lerner Hall is the student center or students' union of Columbia University. It is named for Al Lerner, who financed part of its construction. Situated on the university's historic Morningside Heights campus in New York City, the building ...
.


History


Wireless Telegraphy Club

The first recorded instance of radio experimentation at Columbia took place in 1906, in the same year as the first
AM radio AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transm ...
transmission made by
Reginald Fessenden Reginald Aubrey Fessenden (October 6, 1866 – July 22, 1932) was a Canadian-born inventor, who did a majority of his work in the United States and also claimed U.S. citizenship through his American-born father. During his life he received hundre ...
. Records indicate that a Columbia University Experimental Wireless Station had set up a cagetype radio antenna between the chimneys of
Havemeyer Hall Havemeyer Hall is a historic academic building located in Columbia University in New York City. History It was built between 1896 and 1898, under the direction of Charles Frederick Chandler and named after Columbia graduate Frederick Christian Ha ...
and
Schermerhorn Hall Schermerhorn Hall () is an academic building on the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University located at 1180 Amsterdam Avenue, New York City, United States. Schermerhorn was built in 1897 with a $300,000 gift from alumnus and trustee W ...
. What is now WKCRFM originated as the Wireless Telegraph Club of Columbia University, now under the name Columbia University Amateur Radio Club. Founded in 1908, one year before the Harvard Wireless Club (W1AF) and the MIT Radio Society (W1MX), it is the oldest amateur radio society. It set up its first experimental station on the roof of University Hall, where Uris Hall now stands, in November of that year with the blessings of Professor
Mihajlo Pupin Mihajlo Idvorski Pupin ( sr-Cyrl, Михајло Идворски Пупин, ; 4 October 1858Although Pupin's birth year is sometimes given as 1854 (and Serbia and Montenegro issued a postage stamp in 2004 to commemorate the 150th anniversary o ...
, who donated a corner of his laboratory in Havemeyer Hall to the club, as well a large
electromagnetic coil An electromagnetic coil is an electrical Electrical conductivity, conductor such as a wire in the shape of a wiktionary:coil, coil (spiral or helix). Electromagnetic coils are used in electrical engineering, in applications where electric curre ...
. Originally intended only for catching stray signals from passing ships, the station was soon used to communicate with stations from other universities and other stations in New York City. It engaged in its first test with the Wireless Association at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
in 1909, and in March of that year, it was used to receive the results of a basketball game against the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
from
The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel is a landmark building at 200 S. Broad Street at the corner of Walnut Street in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Constructed in 1904 and expanded to its present size in 1912, it has continued as a well-known ...
in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, the first such use of radio by college students. By 1915, the Wireless Club was known as the Columbia University Radio Club (CURC). The CURC made its first broadcasts with its ham radio station, W2AEE. The call sign was assigned to the CURC as early as 1931 and still operates under the Columbia University Amateur Radio Club. Its first recorded broadcast was in 1933, and the station received its license in 1938.


Carrier current AM station

In 1933,
FM broadcasting FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM). Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is cap ...
was invented by Professor of Electrical Engineering
Edwin Howard Armstrong Edwin Howard Armstrong (December 18, 1890 – February 1, 1954) was an American electrical engineer and inventor, who developed FM (frequency modulation) radio and the superheterodyne receiver system. He held 42 patents and received numerous aw ...
in the basement of
Philosophy Hall Philosophy Hall is a building on the campus of Columbia University in New York City. It houses the English, Philosophy, and French departments, along with the university's writing center, part of its registrar's office, and the student lounge of it ...
. As an undergraduate at Columbia, he had studied under Pupin and invented the
regenerative circuit A regenerative circuit is an amplifier circuit that employs positive feedback (also known as regeneration or reaction). Some of the output of the amplifying device is applied back to its input so as to add to the input signal, increasing the am ...
. Immediately after his graduation in 1913, he was offered a position at the university, and continued his experimentation with radios. In 1914, he strung up another antenna between Havemeyer and Schermerhorn Halls for a new radio. At the time, it was considered "one of the best on the eastern coast", and could reportedly receive signals from as far away as
Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
,
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
. Following his invention of FM, Armstrong created
W2XMN W2XMN was an experimental FM radio station located in Alpine, New Jersey. It was constructed beginning in 1936 by Edwin Howard Armstrong in order to promote his invention of wide-band FM broadcasting. W2XMN was the first FM station to begin regula ...
, the first regularly operated FM radio station, which made its first broadcast on July 18, 1939. Soon after its completion, the CURC began using W2XMN to test the potential of FM for college radio. The CURC made its first public and FM broadcasts on W2XMN, for which it provided programming. WKCR proper was founded in 1940. The original station was built almost singlehandedly by electrical engineering student William Hutchins in his room in
John Jay Hall John Jay Hall is a 15-story building located on the southeastern extremity of the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University in New York City, on the northwestern corner of 114th St. and Amsterdam Avenue. Named for Founding Father, ''The ...
. Armstrong donated a microphone and turntables to the fledgling station. While setting the station up, the Radio Club engaged in illegal experimentation, exceeding FCC minimum power regulations for carrier current transmission. Under the name CURC, the station made its unofficial debut on December 31, 1940, with a broadcast of audio from a New Year's Eve party in John Jay Dining Hall. Its official maiden broadcast was made on February 24, 1941, and opened with a recording of "
Roar, Lion, Roar "Roar, Lion, Roar" is the primary fight song of Columbia University. It was originally titled "Bold Buccaneers" and was written with different lyrics for the 1923 Varsity Show ''Half Moon Inn'' by Columbia undergraduates Corey Ford and Morris W. W ...
", followed by light classical music, a 15minute sports show, 40 minutes of jazz, a campus news summary, and symphonic music. The station soon moved its headquarters to the space between
Hartley Hall Hartley Hall was the first official residence hall (or dormitory) constructed on the campus of Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus, and currently houses undergraduate students from Columbia College as well as the Fu Foundation School ...
and Hamilton Hall. Within its first year, CURC was broadcasting 18 hours a day, including hours of rebroadcasts from W71NY and W2XMN. After the FCC officially recognized college radio stations in 1946, the station received the official call sign of WKCR (standing for "King's Crown Radio"); the designation was originally used by a Merchant Marine ship, the ''SS Miramar''.


WKCR-FM

In February 1956, Columbia University applied for a construction permit for a new 10-watt station at 89.9 MHz. The FCC approved on April 5, and the first tests of the new station were carried out on May 14; full-time programming did not begin until October 8 for New York's third noncommercial radio outlet. It used a tenwatt transmitter that once belonged to Armstrong, which it installed on the roof of Philosophy Hall, as well as $25,000 worth of mast control equipment donated by
WMCA WMCA may refer to: *WMCA (AM), a radio station operating in New York City * West Midlands Combined Authority, the combined authority of the West Midlands metropolitan county in the United Kingdom *Wikimedia Canada The Wikimedia Foundation, ...
. A third of the student volunteers for WKCR-FM were women from the affiliated
Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...
. Until the 1970s, the carrier current WKCR, focused largely on music broadcasting and restricted to campus, coexisted with WKCRFM, which covered the entire
New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...
with a greater emphasis on education. Programming was largely university sports, lecture series, classical music, and broadcasts from the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
, including many interviews with representatives of foreign nations. WKCRFM began broadcasting from the
DuMont Building The DuMont Building (also known as 515 Madison Avenue) is a 532-foot (162 m) high, 42-story building located at 53rd Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan.Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stre ...
in 1958, and in 1964 it became the first noncommercial radio station to broadcast in stereo. During the 1960s, the station would continue to develop its educational content. Members of the news department would travel to
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
annually to interview political figures, while WKCR became the only station in the New York area to carry
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
meetings in full. While the station's musical programming mainly focused on classical, it also played jazz, folk, bluegrass, and
show tune A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. ...
s. Guests who were interviewed on the station during this time period included
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
,
William F. Buckley Jr. William Frank Buckley Jr. (born William Francis Buckley; November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American public intellectual, conservative author and political commentator. In 1955, he founded ''National Review'', the magazine that stim ...
, and
Jimmy Hoffa James Riddle Hoffa (born February 14, 1913 – disappeared July 30, 1975; declared dead July 30, 1982) was an American labor union leader who served as the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) from 1957 until 1971. F ...
.


The protests of 1968

During the
Columbia University protests of 1968 In 1968, a series of protests at Columbia University in New York City were one among the various student demonstrations that occurred around the globe in that year. The Columbia protests erupted over the spring of that year after students disco ...
, WKCR was the only source of live news from the university. With 50 or 60 students working in shifts, it was able to provide near-nonstop coverage for the week of protests. During the protests, the station had several "special operations" groups—student experts on telephone systems, key collectors who were able to open every lock on campus, and experts in acquiring telephone equipment that, according to station engineer Jon Perelstein, "a college radio station probably shouldn’t have had"—which, by breaking into telephone distribution panel rooms through the university tunnel system, were able to appropriate campus phone lines so that reporters could instantly communicate with station headquarters from any of the occupied buildings. According to one story, when the police stormed
Low Memorial Library The Low Memorial Library (nicknamed Low) is a building at the center of Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus in Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building, located near 116th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Aven ...
, a staff member picked up one of the phones and began reporting on the events. When a policeman came over and destroyed the phone he was using, the student simply picked up the phone on the next desk over and continued his report. Station staff also tapped a
New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
phone line that ran from a university telephone distribution panel to a command vehicle outside, and, on radios loaned from W2AEE, stalked frequencies known to be used by the NYPD when planning large operations. WKCR coverage only stopped for a period of time on April 26, when the university ordered the station to suspend operations. Students demanded the station be allowed to return to the air, and within half an hour the administration relented. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' described WKCR's reporting as "clear and concise with a sound of informality and immediacy". The station contradicted the narratives offered by commercial news outlets, which only broadcast statements made by politicians and university administrators, by offering student perspectives to its audience. When civil rights activists
H. Rap Brown Jamil Abdullah al-Amin (born Hubert Gerold Brown; October 4, 1943), formerly known as H. Rap Brown, is a civil rights activist, black separatist, and convicted murderer who was the fifth chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ...
and
Stokely Carmichael Kwame Ture (; born Stokely Standiford Churchill Carmichael; June 29, 1941November 15, 1998) was a prominent organizer in the civil rights movement in the United States and the global pan-African movement. Born in Trinidad, he grew up in the Unite ...
joined the protests, they were interviewed on WKCR. Following the station's involvement in the protests, the university administration has treated the station with animosity. After 1968, WKCR sought to rid itself of its reputation as a "classroom of the air". The AM carrier current service was discontinued, while the FM station shifted its emphasis from education to music, particularly jazz. The station sought to provide a platform for music that was neglected by commercial radio, adopting the slogan "The Alternative". In a time when most Latin programming focused on older music and romantic ballads, it became one of the first stations in the United States to broadcast
salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...
. It also welcomed
experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...
and
contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included seria ...
, featuring musicians including
Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...
,
John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...
,
Zeena Parkins Zeena Parkins (born 1956) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist active in experimental, free improvised, contemporary classical, and avant-jazz music; she is known for having "reinvented the harp". Parkins performs on standard harp ...
, and
John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...
, who, in 1987, used the WKCR studios once to remix
opera music Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
. During a May 29, 1978, minimalist music marathon hosted by staff member Tim Page, the station presented the radio premiers of several leading minimalist compositions, including ''
Einstein on the Beach ''Einstein on the Beach'' is an opera in four acts composed by Philip Glass and directed by theatrical producer Robert Wilson, who also collaborated with Glass on the work's libretto. The opera eschews traditional narrative in favor of a formali ...
'' by
Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...
and ''
Music for 18 Musicians ''Music for 18 Musicians'' is a work of minimalist music composed by Steve Reich during 1974–1976. Its world premiere was on April 24, 1976, at The Town Hall in New York City. Following this, a recording of the piece was released by ECM New ...
'' by
Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, a ...
. Page also organized a WKCR charity concert which was held on April 1, 1979, in
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
, and featured Glass and Reich, in addition to
John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...
, Leroy Jenkins, and
Ursula Oppens Ursula Oppens (born February 2, 1944) is an American classical concert pianist and educator. She has received five Grammy Award nominations. Biography Ursula Oppens was born on February 2, 1944, in New York City into a highly musical family fr ...
.
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
also made a brief appearance to play a duet with Cale on the viola. The blues and jazz record label
Oblivion Records Oblivion Records is an independent American record label that focuses on under recorded blues and jazz musicians. The company was originally based in Huntington, New York and the WKCR-FM studios at Columbia University in New York City, with a p ...
was based at the WKCR studio from 1972 until 1976, when it ceased initial operations. The label was founded by staff member
Fred Seibert Frederick (Fred) Seibert (born September 15, 1951) is an American television producer, co-founder of MTV and the CEO of FredFilms, an animation production company based in Burbank, California. His official biography states he has led five (working ...
, who would later go on to found
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
, along with Dick Pennington and folk musician
Tom Pomposello Tom Pomposello (July 17, 1949 – January 25, 1999) was an American roots musician, notably playing and recording with country blues musician Mississippi Fred McDowell, who also worked as a cable television and advertising producer for clients like ...
. During his time at WKCR, Seibert recorded and published live performances made at the station; notable albums that were recorded or edited at WKCR include ''Live in New York'', featuring
Mississippi Fred McDowell Fred McDowell (January 12, 1904 – July 3, 1972), known by his stage name Mississippi Fred McDowell, was an American hill country blues singer and guitar player. Career McDowell was born in Rossville, Tennessee, United States. His parents were f ...
and ''
Blues from the Apple Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the African- ...
'', featuring Charles Walker and the New York City Blues Band.


Move to the World Trade Center

WKCR began making plans in 1975 to move its transmitter to 1 World Trade Center, citing deteriorating signal quality due to the construction of the nearby
Citigroup Center The Citigroup Center (formerly Citicorp Center and also known by its address, 601 Lexington Avenue) is an office skyscraper in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Built in 1977 to house the headquarters of Citibank, it is tal ...
. Fundraising was completed in September, and the station was given until March 31, 1976, to build its new transmitter. Due to a bureaucratic stalemate, the deadline was missed, and the station had to apply for a new lease. The ''
Columbia Daily Spectator The ''Columbia Daily Spectator'' (known colloquially as the ''Spec'') is the student newspaper of Columbia University. Founded in 1877, it is the oldest continuously operating college news daily in the nation after ''The Harvard Crimson'', and has ...
'' reported on September 14, 1976, that negotiations with the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorized ...
were in their final stages, and that the move was projected to take place before January 1, 1977. In July 1977, ''The New York Times'' announced that WKCR would move by September 15 of that year, and would the first station to transmit from the World Trade Center. A nine-day, 200-hour long
Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
festival was planned to inaugurate the station's new transmitter. However, the move was delayed again when the Port Authority declared two of the application forms to be incomplete. The applications were resubmitted, and in November, the Port Authority announced that the station would be able to make the move within a month. However, a day before the station was to install its new antenna, the Port Authority intervened, stating that the antenna was not built to withstand strong enough winds. Despite an earlier agreement that the Port Authority would cover the costs for any transmitter and antenna modification or replacement, when confronted by station officials, the Port Authority refused to pay, denying that the agreement was ever made in the first place. A new antenna, built to the Port Authority's specifications, was constructed in September 1978, and the Port Authority announced that it would grant the station its approval again in a few weeks. In January 1979, WKCR received a $43,912 grant from the
Office of Education The Office of Education, at times known as the Department of Education and the Bureau of Education, was a small unit in the Federal Government of the United States within the U.S. Department of the Interior from 1867 to 1972. It is now separated i ...
of the
United States Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...
to aid in its move to the Twin Towers. The move was delayed once more until 1981, due to a legal dispute with an unnamed New Yorkbased station over transmitter interference. WKCR's Madison Avenue transmitter continued to deteriorate until it finally broke down on July 17, 1981. By then, the World Trade Center antenna had already been installed, though the station's FCC permit to finally move had recently expired while it was dealing with a hum which had interfered with broadcasts for the past three weeks. The station began transmitting from the Twin Towers for the first time at 9:30am on July 20, though the broadcast was shut down after 45 minutes by the FCC, forcing WKCR to repair and continue to use its old antenna. In July 1982, the FCC fined the station $8,000 for violations of federal equipment and licensing regulation, which were discovered during an allegedly routine and random inspection. The station was accused of failing to replace broken equipment, which had caused the station's frequency to creep up from 89.9 to 89.5. WKCR Manager Andy Caploe responded that the station could not have known whether there were any problems with the transmitter in the first place, because its testing equipment was also broken. The station finally made the move in April 1985, where it would continue broadcast from for the next sixteen years.


Recent history

From 1990 to 1998, WKCR broadcast ''
The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show ''The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show'' was an underground hip hop radio show broadcast in New York, originally on 89.9 WKCR-FM, from a basement station at Columbia University, and later on 97.1 WQHT-FM. The show was hosted by Adrian Bartos ...
'', hosted by
DJ Stretch Armstrong Adrian Bartos (born September 29, 1969) known professionally as DJ Stretch Armstrong is a New York-based DJ and music producer, known as a former co-host of hip hop radio show ''The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show'', alongside Bobbito Garci ...
and
Bobbito Garcia Robert "Bobbito" Garcia (born September 25, 1966), also known as DJ Cucumber Slice and Kool Bob Love, is an American DJ, author, streetball player, streetball coach, and member of the Rock Steady Crew. He is known as a former co-host of hip hop ...
. The show served as an alternative to commercial hip hop radio, airing mostly obscure, unsigned artists, a number of whom would later dominate the hip hop scene in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The show has been credited with introducing the world to
Biggie Smalls Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...
,
Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...
,
Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...
,
Big L Lamont Coleman (May 30, 1974February 15, 1999), known professionally as Big L, was an American rapper and record executive. Emerging from Harlem in New York City in 1992, Coleman became known among underground hip-hop fans for his freestyling ...
,
Big Pun Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 – February 7, 2000), better known by his stage name Big Pun (short for Big Punisher), was an American rapper. Emerging from the underground hip hop scene in the Bronx borough of New York City in the ea ...
,
Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a sol ...
,
Wu Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...
,
Mobb Deep Mobb Deep was an American hip hop duo from New York City. The duo consisted of rappers Prodigy and Havoc. They are considered to be among the principal progenitors of hardcore East Coast hip hopEdwards, Paul, 2009, ''How to Rap: The Art & Scien ...
, and the
Fugees Fugees (; sometimes The Fugees) is an American hip hop group formed in the early 1990s. Deriving its name from a shortening of the word "refugees", the group consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill. The group rose to fame with its ...
, among others. ''The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show'' was voted the "best hip-hop show of all time" by ''
The Source ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...
'' in 1998. WKCR's transmitter was destroyed on September 11, 2001, when a hijacked plane destroyed the North Tower of the World Trade Center. For the next two years, the station broadcast from its backup transmitter atop
Carman Hall Carman Hall is a dormitory located on Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus and currently houses first-year students from Columbia College as well as the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. History The building ...
. Its range was severely reduced, its signal barely reaching past a 20-mile radius until 2003, when the station was able to set up a new antenna at
4 Times Square 4 Times Square (also known as 151 West 42nd Street or One Five One; formerly the Condé Nast Building) is a 52-story skyscraper at Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Located at 1472 Broadway, between 42nd and ...
, where it remains today. WKCR was one of four FM radio stations that transmitted from the World Trade Center at the time of its destruction, the others being
WNYC-FM WNYC-FM (93.9 MHz) is a non-profit, non-commercial, public radio station licensed to New York City. It is owned by New York Public Radio along with WNYC (AM), Newark, New Jersey-licensed classical music outlet WQXR-FM (105.9 MHz), New J ...
,
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 neighbo ...
, and
WPAT-FM WPAT-FM (93.1 FM) – branded "93.1 Amor" – is a radio station that programs a Spanish CHR radio format. Licensed to Paterson, New Jersey, the station is owned by the Spanish Broadcasting System and serves the New York metropolitan area. I ...
. For three weeks beginning on September 17, WKCR loaned its new studio in Lerner Hall to WNYC, which continued broadcasting over its AM adjunct but could not access their headquarters in the
Manhattan Municipal Building The David N. Dinkins Municipal Building (originally the Municipal Building and later known as the Manhattan Municipal Building) is a 40-story, building at 1 Centre Street, east of Chambers Street, in the Civic Center neighborhood of Manhatt ...
due to the attacks. WKCR had been planning on moving to Lerner Hall from its temporary studio in
Riverside Church Riverside Church is an interdenominational church in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on the block bounded by Riverside Drive, Claremont Avenue, 120th Street and 122nd Street near Columbia University's Mornings ...
before the attacks. In 2011, ''The New York Times'' reported that it was considering a move back to the
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
. The station was fined $10,000 in 2012 due to a lapse in its record-keeping from 2001 to 2006, which WKCR directors attributed to the turmoil at the station after the 9/11 attacks. WKCR was one of several college radio stations which had been fined by the FCC in recent years, a practice that was criticized as punitive for its lack of distinction between commercial stations and those run by students, which are generally characterized by high turnover and lower budgets. The FCC's policy towards college stations was relaxed in 2013.


Jazz programming


Early jazz

Jazz has been a staple of WKCR's programming since its very founding, in part due to its proximity to
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
, where
bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...
was developing during the 1940s. Its first broadcast as an official station with FCC approval began with "Swing is Here", a record with
Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973), known as Gene Krupa, was an American jazz drummer, bandleader and composer who performed with energy and showmanship. His drum solo on Benny Goodman's 1937 recording of "Sing, Sing, S ...
and
Roy Eldridge David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from t ...
. After the 1968 protests at Columbia, the station started to heavily emphasize the genre, and has since hosted numerous prominent jazz musicians at its studio. By the 1990s, it had become one of the premier stations for jazz in the United States. , about 40% of WKCR's airtime is dedicated to jazz. In June or July 1941, within five months of its official debut, CURC aired the first radio performance by pianist
Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...
.
Jerry Newman Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...
, a 23yearold student, had begun frequenting and recording performances at
Minton's Playhouse Minton's Playhouse is a jazz club and bar located on the first floor of the Cecil Hotel at 210 West 118th Street in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. It is a registered trademark of Housing and Services, Inc. a New York City nonprofit provider ...
, where Monk was the house pianist, in 1940 after being introduced by bassist and vocalist Duke Groner. The 23
acetate disc An acetate disc (also known as a ''lacquer'', ''test acetate'', ''dubplate'', or ''transcription disc'') is a type of phonograph record generally used from the 1930s to the late 1950s for recording and broadcast purposes and still in limited use t ...
recordings he made over 1941 constitute the earliest recordings ever made of Monk's playing. The broadcast recording was made by Newman and several CURC members on one afternoon, with Newman and another student alternating as master of ceremonies. Four sets were recorded featuring Monk,
Don Byas Carlos Wesley "Don" Byas (October 21, 1912 – August 24, 1972) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, associated with swing and bebop. He played with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Blakey, and Dizzy Gillespie, among others, and also led ...
, Joe Guy,
Kenny Clarke Kenneth Clarke Spearman (January 9, 1914January 26, 1985), nicknamed Klook, was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. A major innovator of the bebop style of drumming, he pioneered the use of the ride cymbal to keep time rather than the hi-ha ...
, and
Helen Humes Helen Humes (June 23, 1913 – September 9, 1981) was an American singer. Humes was a teenage blues singer, a vocalist with Count Basie's band, a saucy R&B diva, and a mature interpreter of the classic popular song. Early life She was born on ...
, and were rushed back to Columbia and played on CURC in the evening. The recordings were later released as '' Midnight at Minton's'' in 1973. In a review,
WEMU WEMU (89.1 MHz) is a public radio station owned by Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan. On weekdays, it carries NPR News and Information shows in morning and afternoon drive time, with jazz programs heard the rest of the day. On ...
broadcaster Michael G. Nastos described the recordings as "priceless, the document of a transitional period from swing to bop". WKCR made the first stereo live broadcast of jazz music in 1960. The performance was by
Red Allen Henry James "Red" Allen, Jr. (January 7, 1908 – April 17, 1967) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose playing has been claimed by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and others as the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armstr ...
's band, in which
J. C. Higginbotham J. (Jack) C. Higginbotham (May 11, 1906 – May 26, 1973) was an American jazz trombonist. His playing was robust and swinging. Biography He was born in Social Circle, Georgia, United States, and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. In the 1930s a ...
was the trombonist at the time, and was broadcast from the university sundial.


After 1968

Spearheading WKCR's post-1968 transition into a jazz-oriented radio station was
Phil Schaap Philip van Noorden Schaap (April 8, 1951September 7, 2021) was an American radio host, who specialized in jazz as a broadcaster, historian, archivist, and producer. He began presenting jazz shows on Columbia University's WKCR in 1970, and hoste ...
, one of the foremost jazz experts of the late 20th century. He became a
disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...
at the station as a freshman in 1970, and continued to work there ''pro bono'' after his graduation until his death in 2021. He was most well known on the station for ''Bird Flight'', a show focusing on
Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...
that he started in 1981 and hosted every weekday for about forty years. ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' described ''Bird Flight'' as "plac nga degree of attention on the music of the bebop saxophonist Charlie Parker that is so obsessive, so ardent and detailed, that Schaap frequently sounds like a mad Talmudic scholar who has decided that the laws of humankind reside not in the ancient Babylonian tractates but in alternate takes of '
Moose the Mooche "Moose the Mooche" is a bebop composition written by Charlie Parker in 1946. It was written shortly after his friend and longtime musical companion Dizzy Gillespie left him in Los Angeles to return to New York City. Parker had been a long time hero ...
' and ' Swedish Schnapps.' " The red
Naugahyde Naugahyde is an American brand of artificial leather. Naugahyde is a composite knit fabric backing and expanded polyvinyl chloride (PVC) coating. It was developed by Byron A. Hunter, senior chemist at the United States Rubber Company, and is now ...
armchair for visitors in the WKCR studio is named the "
Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...
chair", after the trumpeter sat there during an hours-long conversation with Schaap. Beginning in 1970, WKCR has held several jazz festivals a year, each one focusing on the presentation of the entirety of a single artist's recorded work, in addition to interviews and educational programming. Festival broadcasts generally last 150 hours or longer, and the longest festivals have included the 2000 Louis Armstrong Centennial Festival Part I, which lasted for 184 hours non-stop from June 30 to July 7, and the 1999 Duke Ellington Centennial Festival, which lasted for 240 hours from April 23 to May 1. Musicians that have participated live in their own festivals include
Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Jazz: A Colle ...
(February 1975),
Roy Eldridge David Roy Eldridge (January 30, 1911 – February 26, 1989), nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpeter. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from t ...
(January 1978),
Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he has recorded over sixty albums as a ...
(March 1978),
Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex ...
(March 1979),
Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz Jazz drumming, drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in h ...
(March 1981), Steve Lacy (November 1981),
Benny Carter Bennett Lester Carter (August 8, 1907 – July 12, 2003) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. With Johnny Hodges, he was a pioneer on the alto saxophone. From the beginning of his career ...
(August 1982),
Eddie Durham Edward Durham (August 19, 1906 – March 6, 1987) was an American jazz guitarist, trombonist, composer, and arranger. He was one of the pioneers of the electric guitar in jazz. The orchestras of Bennie Moten, Jimmie Lunceford, Count Basie, ...
(Summer 1986),
Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific out ...
(April 1987), Dizzy Gillespie (May 1987),
Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...
(November 1989),
Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...
(May 1990), and
Don Cherry Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...
(May 1992). In one notable incident, during the March 1976 festival dedicated to Thelonious Monk, a guest expert was explaining how Monk was able to create extraordinary music by playing "wrong notes" on the piano. Monk, who by this point had become a recluse, called the station and instructed them to "tell the guy on the air, 'The piano ain't got no wrong notes' ", before hanging up. WKCR annually celebrates the birthdays of prominent jazz musicians, including Monk, Louis Armstrong, and Charlie Parker, by playing the entire catalogue of the artist's work in one broadcast. The station also holds jazz marathons on prominent death anniversaries and other special occasions, such as the beginning of a concert series featuring the
Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1965 in Chicago by pianist Muhal Richard Abrams, pianist Jodie Christian, drummer Steve McCall, and composer Phil Cohran. The AACM is devot ...
held at Columbia, which the station celebrated with a ninetyhour broadcast starting on May 14, 1977, of the completed recorded works of every member of the organization. Poet and critic
Molly McQuade Molly McQuade is an American poet, critic, and editor. Her work has appeared in The Michigan Quarterly Review, The Baffler, The New Criterion, The Boston Review, Poetry, The Paris Review, and Dædalus. McQuade has published a poetry collection, ...
has praised WKCR's jazz programming, stating that "WKCR’s inspired programming feels more like dream logic than traditional radio" and that she is "willingly indebted and harmlessly addicted" to several of the station's programs.


Incidents

When
Sputnik 1 Sputnik 1 (; see § Etymology) was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It sent a radio signal back to Earth for t ...
was launched on October 4, 1957, WKCR staff recorded its signal during the satellite's first pass over the United States and became the first North American radio station to rebroadcast this signal. The next morning, two
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
agents walked into the station and confiscated the tape. A
Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request: * Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act * ...
request was filed on June 28, 2018, requesting the declassification of all documents related to the confiscation of the tapes and their whereabouts. The request was rejected on account of the records having been destroyed in 1975. WKCR was allegedly hijacked mid-broadcast once around 1995. The interruption reportedly began with eerie screeches, and was followed by silence, then by a woman reciting obituaries, including those of
Frank Oppenheimer Frank Friedman Oppenheimer (August 14, 1912 – February 3, 1985) was an American particle physicist, cattle rancher, professor of physics at the University of Colorado, and the founder of the Exploratorium in San Francisco. A younger brother ...
and several victims of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. After a couple of minutes, the station took control and came back on air as usual. A supposed recording of the incident was uploaded to
4chan 4chan is an anonymous English-language imageboard website. Launched by Christopher "moot" Poole in October 2003, the site hosts boards dedicated to a wide variety of topics, from anime and manga to video games, cooking, weapons, television, ...
in 2013.


List of staff

*
Jon Abbott Jonathan C. Abbott is an American media executive who is the president and CEO of WGBH Educational Foundation, the largest provider of programming to PBS. Biography Abbott grew up in New York City, where his father, Forrest Abbott, was the trea ...
, media executive and CEO of the
WGBH Educational Foundation The WGBH Educational Foundation (also known as GBH since August 2020) is an American public broadcasting group based in Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1951, it holds the licenses to all of the PBS member stations in Massachusetts, and op ...
* Adrian Bartos, co-host of ''
The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show ''The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show'' was an underground hip hop radio show broadcast in New York, originally on 89.9 WKCR-FM, from a basement station at Columbia University, and later on 97.1 WQHT-FM. The show was hosted by Adrian Bartos ...
'' on WKCR * Timothy Brennan, cultural theorist and literature professor *
Ken Bloom Ken Bloom is a New York-based, Grammy Award-winning theatre historian, playwright, director, record producer, and author. He began his theatre career in the mid-'70s at the New Playwrights Theatre of Washington. Along with some friends, Bloo ...
,
Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
-winning theater historian, playwright, and director *
Laura Cantrell Laura Cantrell (born July 16, 1967) is a country singer-songwriter and DJ from Nashville, Tennessee. Biography Cantrell moved to New York City from her native Nashville to study English at Columbia University. She briefly recorded songs with ...
, country singer-songwriter and DJ *
Gary Cohen Gary Cohen (born ) is an American sportscaster, best known as a radio and television play-by-play announcer for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball. Cohen currently calls Mets broadcasts for SNY and WPIX and Seton Hall basketball game ...
, sportscaster; radio and television play-by-play announcer for the
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
* Stephen Donaldson, bisexual rights and prison reform activist *
Bobbito Garcia Robert "Bobbito" Garcia (born September 25, 1966), also known as DJ Cucumber Slice and Kool Bob Love, is an American DJ, author, streetball player, streetball coach, and member of the Rock Steady Crew. He is known as a former co-host of hip hop ...
, co-host of ''The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show'' on WKCR *
Jim Gardner James or Jim Gardner may refer to: * James Gardner (surveyor), British engineer * James Gardner (designer) (1907–1995), British industrial designer * James Gardner (musician) (born 1962), British musician and composer * James A. Gardner (1943 ...
, news anchor for
WPVI-TV WPVI-TV (channel 6), branded on-air as 6 ABC, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station ...
; reported on 1968 protests * David Garland, singer-songwriter and radio personality on
WNYC WNYC is the trademark and a set of call letters shared by WNYC (AM) and WNYC-FM, a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations located in New York City. WNYC is owned by New York Public Radio (NYPR), a nonprofit organization that di ...
and WQXR *
Geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...
, member of
Animal Collective Animal Collective is an American experimental pop band formed in Baltimore, Maryland. Its members consist of Avey Tare (David Portner), Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), Geologist (Brian Weitz), and Deakin (Josh Dibb). The band's work is characterized ...
*
Ted Gold Theodore "Ted" Gold (December 13, 1947 – March 6, 1970)Jacobs, H. 275 was a member of Weather Underground who died in the 1970 Greenwich Village townhouse explosion. Early years and education Gold, a red diaper baby, was the son of Hyman Go ...
, member of the
Weather Underground The Weather Underground was a Far-left politics, far-left militant organization first active in 1969, founded on the Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan. Originally known as the Weathermen, the group was organiz ...
who died in the
Greenwich Village townhouse explosion The Greenwich Village townhouse explosion occurred on March 6, 1970, in New York, New York, United States. Members of the Weather Underground (Weathermen), an American leftist militant group, were making bombs in the basement of 18 West 11th ...
*
Mark S. Golub Mark S. Golub (1945 – January 31, 2023) was an American rabbi, media entrepreneur, television personality and educator. He created the television channel Jewish Broadcasting Service and the first Russian-language television channel produced in ...
, rabbi; founder of the
Jewish Broadcasting Service Jewish Broadcasting Service is an American Jewish television network. JBS programming includes daily news reports from Israel, live event coverage and analysis, and cultural programming of interest to the North American Jewish community. The net ...
*
Ed Goodgold Edwin "Ed" Goodgold (died May 7, 2021) was an American writer, music industry executive, academic administrator. He is known for coining the term "trivia" in 1965. He was also the first manager of Sha Na Na. Biography Goodgold was born in Israe ...
, known as the "father of
trivia Trivia is information and data that are considered to be of little value. It can be contrasted with general knowledge and common sense. Latin Etymology The ancient Romans used the word ''triviae'' to describe where one road split or forked ...
"; started one of the first trivia shows in the United States on WKCR after coining the term in 1965 *
Alan Goodman Alan Goodman runs branding and communications for, and is a founder of, TESTD Inc., a company that builds health and wellness data management products for providers, individuals, enterprises, and municipalities. He is a former American media e ...
, original producer for
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
; creator of
Nick-at-Nite Nick at Nite (stylized as nick@nite) is an American nighttime basic cable television channel that broadcasts over the channel space of Nickelodeon. It typically broadcasts Mondays to Thursday nights from 9 p.m. - 6:30 a.m. ET/ PT, Friday nights f ...
and
VH-1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Communic ...
*
Ashbel Green Ashbel Green (July 6, 1762 – May 19, 1848) was an American Presbyterian minister and academic. Biography Born in Hanover Township, New Jersey, Green served as a sergeant of the New Jersey militia during the American Revolutionary War, and went ...
, book editor and vice president at
Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...
*
Albie Hecht Albie Hecht is a film and television producer and media executive. In 1997, Hecht was the president of film and TV entertainment for Nickelodeon before becoming president of the television channel Spike TV in 2003. In 2005, he founded and was C ...
, president of film and television entertainment for
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
; president of
Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was o ...
* Gary Heidt, conceptual artist, experimental poet, and musician *
Dick Hyman Richard Hyman (born March 8, 1927) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Over a 70-year career, he has worked as a pianist, organist, arranger, music director, electronic musician, and composer. He was named a National Endowment for the Art ...
, jazz pianist and composer * Soterios Johnson, radio journalist and local host for ''
Morning Edition ''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 AM ...
'' on WNYC *
Erica Jong Erica Jong (née Mann; born March 26, 1942) is an American novelist, satirist, and poet, known particularly for her 1973 novel ''Fear of Flying''. The book became famously controversial for its attitudes towards female sexuality and figured pro ...
, novel, satirist, and poet; author of ''Fear of Flying'' *
Clark Kent Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publish ...
, hip hop producer and music executive *
Leonard Lopate Leonard Lopate (born September 23, 1940) is an American radio personality. He is the host of the radio talk show ''Leonard Lopate at Large'', broadcast on WBAI, and the former host of the public radio talk show ''The Leonard Lopate Show'', broad ...
, radio show host on
WBAI WBAI (99.5 FM) is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station licensed to New York, New York. Its programming is a mixture of political news, talk and opinion from a left-leaning, liberal or progressive viewpoint, and eclectic music. ...
and WNYC *
Melissa Mark-Viverito Melissa Mark-Viverito (born April 1, 1969) is an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician and former speaker of the New York City Council from 2014 to 2017, as well as councilmember for the New York City's 8th City Council ...
, speaker of the
New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs. The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...
* Peter Mauzey, electrical engineer and developer of electronic music technology * Joe Mensah, Ghanaian singer, founder of ''The African Show'' on WKCR *
Pete Nice Peter J. Nash (born February 5, 1967), known by his stage name Prime Minister Pete Nice or simply Pete Nice, is an American baseball historian and author, member of the Society for American Baseball Research, Hip Hop historian, and former rapp ...
, rapper and basketball historian * Tim Page, music critic for ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''; 1997
Pulitzer Prize for Criticism The Pulitzer Prize for Criticism has been presented since 1970 to a newspaper writer in the United States who has demonstrated 'distinguished criticism'. Recipients of the award are chosen by an independent board and officially administered by C ...
*
Ted Panken Ted Panken is an American jazz journalist who has written for ''Down Beat'', ''Jazziz'', and ''Jazz Times''. From 1985 to 2008, he broadcast jazz and creative music on radio station WKCR. He has written more than 500 liner notes and has contribu ...
, jazz journalist *
Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...
, conservative writer and author of ''
The Fountainhead ''The Fountainhead'' is a 1943 novel by Russian-American author Ayn Rand, her first major literary success. The novel's protagonist, Howard Roark, is an intransigent young architect, who battles against conventional standards and refuses to com ...
'' and ''
Atlas Shrugged ''Atlas Shrugged'' is a 1957 novel by Ayn Rand. It was her longest novel, the fourth and final one published during her lifetime, and the one she considered her '' magnum opus'' in the realm of fiction writing. ''Atlas Shrugged'' includes eleme ...
''; hosted lecture series on WKCR from 1962 to 1966 *
Phil Schaap Philip van Noorden Schaap (April 8, 1951September 7, 2021) was an American radio host, who specialized in jazz as a broadcaster, historian, archivist, and producer. He began presenting jazz shows on Columbia University's WKCR in 1970, and hoste ...
, six-time Grammy-winning radio host, historian, archivist, and producer *
Martin Scheiner Martin Lane Scheiner (September 1, 1922 – January 21, 1992) was an American inventor of electronics devices for medical purposes. He founded Electronics for Medicine in 1950, and served as president and research director until selling it to Hon ...
, inventor and founder of Electronics for Medicine *
Fred Seibert Frederick (Fred) Seibert (born September 15, 1951) is an American television producer, co-founder of MTV and the CEO of FredFilms, an animation production company based in Burbank, California. His official biography states he has led five (working ...
, original producer for MTV; creator of Nick-at-Nite and VH-1 *
Robert Siegel Robert Charles Siegel (born June 26, 1947) is an American retired radio journalist. He was one of the co-hosts of the National Public Radio evening news broadcast ''All Things Considered'' from 1987 until his retirement in January 2018. Early ...
, radio journalist; host of ''
All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...
'' on
NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
; reported on 1968 protests *
George Stephanopoulos George Robert Stephanopoulos ( el, Γεώργιος Στεφανόπουλος ; born February 10, 1961) is an American television host, political commentator, and former Democratic advisor. Stephanopoulos currently is a coanchor with Robin Robe ...
,
senior advisor In some countries, a senior advisor (also spelt senior adviser, especially in the UK) is an appointed position by the Head of State to advise on the highest levels of national and government policy. Sometimes a junior position to this is called a N ...
to President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
; co-anchor on ''
Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'' * Brooke Wentz, record producer and music director for
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
*
Pete Wernick Pete Wernick (born February 25, 1946), also known as "Dr. Banjo", is an American musician. He is a five-string banjo player in the bluegrass music scene since the 1960s, founder of the Country Cooking and Hot Rize bands, Grammy nominee and educato ...
, bluegrass musician *
Stefan Zucker Stefan Zucker (born 1949) is an American singer, expert on Italian opera and self-described "opera fanatic." He was listed in the 1980 Guinness Book of Records as the "world's highest tenor" for having hit and sustained an A above high C for 3.8 ...
, opera connoisseur


In popular culture

WKCR appears in the 2015 film Miles Ahead, in a scene where
Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...
rebukes Schaap, who played himself, in an angry phone call. The scene was based off a real incident, which took place during the station's 125hour long Miles Davis Festival on July 6, 1979, where Miles, who had already made dozens of "mad, foul, strange calls" to the station during the festival's run, discussed ''Agharta'' and reviewed his discography with Schaap for nearly three hours before ordering him to play ''
Sketches of Spain ''Sketches of Spain'' is an album by Miles Davis, recorded between November 1959 and March 1960 at the Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City. An extended version of the second movement of Joaquín Rodrigo's ''Concierto de Aranjuez'' (1939) ...
''. The station also appeared in the 2015 documentary film '' Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives'', which depicted Adrian Bartos (DJ Stretch Armstrong) and
Bobbito Garcia Robert "Bobbito" Garcia (born September 25, 1966), also known as DJ Cucumber Slice and Kool Bob Love, is an American DJ, author, streetball player, streetball coach, and member of the Rock Steady Crew. He is known as a former co-host of hip hop ...
's time as hosts of ''
The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show ''The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show'' was an underground hip hop radio show broadcast in New York, originally on 89.9 WKCR-FM, from a basement station at Columbia University, and later on 97.1 WQHT-FM. The show was hosted by Adrian Bartos ...
'' on WKCR.


References


External links

*
Official live-streaming URL
{{Authority control KCR Columbia University student organizations Jazz radio stations in the United States KCR Radio stations established in 1941