WBLS?

[mixtape]

What kind of radio station was WBLS exactly? Now it's a R&B station I never really listen to it. But I do listen to the old stuff from them. One question I have is what kind of format was WBLS because I heard just about every black genre on that radio station. I definitely heard house, disco, reggae, and rap. The rap I heard on WBLS was the Marley Marl Rap Show. Anyone know any info on this show? Timmy Regisford & Boyd Jarvis back in the mid 80's had some unforgetable sets. Was WBLS in fact popular because today it's probably one of the least listened to radio stations. When did WBLS start playing disco and dance music?

[paul]

Mix, I'm surprised no New Yorkers answered.
My experience with BLS was that it's root were R&B but would play the popular dance/disco based music of that particular time. They were also heavily into rap and hip-hop.
By the way, I came across your thread following Bernie's suggestion to search for info on Timmy Regisford.

[Freeze]

The Marley Marl rap show was said to be the most popular in the country...eventually taking the #1 spot from the KISS FM Red Alert show. [bls never made #1 in general, but in its time slot, the magic/marley show pulled the most listeners]:icon_cool:

[eddie]

During the 70's and 80's, they played a huge list of uptempo soul dance hits. They mixed in some older stuff, funk, jazz, electro, and their own mix shows. In the 80's, they did play quite a bit of rap.

By the early 1990's, they stated that they were no longer going to play rap because of its violent themes. The program director at Kiss FM who was Vinny Brown at the time said that WBLS brought these violent themes to the Black community by originally embracing rap so vigorously.

I strongly believe this early 1990's era was their peak because they looked back and were one of the first stations to play more oldies and old school soul. They played recurrent hits that had a huge appeal in the Black community like Karyn White, Alexander O'neal, Babyface, Vesta, Anita Baker, Barry White, ect. The Quiet Storm with Vaughn Harper was an open forum for ballads. Anything that was obscure, he played it. He played instrumental smooth jazz like Ronnie Laws and Marcus Johnson, 60's soul like the Friends of Distinction and Tempations, jazz standards like Dianne Reeves and Nancy Wilson, and obscure current artists like Nu Soul Habits, 4U, and Basic Black. Harper played more titles in one week than most stations play in one year.

Ironically, Vinny Brown is now the program director at WBLS and they struggle to find their audience. Both KISS and WBLS have turned into syndicated talk forums either with Michael Baisden on KISS or Wendy Williams on WBLS. Both are rude and have huge egos and have run music out of the format and many local DJ's out of work.

[jam master jay]

I listened to WBLS and KISS a lot back in the day. I agree with the statement that they played a lot more soul and R&B than disco - WKTU was the station that leaned more towards disco. But, there was a lot of overlap, especially when KISS started their mastermixes, and WBLS had a similar mix show on weekend nights.

[qdearl]

I also agree with most of what Eddie and the others had already said.
WBLS was (not sure if it still is) billied as the "only" Black owned Black Music station in the Tri state area, I agree they peaked in the late 80's and early 90's with the Marly Marl show (definitely gave Red Alert/Kiss a run for their money) at one point I was taping 1 show so I could listen to the other, switching every week. The also kept the pressure up with their weekend dance mixes as well, with Timmy and also John Robinson on the tables, going blow for blow with Tony Humphries and the Kiss crew (again, taping 1 show so I could listen to the other) The "Quiet Storm" is probably their biggest hit, as they set the bar for all the slowjam shows that followed. Vaughn Harper covered the entire gambit of Black artist or black "sounding" artist during his show, (Kiss FM's "Kissing After Dark" was no slouch either....) I still miss those days of liberal programming, that's a large part of the reason I like so many different types of music/artists. You would hear George Duke, followed by Hall & Oates, then Pat Methany, and Dreamboy, then I Need Love by LL Cool J. I think what WBLS suffers from is just a lack of focus, They seem to want to please everyone, so they're reaching no one. I personally haven't listened to BLS consistantly in years, I Find Kiss FM's programming more to my liking(and it's not even as diverse as I think it should be) and I find their personalities more interesting to listen to, Other than Wendy Williams I'm not sure if if they get a large audience share for the various time slots on the air. Maybe they cater too much toward the younger audience, but then don't give enough to reel them in to stay, same with the older audience, talk like you want them, but then there is nothing to keep them once you got them to give you a try.
I have to say though, if the station was to go under, it just wouldn't seem like FM radio.......(which I felt the same about, when WNJR (am) shut their doors for the last time) They've always been that 3rd alternative to the big 2.

[eddie]

Qdearl:

Do you remember Soft Touch with Yvonne Mobley on KISS? That didn't have the restrictions of Kissing after dark which was always derived from a playlist of major hits. That was when the DJ would actually pick out the music not just put the computer on autopilot.

[qdearl]

Qdearl:

Do you remember Soft Touch with Yvonne Mobley on KISS? That didn't have the restrictions of Kissing after dark which was always derived from a playlist of major hits. That was when the DJ would actually pick out the music not just put the computer on autopilot.

Absolutely!

and I do remember the Soft Touch show, I also recall Johnny Allen doing a slowjam show for KISS on Sundays too.(not sure it was called)

another show that I would never miss was "Mellow Madness" on the college station WSOU (89.5FM) with Bobby Sumner,(who's from Jersey) this was on Friday evening from, I think, 6 or 7pm to 8:30pm during the mid 80's, he picked songs from all over to play on his show, new or old, didn't matter, just as long as they were great tunes, this show hipped me to a lot of LP cuts, B sides, etc. this show had such a profound effect on me, I can still name songs I heard 1st on this station, such as
The Party's Over - Bobby Nunn
Find the Time for Love - Shallamar
All 'Bout Love - Earth Wind & Fire
Show is Over - Evelyn King
Please Don't Say No -Motivation

This type of inventive programming can still be found today on traditional radio, if you search hard enough, but nowadays with the internet, and the ability for everyone to stream a show, you can get a lot more variety for your listening ear.:icon_smile:

[KLH]

This is a very late reply but I'm older than the other youngsters who replied and so have a different perpective. WBLS, under Frankie Crocker, a famous DJ and music director, played R&B, Soul Music, Funk, Jazz, Rock, and Blues-- music by Black people when it was unusual to hear music by Blacks on FM in New York. He played protest music by James Brown, Marvin Gaye, and others when other stations didn't. For example, "Say it loud, I'm Black and I'm proud!" I'm talking about the seventies.

WWRL, the next to last station on the dial, played jazz by blacks and whites in the seventies. The only jazz on FM in NY, it went country at midnight in July [?] 1979 while I was listening at work. These two stations played most of the music by black artists on the FM dial in the seventies, especially early to mid seventies. AM was more liberal then.

WBLS did not only play 'hits' or singles. They played many genres of music including instrumental tunes. They also played white artists playing music genres dominated by black artists. For example AWB, Gino Vanelli, Boz Skaggs, Bob James, etc.

Look up Frankie Crocker and see how he was made an example of.

WBLS played the call letters in a deep voice with an long echo W...B...L...S... where you hear: Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, ...Marvin Gaye, ...Nina Simone, ...Grover Washington, ...Earth Wind and Fire, ...Ohio Players, ...Donny Hathaway, ...Diana Ross, ... etc.

Eventually, other stations started playing Rap, Hip-Hop, etc. about the same time that WBLS embraced these new genres. So 'BLS didn't seem so special. Many songs were practically never heard on the radio unless they were heard on 'BLS. I've only heard Can I Speak To You Before You Go To Hollywood on 'BLS. Same fo Moody's Mood for Love which was Frankie's signature song.

Now that 'BLS is mainstream and radio stations are being gobbled up by conglomerates, there is a tendency for fewer artists to be heard, for music to be categorized into genres that may be played only on certain stations, and for certain sounds to be favored. The listeners, even the music directors, have less to say about what we can hear. Wait and see if music doesn't go the way of TV. Within 10 years, won't all radio be digital and scrambled so we'll need to suscribe to a service and plug radios into a 'box' to listen?

What kind of radio station was WBLS exactly? Now it's a R&B station I never really listen to it. But I do listen to the old stuff from them. One question I have is what kind of format was WBLS because I heard just about every black genre on that radio station. I definitely heard house, disco, reggae, and rap. The rap I heard on WBLS was the Marley Marl Rap Show. Anyone know any info on this show? Timmy Regisford & Boyd Jarvis back in the mid 80's had some unforgetable sets. Was WBLS in fact popular because today it's probably one of the least listened to radio stations. When did WBLS start playing disco and dance music?

[KBallenger53]

When I think of WBLS 107.5 FM, I think of the Classic Days back in the 70's when, Ken Spider Webb, G. Keith Alexander, Lamar Rene, Vaughn Harper, Frankie Crocker, & Hal Jackson would play all the hippest stuff that was out!!! Frankie took it a step further because he didn't care!!! He'd play Salsa, Regae, Classical, Jazz, Soul, Gospel, & Disco!!! Sorry fellas, but Rap or Hip Hop wasn't out yet!!! Frankie also knew how to promote an album because he wouldn't just play the hit off of it, at a special moment at 6pm, he'd play THE WHOLE DAMN ALBUM!!! Especially when Chic came out, or Donnie Hathaway & Roberta Flack's album that featured BACK TOGETHER AGAIN!!!And let's not forget, WBLS started the LATE NITE DISCO PARTY featuring, DJ TED CURRIER!!! 98.7 Kiss wasn't even out yet either!!! And here's another well know fact! During the 80's, WBLS was the originator of the QUIET STORM format featuring Vaughn Harper!!! Let's not forget the WBLS COLOR OF THE DAY presented by Ken Spider Webb!!! Or the Sexy, Sultry, Alluring Voice of Lamar Rene!!! I always wondered what she looked like!!! G. Keith Alexander would give us the News, and Hal Jackson would play the oldies on Sundays!!!WBLS was also very Cultural!!! They would play Speeches by Malcolm X, Louis Farrakhan, Martin Luther King, etc. They would also celebrate artists birthday's by playing ALL OF THEIR RECORDS!!!Yes indeed, when WBLS wasn't on your radio, your radio, just wasn't really one!!! And by the way, let's not forget The WBLS GIANT!!!'NUFF SAID

[KBallenger53]

This is a very late reply but I'm older than the other youngsters who replied and so have a different perpective. WBLS, under Frankie Crocker, a famous DJ and music director, played R&B, Soul Music, Funk, Jazz, Rock, and Blues-- music by Black people when it was unusual to hear music by Blacks on FM in New York. He played protest music by James Brown, Marvin Gaye, and others when other stations didn't. For example, "Say it loud, I'm Black and I'm proud!" I'm talking about the seventies.

WWRL, the next to last station on the dial, played jazz by blacks and whites in the seventies. The only jazz on FM in NY, it went country at midnight in July [?] 1979 while I was listening at work. These two stations played most of the music by black artists on the FM dial in the seventies, especially early to mid seventies. AM was more liberal then.

WBLS did not only play 'hits' or singles. They played many genres of music including instrumental tunes. They also played white artists playing music genres dominated by black artists. For example AWB, Gino Vanelli, Boz Skaggs, Bob James, etc.

Look up Frankie Crocker and see how he was made an example of.

WBLS played the call letters in a deep voice with an long echo W...B...L...S... where you hear: Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, ...Marvin Gaye, ...Nina Simone, ...Grover Washington, ...Earth Wind and Fire, ...Ohio Players, ...Donny Hathaway, ...Diana Ross, ... etc.

Eventually, other stations started playing Rap, Hip-Hop, etc. about the same time that WBLS embraced these new genres. So 'BLS didn't seem so special. Many songs were practically never heard on the radio unless they were heard on 'BLS. I've only heard Can I Speak To You Before You Go To Hollywood on 'BLS. Same fo Moody's Mood for Love which was Frankie's signature song.

Now that 'BLS is mainstream and radio stations are being gobbled up by conglomerates, there is a tendency for fewer artists to be heard, for music to be categorized into genres that may be played only on certain stations, and for certain sounds to be favored. The listeners, even the music directors, have less to say about what we can hear. Wait and see if music doesn't go the way of TV. Within 10 years, won't all radio be digital and scrambled so we'll need to suscribe to a service and plug radios into a 'box' to listen?

I'm with you all the way KLH!!!'NUFF SAID

[gumbedamit]

This is a very late reply but I'm older than the other youngsters who replied and so have a different perpective. WBLS, under Frankie Crocker, a famous DJ and music director, played R&B, Soul Music, Funk, Jazz, Rock, and Blues-- music by Black people when it was unusual to hear music by Blacks on FM in New York. He played protest music by James Brown, Marvin Gaye, and others when other stations didn't. For example, "Say it loud, I'm Black and I'm proud!" I'm talking about the seventies.

WWRL, the next to last station on the dial, played jazz by blacks and whites in the seventies. The only jazz on FM in NY, it went country at midnight in July [?] 1979 while I was listening at work. These two stations played most of the music by black artists on the FM dial in the seventies, especially early to mid seventies. AM was more liberal then.

WBLS did not only play 'hits' or singles. They played many genres of music including instrumental tunes. They also played white artists playing music genres dominated by black artists. For example AWB, Gino Vanelli, Boz Skaggs, Bob James, etc.

Look up Frankie Crocker and see how he was made an example of.

WBLS played the call letters in a deep voice with an long echo W...B...L...S... where you hear: Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, ...Marvin Gaye, ...Nina Simone, ...Grover Washington, ...Earth Wind and Fire, ...Ohio Players, ...Donny Hathaway, ...Diana Ross, ... etc.

Eventually, other stations started playing Rap, Hip-Hop, etc. about the same time that WBLS embraced these new genres. So 'BLS didn't seem so special. Many songs were practically never heard on the radio unless they were heard on 'BLS. I've only heard Can I Speak To You Before You Go To Hollywood on 'BLS. Same fo Moody's Mood for Love which was Frankie's signature song.

Now that 'BLS is mainstream and radio stations are being gobbled up by conglomerates, there is a tendency for fewer artists to be heard, for music to be categorized into genres that may be played only on certain stations, and for certain sounds to be favored. The listeners, even the music directors, have less to say about what we can hear. Wait and see if music doesn't go the way of TV. Within 10 years, won't all radio be digital and scrambled so we'll need to suscribe to a service and plug radios into a 'box' to listen?

Well, I know this is a very late reply, but there are a few things that need to be corrected. You mentioned WWRL, that is an AM radio station that did not play Jazz. The station that you mention that went to Country/Western back in 79 was WRVR. I came home and turned on my radio and said, what the $#@#. Most radios were still using dials...lol
BLS was actually an acronym for Black Listening Station, they later changed it to Best Looking Sound
Yeah, I do miss 6pm and Frankies signature song.
God Bless

[gumbedamit]

When I think of WBLS 107.5 FM, I think of the Classic Days back in the 70's when, Ken Spider Webb, G. Keith Alexander, Lamar Rene, Vaughn Harper, Frankie Crocker, & Hal Jackson would play all the hippest stuff that was out!!! Frankie took it a step further because he didn't care!!! He'd play Salsa, Regae, Classical, Jazz, Soul, Gospel, & Disco!!! Sorry fellas, but Rap or Hip Hop wasn't out yet!!! Frankie also knew how to promote an album because he wouldn't just play the hit off of it, at a special moment at 6pm, he'd play THE WHOLE DAMN ALBUM!!! Especially when Chic came out, or Donnie Hathaway & Roberta Flack's album that featured BACK TOGETHER AGAIN!!!And let's not forget, WBLS started the LATE NITE DISCO PARTY featuring, DJ TED CURRIER!!! 98.7 Kiss wasn't even out yet either!!! And here's another well know fact! During the 80's, WBLS was the originator of the QUIET STORM format featuring Vaughn Harper!!! Let's not forget the WBLS COLOR OF THE DAY presented by Ken Spider Webb!!! Or the Sexy, Sultry, Alluring Voice of Lamar Rene!!! I always wondered what she looked like!!! G. Keith Alexander would give us the News, and Hal Jackson would play the oldies on Sundays!!!WBLS was also very Cultural!!! They would play Speeches by Malcolm X, Louis Farrakhan, Martin Luther King, etc. They would also celebrate artists birthday's by playing ALL OF THEIR RECORDS!!!Yes indeed, when WBLS wasn't on your radio, your radio, just wasn't really one!!! And by the way, let's not forget The GIANT!!!'NUFF SAID

Just one thing, I know it's a very late reply but I just came across this thread.
It was the Saturday Night Dance Party which was LIVE at the Paradise Garage. Steve Brodi had a falling out with the execs at BLS and that was the end of that. I'm not certain, but I think Timmy Regisford took over from there

[Jay Negron]

Frankie Crocker was an excellent programmer and made his name at WWRL-AM.
Stan's Record Shop in The Bronx (circa-1970) used to have the WWRL's "Sweet Sixteen" singles on sale for 49 cents and everything else at 89 cents.

When Frankie went to WBLS he started playing disco hits wayyyyyy before anyone else on the dial. And he got his share of flak for it.
He was the first to play Disco Tex & The Sex-O-Lettes on the radio; also "Rock The Boat", "Rock Your Baby", and "Love's Theme" had their initial radio play on WBLS.
He wasn't afraid to play LP cuts in the beginning either. He played Gil Scott Heron's "The Bottle" as well as Brother To Brother's cover version.
If it was hot, he played it.
He used to play the LONG versions and that's where he got the most flak from his bosses early on.
He played Donna's "Love To Love You Baby", the WHOLE side...got lots of flak BUT ratings were UP!!
He got more gruff for playing "Moonlight Lovin" by Isaac Hayes, the whole 10 minutes, but soon WBLS was the #1 station in town in the ratings and he could do no wrong. He got promoted to Program Director and his "format" was copied by many stations across the US.

One 'technnique' that always got me was he would play a new new song for a week or 2 and never tell who it was or the name.
He would call it his Secret Weapon----he did this to Billy Ocean's "Nights" & Gino Soccio's "Try It Out"
People would ask me to play the Secret Weapon at the club---fortunetely I knew what it was from spinning!!!

[mixer167]

i came across this really late but i'll like to put my two cents in. i started listening to wbls around 1975 and i can remember the first time i heard the disco party. it was on Saturday night at 12:00 midnight till 4:00 am 4 hours of continuous music mixed by dj kevin guilmet hosted by Lamar Rene. and he was the first disco dj to do the wbls disco party (that's what it was called) listening to keving guilmet is what basically got me started with the dj thing, got my first turntables and mixer in 75 and tried to copy all his mixes, if i could find the records he was playing. if you lived in new york city at that time and really listened to bls you should know this, can anybody remember kevin guilmet? i am curious to know if people remember him. oh and after the Saturday disco party became popular shortly after they started doing it on Friday night for 4 hours. yea those where the days! 4 hours on friday and 4 hours on Saturday, best thing on radio.