Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Trailblazers in Black History: Frankie Crocker, 'The Chief Rocker'


Cocker’s famous tagline, “If Frankie Crocker isn’t on your radio, then your radio isn’t really on,” quoted in Jet magazine, epitomized the impact one man had on radio during a career that spanned more than three decades. Credited for coining the phrase “urban contemporary” and known for his radio show, “The Quiet Storm,” Crocker was one of the first deejays to integrate music by black and white artists. 

With a confidence that bordered on arrogance, this ladies man of the airwaves rocked audiences and captured them with his trademark on-air identifiers. The man who, according to Jet, often claimed to “put a glide in your slide and a dip in your hip” set standards for deejays and radio stations across the nation and forever changed the voice of radio.

A native of Buffalo, New York, Crocker began his career in radio at WUFO while studying law at the University of Buffalo. Crocker worked for radio stations in cities like Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, and Chicago, but it was in his home state of New York that his career took flight.

Additional information on Mr. Crocker's career and life is available here

Source: Encyclopedia.com 

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