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26-483: Until its sale in April 2012, KBLX was owned for more than 30 years by the now-defunct, black-owned Inner City Broadcasting Corporation , and used the slogan "The Quiet Storm." On April 29, 1949, the station signed on as KRE-FM. It mostly simulcast the programming of co-owned KRE 1400 AM (now KVTO ). In 1962, the station changed its call letters to KPAT-FM. In 1973, it changed its call letters back to KRE-FM. Donnell Lewis,

52-848: A World Ethnic format, primarily serving the San Francisco Bay Area's Asian community. KVTO is now an affiliate of the Sing Tao Chinese Radio network and broadcasts in Chinese. On August 22, 2011, ICBC's creditors petitioned the United States Bankruptcy Court to force the firm to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy on grounds that the company's executives failed to accept a buyout offer. The filing resulted in majority control of ICBC being taken over by Ron Burkle 's Yucaipa Companies , and basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson's Magic Johnson Enterprises as YMF Media. Only KBLX

78-498: A Blues musician, approached KRE to do one night a week of Blues programming. The idea caught on. KRE-FM, which had previously played religious programs and Top 40 music, became one of the first commercial full-time "fusion" stations playing Blues , R&B , Latin pop , Reggae , Jazz and World Music . It supported local artists who frequently stopped by to visit with the deejays on the air to talk about new recordings and gigs. The station frequently produced live broadcasts out in

104-668: A more mainstream R&B station. The station's license was assigned to Entercom effective June 28, 2012. On October 12, 2015, KBLX replaced Steve Harvey with a new local morning show hosted by Oakland-born Mark Curry , who starred on the ABC sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper , and was a frequent host of the syndicated music competition series Showtime At The Apollo. On KBLX, Curry is teamed with weekender/music director Kimmie Taylor and former afternoon host Victor "Big Daddy" Zaragoza. On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced that it would merge with Entercom. To comply with FCC ownership limits, it

130-622: A period of tremendous success from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s as it pioneered the urban contemporary format under program director Frankie Crocker , and the profile of Inner City rose with it. Inner City later purchased radio stations in the Los Angeles area; Detroit ; San Antonio, Texas (co-founder Percy Sutton's hometown); the San Francisco Bay Area ; Philadelphia ; Pittsburgh ; Fort Wayne, Indiana ; Columbia, South Carolina ; and Jackson, Mississippi . Inner City also owned

156-645: A variety of other media assets, including two cable television joint ventures with Time Warner Cable in New York City and Philadelphia. The company was also given the task of running and reviving the Apollo Theater in New York's Harlem . In this capacity, Inner City Broadcasting was a co-producer of the syndicated television variety series It's Showtime at the Apollo . In 1990 Percy Sutton retired as chairman of

182-666: Is the radio division of the Sing Tao News Corporation in the San Francisco Bay Area . It currently leases time from KVTO (1400 AM) and KSQQ (96.1 FM). Sing Tao Chinese Radio began broadcasting in Cantonese on KEST (1450 AM) on April 8, 1996, and on KVTO on June 2, 1997. As of 2016, KVTO carries Sing Tao's programs on weekdays from 7 am to 2 pm and from 4 pm to 7 pm, and 12 noon to 2pm Saturday and Sunday. Mandarin broadcasts began on March 3, 1997. As of 2016, KSQQ carries Sing Tao's programs on weekdays from 7 am to 1 pm to

208-539: The New York Amsterdam News . Sutton and Jones were joined by over fifty shareholders including legendary disk jockey Hal Jackson ; Sutton's fellow " Gang of Four " member David Dinkins , who would later become New York's first African-American mayor ; Wilbert (Bill) Tatum , who succeeded Jones as publisher of the Amsterdam News ; future New York state senator and comptroller Carl McCall ; Betty Shabazz ,

234-499: The 1990s, the station continued to play jazz music in rotation—and this practice of mixing R&B and jazz songs on radio playlists has occurred on few Urban AC radio stations in some markets. However, KBLX played more R&B songs than jazz; the result was a gradual phasing out of jazz from its playlist in recent years. From then on, KBLX has evolved into a true Urban AC station today, playing current and old school R&B, as well as uptempo R&B songs to match its competitors. Despite

260-532: The Apollo . The final decision resulted in Rangel stepping down as chairman of the foundation; he was replaced by actor Ossie Davis . Time Warner took over operational control of the venue as part of the final decision. In August 2004, ICBC redeemed nearly $ 140 million accreted value of redeemable preferred stock in a recapitalization led by GE Capital and Alta Communications , a Boston-based private equity firm. By 2006 Inner City had sold or otherwise disposed of

286-643: The board of Inner City Broadcasting, though he remained as chairman emeritus until his death in 2009. He was succeeded by his son Pierre Sutton, who served in that capacity until the firm's closure. In 1999 Inner City lost control of the Apollo Theatre after an investigation by the New York State Attorney General's office (completed by Eliot Spitzer ) found that members of the nonprofit Apollo Theatre Foundation, led by Charles Rangel , retained revenues generated by production of It's Showtime at

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312-579: The changes, it still advertises itself as a "Smooth R&B" station, reflecting its " Quiet Storm" heritage handle —- although the station did re-integrate jazz vocals into its overall sound after KKSF switched from smooth jazz to classic rock in June 2009. The station has hosted the annual Stone Soul Picnic, which was first held at the Dunsmuir Hellman Historic Estate in Oakland in 1998. It outgrew

338-488: The community, including at the Oakland Community School when Huey Newton came home from Cuba. The station was the first to break records by Pete and Sheila Escovedo, Bill Summers, Sylvester, and other Bay Area artists. When Inner City Broadcasting purchased the station, it eliminated the unique format and changed it to more mainstream urban sound with less interaction with local artists and the community. In 1979,

364-478: The company's executives failed to accept a buyout offer. The filing resulted in majority control of Inner City being taken over by YMF Media LLC, controlled jointly by investor Ronald Burkle and former NBA player Earvin "Magic" Johnson . YMF Media eventually purchased 15 Inner City stations for $ 180 million on October 19, 2012; the firm then broke up the group in a series of subsequent sales during 2013–2014. Sing Tao Chinese Radio Sing Tao Chinese Radio

390-670: The location and since 2004, was held at Pioneer Amphitheatre in Hayward before relocating the venue at Sleep Train Pavilion in Concord . For many years, KBLX and its AM sister station, KRE (now KVTO ), were the Bay Area's only African-American-owned and operated commercial radio stations. From its inception in 1979, KBLX simulcast on KRE (later KBLX) until 1994, when the AM station was re-launched as KVTO, with

416-557: The majority of its investments outside of its core radio stations. The last remaining investment, a 60 percent share in Philadelphia-based Urban Cable Works, was sold in November 2005 to Time Warner Cable . On August 22, 2011, Inner City's creditors petitioned the United States Bankruptcy Court to force the firm's wholly owned subsidiary, Inner City Media Corporation, to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy on grounds that

442-419: The original general manager of the station. It ended "The Quiet Storm" format on KBLX after 33 years and transitioned the station to "R&B 102.9, The New KBLX", and added The Steve Harvey Morning Show . These corporate decisions were met with controversy and anger from longtime listeners of KBLX who felt that the heritage of the station built upon "The Quiet Storm" was destroyed when the station turned into

468-633: The other Bonneville stations, moved their studios from the SoMa district in San Francisco into a newly-built studio along Junipero Serra Boulevard in Daly City . On January 11, 2023, the station's HD3 subchannel added a gospel format, branded as "Praise Bay Area". KBLX is rebroadcast on the following FM Booster: = This station is a simulcast , in whole or in part Inner City Broadcasting Corporation The Inner City Broadcasting Corporation ("ICBC")

494-550: The station as an adult contemporary format, rather than urban, in order to attract a wider audience. Throughout the 1980s, the station played an eclectic mix of R&B , smooth jazz and soft pop, reflecting the diverse music culture of the Bay Area . KBLX was the inspiration for the creation and launch of various adult contemporary radio formats across the country, from Smooth Jazz to Soft Rock to Urban AC. (The Urban AC terminology did not exist until 1988). Even then, for some time

520-424: The station played mostly smooth R&B, rarely playing any uptempo R&B, current or old school. This was done to establish the station's own identity apart from competition from now-defunct Urban stations KSOL and KDIA, or its current competitor 106.1 KMEL . The station's musical selection was also forged by competition with smooth-jazz rival 103.7 KKSF . Even when KBLX quietly modified its format to Urban AC in

546-607: The station was sold to the New York–based Inner City Broadcasting Corporation, headed by Percy Sutton (which also owned WBLS ), and was relaunched as KBLX (the call letters KBLS, which would otherwise honor its sister-station relationship with WBLS, were unavailable, assigned to another station in Kansas). While WBLS played a variety of urban music, KBLX focused more on and Urban Adult Contemporary format, calling itself The Quiet Storm . KBLX marketed

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572-475: The widow of Black Muslim minister and civil rights leader Malcolm X ; civil rights activist, journalist and congressional aide Marcella P. West; and musicians Billy Taylor and Roberta Flack . Dorothy Brunson , who would later become the first African-American woman to wholly own an American radio station, was an executive at the company during its early years. WLIB , owned by brothers Harry and Morris S. Novik and programmed to New York's black community,

598-472: Was Inner City's first acquisition, in 1972. The sale included a right of first refusal clause to later acquire sister station WLIB-FM, which was renamed WBLS ; Inner City exercised the clause two years later. While WLIB continued largely as a talk radio outlet, WBLS's format transitioned from jazz to a progressive mix of black music, under the slogan "The Total Black Experience in Sound." WBLS would experience

624-474: Was an American media company based in New York City . It was one of the first broadcasting companies wholly owned by African-Americans . Inner City was founded in 1970 by a group of prominent African-American New Yorkers active in business and civic affairs. They were led by Percy Sutton , an attorney and a former president of the New York borough of Manhattan ; and Clarence Jones , a former publisher of

650-502: Was announced that KBLX, along with sister stations KOIT and KUFX, CBS-owned KMVQ, and a cluster in Sacramento, would be divested. Bonneville International assumed operations of the stations on behalf of a holding trust following the closure of the merger on November 17. On August 3, 2018, Bonneville announced that it would acquire the stations outright for $ 141 million; the sale was completed on September 21, 2018. In 2020, KBLX, along with

676-548: Was intended to be sold to a different owner, leaving KVTO and KVVN to defect to YMF Media. Entercom Communications announced the purchase of the station on April 1, 2012, for $ 25 million cash. The company announced its intention of keeping KBLX's format. Entercom officially took control of the station on May 1, 2012, and fired the entire on-air staff of KBLX (except traffic reporter Joe McConnell). The firings included morning personality and program director Kevin Brown after 22 years, and

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