When legendary WBLS DJ Frankie Crocker broke up McFadden and Whitehead “Now no one can stop us” – the 1979 Philly soul classic that has provided the soundtrack to many a cookout – may also establish a lasting legacy for the New York radio institution and a theme song for listeners.
Because there’s been no stopping WBLS since Crocker turned the station into the No. 1 R&B destination on the dial in the ’70s – and an influential tastemaker across the country.
“Frankie was the program director at the time I started, so I really got a chance to see how he worked,” current WBLS program director Cynthia Smith told The Post.
“And he was all about passion and hits, and he played songs that people didn’t really think would probably make or break the ‘BLS. But that was just his way.”
And WBLS celebrated its 50th anniversary on Friday with DJ Cassidy at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. “Pass the mic live!” – A star-studded concert featuring Charlie Wilson and everyone chaka khan To Bobby Brown, SWV and Keyshia Cole – Crocker’s spirit lives on 24 years after his death in 2000.
“His legacy is so strong that sometimes people will even call the front desk and say, ‘Hey, I want to talk to Frankie Crocker,'” Smith told the Post. “Frankie Crocker’s reputation, you know, has carried on, and it still exists. I have very big shoulders that I stand on.”
dj cassidyWBLS, which grew up in New York City, would channel Crocker’s airwave vibes as he would pass the mic from star to star in his popular franchise.
He said of Crocker, who championed everyone from Bob Marley to Bob Marley, he created a musical vocabulary that hip-hop DJs played. Blondie Grace Jones and a young madonna,
“As a young hip-hop DJ I played a lot of non-hip-hop records that Frankie is credited with breaking – records like Alicia Myers’ ‘I Want to Thank You’, like Shannon’s ‘Late The music plays.’ The list goes on and on.”
long time wbls mixmaster chuck chillout — who will be joined by fellow spinners Marley Marl and cool DJ Red Alert on Friday night — also studied from the Crocker playbook.
“I got a chance to hang out with Frankie,” he said. “His whole thing was ‘Chuck, I want to hear what’s happening on the road so I can play it on the radio,’ because there were some songs being played in the club that weren’t being played on the radio. I wanted to hang out with him and Was happy to learn as much as I could.”
Although Crocker was initially resistant to hip-hop, he embraced the genre in an unprecedented way in 1982 with the first rap show on a major radio station: “Rap Attack”, hosted by Mister Magic.
And when Crocker played your record, it was like getting a blessing from the Godfather.
“He was the one who broke ‘Message’ and ‘White Lines’, said Melle Mel of the Furious Five (formerly Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five), who will perform on Friday night. “He was actually manipulating the market.”
In fact, the Mail Mail once said that Crocker was “bigger than radio”.
“He was more than a DJ. Frankie was like a rock star,” he said. “He personally ‘made BLS the No. 1 radio station. He had a very wonderful personality.”
Indeed, Crocker helped create a WBLS brand that has gone global.
“Even today, people record our mixes from the radio and send it to people all over the world,” said Chuck Chillout, “because when I travel around people say, ‘Yo, I got a tape from you, ‘And I’m all over England or Japan or South Korea… They might not know English, but they know their records, and they know WBLS.’
And whether it’s MFSB’s “Love Is the Message”, SOS Band’s “Take Your Time (Do It Right)” or “Before I Let Go”. frankie beverly and Maze, those Crocker classics are still part of the fabric of WBLS today along with more contemporary tracks. assistant teacherChris Brown and Victoria Monet.
But the heritage station remains true to the legacy Crocker started five decades ago, which will be celebrated Friday night.
“This night represents everything that has been the soundtrack to our listeners,” Smith said. “Some of the music we were playing then, we’re still playing now, and it’s as popular today as it was when you first heard it on WBLS.”
For Cassidy, it’s a full-circle moment that takes her back to her musical foundation that got her from WBLS: “Looking back over her years as a listener and knowing the history, it’s absolutely clear That station is not only a New York City institution, but a hip-hop and R&B institution – and a pop culture institution.
