WKCR
Encyclopedia
WKCR-FM is a radio station
. Licensed to New York, New York, USA, it serves the New York area. The station is currently owned by Trustees of Columbia University
in New York.
(E '13), the man who invented FM broadcast technology. This association accounts for the marginally accurate phrase, "The Original FM," that one will often hear alongside the WKCR call letters.
In 1939, Major Armstrong turned his attentions towards commercial broadcasting. This spurred the CURC to shift from a club concerned with radio technology to a de facto radio station that provided broadcasts to the campus. It was in these early days of radio that the FCC granted the station its license, on October 10, 1941.
For the next ten to twenty years, WKCR-FM functioned as an intellectual radio station. Programming was largely Columbia classroom events, classical music, and broadcasts from the United Nations
. After the student uprising of 1968
, this format changed. The station shifted its emphasis from being an illustration of the university to presenting commercially inviable programming to the New York metropolitan area
. Jazz
became the core of this broadcast approach, which is neatly summarized in the slogan, "The Alternative." The descriptions of individual departments contain information about WKCR's concept of alternative programming.
The rise of jazz on WKCR also led to the accelerated activity of live performance in the station's studios, and eventually to records released from those recordings. Sessions booked by former student DJ David Reitman led to many of the jazz and blues hosts bringing in musicians such as Gunter Hampel
, Karl Berger
, Tyrone Washington
, Charles Walker (Blues from the Apple
), and Mississippi Fred McDowell
.
In the late 70s, under the direction of Tim Page
, the station presented the radio premieres of several leading minimalist compositions, including Philip Glass
's Einstein on the Beach
and Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians. It was the first station in the country to pay attention to this important and eventually popular form of avant-garde music. Page also produced a benefit concert for the station at Carnegie Hall, with appearances by Reich, Glass, John Cale
, and David Bowie
, among many others.
In 1983, the station became the first radio (or television) station to transmit from the antenna at the top of the World Trade Center
, having previously broadcast from an antenna on the DuMont Building
, a 42-story structure at 515 Madison Avenue
.
Following the terrorist attacks on 9/11, the station underwent a difficult period. Broadcasting from its backup transmitter atop Carman Hall, the station finally secured a new antenna at 4 Times Square in 2003.
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 to New York, New York, USA, it serves the New York area. The station is currently owned by Trustees of Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York.
History
What is now known as WKCR-FM originated in the early part of the twentieth century as the Columbia University Radio Club (CURC). An exact date of origin is not known, but documentation of the CURC as an on-going organization exists as early as 1936. The club was not a radio station as we know it, but rather an organization concerned with the technology of radio communications. The group shared a prestigious association with Major Edwin ArmstrongEdwin Armstrong
Edwin Howard Armstrong was an American electrical engineer and inventor. Armstrong was the inventor of modern frequency modulation radio....
(E '13), the man who invented FM broadcast technology. This association accounts for the marginally accurate phrase, "The Original FM," that one will often hear alongside the WKCR call letters.
In 1939, Major Armstrong turned his attentions towards commercial broadcasting. This spurred the CURC to shift from a club concerned with radio technology to a de facto radio station that provided broadcasts to the campus. It was in these early days of radio that the FCC granted the station its license, on October 10, 1941.
For the next ten to twenty years, WKCR-FM functioned as an intellectual radio station. Programming was largely Columbia classroom events, classical music, and broadcasts from the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. After the student uprising of 1968
Columbia University protests of 1968
The Columbia University protests of 1968 were among the many student demonstrations that occurred around the world in that year. The Columbia protests erupted over the spring of that year after students discovered links between the university and the institutional apparatus supporting the United...
, this format changed. The station shifted its emphasis from being an illustration of the university to presenting commercially inviable programming to the New York metropolitan area
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also known as Greater New York, or the Tri-State area, is the region that composes of New York City and the surrounding region...
. Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
became the core of this broadcast approach, which is neatly summarized in the slogan, "The Alternative." The descriptions of individual departments contain information about WKCR's concept of alternative programming.
The rise of jazz on WKCR also led to the accelerated activity of live performance in the station's studios, and eventually to records released from those recordings. Sessions booked by former student DJ David Reitman led to many of the jazz and blues hosts bringing in musicians such as Gunter Hampel
Gunter Hampel
Gunter Hampel is a German jazz vibraphonist, clarinettist, saxophonist, flautist, pianist and composer born in Göttingen, Germany, perhaps best-known for his album "The 8th of July 1969" that included fellow musicians Anthony Braxton, Willem Breuker and Jeanne Lee...
, Karl Berger
Karl Berger
Karl Hanns Berger is a musicologist with a PhD in Music Sociology, jazz composer, jazz vibraphone and piano player.-Biography:...
, Tyrone Washington
Tyrone Washington
Tyrone Washington is an American basketball player who played for four years at Mississippi State University, before being drafted by the Houston Rockets in the 1999 NBA Draft. However, he did not play in the NBA....
, Charles Walker (Blues from the Apple
Blues from the Apple
Blues from the Apple, released in 1974 by Oblivion Records, is the only album under the leadership of guitarist and vocalist Charles Walker. Featured players include New York City based musicians Lee Roy Little , Bill Dicey , 'Foxy' Ann Yancey , Larry Johnson , Tom Pomposello , Bobby King , and Ola...
), and Mississippi Fred McDowell
Mississippi Fred McDowell
Fred McDowell known by his stage name; Mississippi Fred McDowell, was an American Hill country blues singer and guitar player.-Career:...
.
In the late 70s, under the direction of Tim Page
Tim Page (music critic)
Tim Page is a writer, editor, music critic, producer and professor. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic for the Washington Post and also played an essential role in the revival of American author Dawn Powell.-Career:Page grew up in Storrs, Connecticut, where his father, Ellis B...
, the station presented the radio premieres of several leading minimalist compositions, including Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
's Einstein on the Beach
Einstein on the Beach
Einstein on the Beach is an opera that premiered on July 25, 1976 at the Avignon Festival in France, scored and written by Philip Glass and designed and directed by theatrical producer Robert Wilson. It also contains writings by Christopher Knowles, Samuel M. Johnson and Lucinda Childs...
and Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians. It was the first station in the country to pay attention to this important and eventually popular form of avant-garde music. Page also produced a benefit concert for the station at Carnegie Hall, with appearances by Reich, Glass, John Cale
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
, and David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, among many others.
In 1983, the station became the first radio (or television) station to transmit from the antenna at the top of the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
, having previously broadcast from an antenna on the DuMont Building
DuMont Building
The DuMont Building is a 532 foot high building at 53rd Street and Madison Avenue in New York City.The building was built in art deco style by John H. Carpenter and designed by his brother, architect J.E.R...
, a 42-story structure at 515 Madison Avenue
Madison Avenue (Manhattan)
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 to the Madison Avenue Bridge at 138th Street. In doing so, it passes through Midtown, the Upper East Side , Spanish Harlem, and...
.
Following the terrorist attacks on 9/11, the station underwent a difficult period. Broadcasting from its backup transmitter atop Carman Hall, the station finally secured a new antenna at 4 Times Square in 2003.