How WBLS, led by Frankie Crocker, became a New York radio institution celebrating 50 years of classic R&B and rap

nypost.com:

“Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” — the 1979 Philly soul classic that has provided the soundtrack to many a cookout — he might as well have been establishing a theme song for the enduring legacy and listenership of the New York radio institution.Because there has been no stopping WBLS since Crocker turned the station into the No.

1 R&B destination on the dial — and an influential tastemaker nationwide — in the ’70s.“At the time that I started, Frankie was program director, so I got an opportunity to just really kind of see how he operated,” Cynthia Smith, the current WBLS program director, told The Post.“And he was all about gut and hits, and he played songs that people wouldn’t really think that maybe ’BLS would play or break.

But that was just his way.”And as WBLS celebrates its 50th anniversary at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Friday with DJ Cassidy’s Pass the Mic Live! — a star-studded concert featuring everyone from Charlie Wilson and Chaka Khan to Bobby Brown, SWV and Keyshia Cole — Crocker’s spirit lives on 24 years after his death.“His legacy is that strong that sometimes people even call up to the front desk and say, ‘Hey, I want to speak to Frankie Crocker,’” Smith told the Post. “Frankie Crocker’s reputation has just, you know, transcended, and it continues to be present.