WBLK
Encyclopedia
WBLK is an Urban contemporary
FM
radio station
licensed
to Depew
that serves Buffalo
. WBLK plays the musical genres of hip hop
, R&B, urban contemporary gospel
, and soul
. WBLK celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2005, making WBLK the oldest urban FM
radio station in the United States of America
. Its transmitter
is located in Buffalo
.
WBLK is currently owned by Townsquare Media. It is the Buffalo area's radio home for the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner
Morning Show.
station that primarily played R&B and soul. The station was founded by legendary Buffalo radio personality George Lorenz ("Hound Dog"), who had earlier championed rhythm-and-blues music on other area stations such as WXRA, WINE (both of these stations were predecessors of today's WUFO
, 1080 AM), WJJL
, and WKBW
. Lorenz's voice was heard on the station from its inception until his death in 1972. WBLK can be classified as a "heritage" station; it has held the same basic format and call signs for its entire existence, and as such, it is one of the longest continuously running formats in Buffalo radio today. The station also regularly ranks in the top 5 radio stations in Buffalo's Arbitron
ratings. Some on air personality's were,"Mr. Blues" Ernie Jones, Roosevelt Tucker, Bradley J. Cool, Chuckie T, Mansfield Mann's, Gary Lanier, Ron Baskin, Don Allen Sr, Don Allen Jr, Don Robinson, & Freddie Patrick. WBLK went from a mono signal to stereo in 1974. With a playlist called the Funky Forty, at 3 PM that Monday when Don Robinson flipped the switch and the stereo light flickered on the first song was "Let's Get It On
" by Marvin Gaye
.
Contrary to popular belief, despite WBLK's format and target audience, its call letters do not stand for the word "BLacK
" per se; rather, they are a tribute to Benjamin L. Kulek, who was a major financial backer of the station when it first went on the air.
In August of 1995 WBLK's original owners and founders sold the station to Boston-based American Radio systems. In 1997 Westinghouse would purchase WBLK and all of American Radio stations for $2.6 Billion. Westinghouse would be purchased by Infinity Broadcasting in 1999. Infinity Broadcasting would become CBS Radio in December 2005
.
WBLK began streaming its programming on the Internet
on November 13, 2006 and was sold by CBS Radio
to Regent Communications (now Townsquare Media) in December 2006
. Prior to the sale, WBLK was CBS Radio's last urban contemporary station outside the southern United States
since the company now only owns three urban contemporary
stations -- WVEE Atlanta, WPEG
Charlotte, North Carolina
& WJHM
Orlando, Florida
(WPGC-FM
in Washington, D.C.
is an urban contemporary
reporter per Nielsen BDS & the station's parent CBS Radio
, but they are rhythmic contemporary
per Mediabase
reports, and therefore is not urban contemporary despite being the only rhythmic in the Washington, D.C.
area since the Washington/Baltimore
area is fielded by Radio One's WKYS
& WERQ).
In late 2009, WBLK launched an ongoing consciousness awakening campaign to educate the community to rediscover the awareness of themselves.
, which did not have an urban-format radio station. Many commercials were geared at listeners in Southern Ontario
. The Toronto audience's reliance on an American station with no Canadian content
requirements, in turn, significantly impacted the commercial development of Canadian hip hop
and R&B.
However, after the launch of CFXJ
in 2001 on the adjacent 93.5 frequency, WBLK became much harder to receive on some radio receivers with weaker tuners, and thus lost much of its prominence in the Toronto market.
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
licensed
City of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
to Depew
Depew, New York
Depew is a village in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 16,629 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area...
that serves Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. WBLK plays the musical genres of hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, R&B, urban contemporary gospel
Urban contemporary gospel
Traditional black gospel is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music...
, and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
. WBLK celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2005, making WBLK the oldest urban FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
radio station in the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Its transmitter
Transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...
is located in Buffalo
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
.
WBLK is currently owned by Townsquare Media. It is the Buffalo area's radio home for the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner
Tom Joyner
Thomas "Tom" Joyner is an American radio host, host of the nationally syndicated The Tom Joyner Morning Show, and also founder of REACH Media Inc., the Tom Joyner Foundation, and BlackAmericaWeb.com.-Early life:...
Morning Show.
History
WBLK-FM began in 1965 as an urban contemporaryUrban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
station that primarily played R&B and soul. The station was founded by legendary Buffalo radio personality George Lorenz ("Hound Dog"), who had earlier championed rhythm-and-blues music on other area stations such as WXRA, WINE (both of these stations were predecessors of today's WUFO
WUFO
WUFO, Western New York's first radio station programming to the African-American community, began in 1961 when famed station owner Gordon McLendon moved his then 1080 am WYSL to 1400 am. McLendon sold the 1080 frequency to Leonard Walk, a Jewish man with a group of Black formatted stations...
, 1080 AM), WJJL
WJJL
WJJL is a radio station broadcasting a 1950s music format. Licensed to Niagara Falls, New York, USA, the station serves the Buffalo area. The station is currently owned by M. J. Phillips Communications, Inc., Debtor in Possession. WJJL went on the air in December 1947, and it serves Western...
, and WKBW
WWKB
WWKB is an AM radio station in Buffalo, New York that operates on a frequency of 1520 kHz. It is owned and operated by Entercom Communications. The station carries a progressive talk radio format. Declaring itself as A New Voice, A New Choice, The Voice of the New Majority; WWKB carries a number...
. Lorenz's voice was heard on the station from its inception until his death in 1972. WBLK can be classified as a "heritage" station; it has held the same basic format and call signs for its entire existence, and as such, it is one of the longest continuously running formats in Buffalo radio today. The station also regularly ranks in the top 5 radio stations in Buffalo's Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
ratings. Some on air personality's were,"Mr. Blues" Ernie Jones, Roosevelt Tucker, Bradley J. Cool, Chuckie T, Mansfield Mann's, Gary Lanier, Ron Baskin, Don Allen Sr, Don Allen Jr, Don Robinson, & Freddie Patrick. WBLK went from a mono signal to stereo in 1974. With a playlist called the Funky Forty, at 3 PM that Monday when Don Robinson flipped the switch and the stereo light flickered on the first song was "Let's Get It On
Let's Get It On
Let's Get It On is the twelfth studio album by American soul musician Marvin Gaye, released August 28, 1973, on Tamla Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during June 1970 to July 1973 at Hitsville U.S.A. and Golden World Studio in Detroit, and at Hitsville West in Los Angeles...
" by Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
.
Contrary to popular belief, despite WBLK's format and target audience, its call letters do not stand for the word "BLacK
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
" per se; rather, they are a tribute to Benjamin L. Kulek, who was a major financial backer of the station when it first went on the air.
In August of 1995 WBLK's original owners and founders sold the station to Boston-based American Radio systems. In 1997 Westinghouse would purchase WBLK and all of American Radio stations for $2.6 Billion. Westinghouse would be purchased by Infinity Broadcasting in 1999. Infinity Broadcasting would become CBS Radio in December 2005
2005 in radio
The year 2005 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*April 29 - KFRC 610 AM in San Francisco, switches formats as a result of ownership change. KFRC becomes KEAR, the "Sound of the New Life", a listener-supported, gospel/religious only station. It had been previously KFRC from...
.
WBLK began streaming its programming on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
on November 13, 2006 and was sold by CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
to Regent Communications (now Townsquare Media) in December 2006
2006 in radio
The year 2006 saw a number of significant events in radio broadcasting.-Events:*January 3 - The BJ Shea Morning Experience switches to KISW in Seattle, Washington, from the former FM Talk station KKWF....
. Prior to the sale, WBLK was CBS Radio's last urban contemporary station outside the southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
since the company now only owns three urban contemporary
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
stations -- WVEE Atlanta, WPEG
WPEG
WPEG is a Mainstream Urban-formatted radio station in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. It broadcasts at 97.9 FM, and is owned by CBS Radio.-History:...
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
& WJHM
WJHM
WJHM is a radio station that is licensed to Daytona Beach but primarily serves the Orlando and Space Coast areas of Central Florida. It is owned by CBS Radio. It was a urban-leaning rhythmic contemporary hit station with a playlist consisting of a heavy-emphasis on hip-hop and R&B...
Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
(WPGC-FM
WPGC-FM
WPGC-FM is one of the most popular among Washington, D.C.'s urban format radio station's, and has been ranked as one of its top rated radio stations for over 20 years, according to the Arbitron ratings. It has a city of license of Morningside at the 95.5 MHz frequency on the FM dial...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
is an urban contemporary
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
reporter per Nielsen BDS & the station's parent CBS Radio
CBS Radio
CBS Radio, Inc., formerly known as Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, is one of the largest owners and operators of radio stations in the United States, third behind main rival Clear Channel Communications and Cumulus Media. CBS Radio owns around 130 radio stations across the country...
, but they are rhythmic contemporary
Rhythmic Contemporary
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may...
per Mediabase
Mediabase
Mediabase is a music industry service that monitors radio station airplay in 180 US and Canadian markets. Mediabase publishes music charts and data based on the most played songs on terrestrial and satellite radio, and provides in-depth analytical tools for radio and record industry professionals...
reports, and therefore is not urban contemporary despite being the only rhythmic in the Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
area since the Washington/Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
area is fielded by Radio One's WKYS
WKYS
WKYS, the "Station for Interactive Hip Hop and R&B", is an American radio station broadcasting an Urban Contemporary radio format, that serves the greater Washington metropolitan area. Its transmitter is located on the same tower as WRC-TV. The station broadcasts from a class B signal with an...
& WERQ).
In late 2009, WBLK launched an ongoing consciousness awakening campaign to educate the community to rediscover the awareness of themselves.
Audience in Canada
In the 1980s and '90s, WBLK also had a significant listenership among fans of urban music in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, which did not have an urban-format radio station. Many commercials were geared at listeners in Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...
. The Toronto audience's reliance on an American station with no Canadian content
Canadian content
Canadian content refers to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission requirements that radio and television broadcasters must air a certain percentage of content that was at least partly written, produced, presented, or otherwise contributed to by persons from...
requirements, in turn, significantly impacted the commercial development of Canadian hip hop
Canadian hip hop
The Canadian hip hop scene was first established in the 1980s. Through a variety of factors, it developed much more slowly than Canada's popular rock music scene, and apart from a short-lived burst of mainstream popularity from 1989 to 1991, it remained largely an underground phenomenon until the...
and R&B.
However, after the launch of CFXJ
CFXJ-FM
CFXJ-FM is a Canadian radio station in Toronto, Ontario, which uses the on-air brand FLOW 93.5. It first aired in 2001 as Canada's first urban music station...
in 2001 on the adjacent 93.5 frequency, WBLK became much harder to receive on some radio receivers with weaker tuners, and thus lost much of its prominence in the Toronto market.