Incredible Student Work

The owner of legendary R&B Records in Upper Darby talks about the music that changed his life. Says Shively: “When I found Black radio, it became about the jocks.” (producer/photo: John Myers)

More on our history of Black radio documentary at mightywriters.org.

Val Shively, owner, R&B Records

His highly-rated Sunday night 7-to-midnight “Holiday On Sunday” oldies show on WDAS-FM was a can’t miss for the city’s soul music set. Here, one of the city’s great soul radio maestros recalls a few choice moments from his days at ‘DAS. (producer: Yowei Shaw) 

More on our history of Philadelphia Black radio at mightyradio.org.

Harvey Holiday Remembers His Days At WDAS

For a time in the late ’60s, no one’s microphone blazed hotter than Sonny Hopson. He was dynamic, exciting and wildly unpredictable. Here, the Mighty Burner remembers a bit of those days. You can hear the excitement in his voice still.
Interviewer: Bobbi Booker. Producer: Alex Lewis.

Sonny Hopson Remembers

For some 32 years, Jerry Wells was an integral part of WDAS, alternately serving as both an on-air personality and producer. Wells will best be remembered by ‘DAS listeners as the station’s highly popular morning drive personality, where he helped listeners through their mornings through much of the 1980s. Here, Wells reminisces about his days at WDAS.

Jerry Wells Remembers

In the beginning, there was Jocko Henderson, the godfather of rap, the "Ace from Outer Space." There was only one Jocko, despite all the imitators.

A generation later, Jocko's son, Doug Henderson, Jr. followed in his father's footsteps, broadcasting in the '70s at WDAS, the same station where his father plied his ew-papa-doo radio style for an adoring audience.

Here, Doug Jr, remembers his dad's glory days.


Doug Henderson Jr. Remembers

Karen Warrington, director of communication for Congressman Robert Brady, has been an independent voice for political and social empowerment as the host and producer of popular radio, television and video programs. Here she recalls her days as a news reporter at WDAS.

Producer: John Myers

Karen Warrington Remembers

A pioneering disc jockey at WDAS and disciple of the legendary Jocko Henderson, Carl Helm also played a role in the creation of the Philadelphia Sound and can be heard harmonizing on albums by Blue Magic, Deniece Williams and others.

Here, Carl remembers what it was like to be a jock on the hippest station around during the city's golden era of radio.

Carl Helm Remembers

Louise Williams, the “Gospel Queen of Philadelphia,” began her broadcasting career at WHAT radio as the youngest voice in radio. Moving to WDAS, she hosted "The Louise Bishop Program" for 49 years, hosting one of the highest-rated programs at the station. Bishop was elected to serve in the state House of Representatives in 1988 and has been re-elected 13 times by her Philadelphia constituents.

Louise Williams Remembers

Early in his career, Jerry Blavat worked at WHAT, one of the two Philadelphia Black AM radio stations at the far right end of the dial. Here, the Geator with the Heator, still rockin' the big tick-tock today, talks about the influence Jocko and Georgie Woods had on his radio style. Producer: Alex Lewis 

Jerry Blavat Remembers

Kenny Gamble Remembers

"Going Black: The Legacy of Philly Soul Radio " examines the legacy of Black radio, with a special focus on the legendary WDAS in Philadelphia. The story of Black radio in Philadelphia is actually the story of a music that would have gone undiscovered, of Civil Rights and progress in the African-American community, and of how the radio medium has changed in the last century. The documentary special is hosted by legendary Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP) music producer and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Kenny Gamble. It was written and produced by Alex Lewis and Yowei Shaw. For more about the program, visit our website: www.mightyradio.org . 

Today, a lot of people don't know what the term "Black radio" means. But starting in the 1950s, Black radio stations around the country became the pulse of African-American communities, and served as their megaphone during the Civil Rights and Black Power movements. Stations like WDAS in Philly, WDIA in Memphis, WWRL and WBLS in NYC, WHUR and WOL in DC, WERD in Atlanta, WVON in Chicago, WLAC in Nashville, WMRY in New Orleans and KWBR in San Francisco featured radio personalities with styles all their own who played records you'd never get to hear on mainstream radio. Beyond being hip radio stations, these were pipelines into the Black community where you'd get the latest news on current events and the Civil Rights Movement — at a time when the mainstream media wasn't covering these stories from a Black perspective.

The documentary features conversations with well-known disc jockeys, radio professionals, record company executives, musicians, journalists and scholars. Listeners will hear first-person accounts of Civil Rights events and rare archival audio of Black radio air checks from the 60s and 70s, including a 1964 interview with Malcolm X, just a few months before his assassination. The documentary also includes a soundtrack featuring R&B, jazz, gospel and soul hits from the 50s through the 80s, especially from the Sound of Philadelphia .

Going Black: The Legacy of Philly Soul Radio (One Hour Version)

Wendy wrote an ad for a magic pencil...it even does your homework.

Wendy Commercial

Mighty Writers teamed up with Philadelphia Young Playwrights for this Monologue Mini Fest. 10 year old Elizabeth and 13 year old Margie hosted the podcast. Listen to hear notable monologues, and anecdotes about Margie's life in Honduras and why preteen kids dream of high school.

Monologues Podcast

Most people are unaware of the symptoms of Asperger’s syndrome -- they include an unusually high IQ and a difficulty surviving in the social world. The fact that the symptoms vary in gender doesn’t help. Serenity Baruzzini, age fourteen, does not yet have a formal diagnosis, and now she's struggling to decide whether or not she wants one at all.

I might have Asperger's Syndrome. But do I really want to know?

Endless tests, long days and sleep deprivation: for many teens in the US, that's just high school. Zoie Thomas meditates on how to hold on to who she is in a system designed to continually test one's mettle. 

Is high school a horror movie?

If you listen to teenagers talk today, you may hear them refer to something called "relationship goals." Usually they’re talking about relationships that seem perfect -- relationships they themselves would like to replicate. Teens, especially girls, tend to fantasize about their first relationships. But is there a dark side to having a bae? 16 year old Ani considers this.


Is having a bae really worth it?

Yozabed takes us to the survivalist world of the Gingerbreadman...his very own original fairytale. 

The Gingerbreadman

Callie and Elizabeth take us to Talluto's in the heart of the Italian Market in this audio postcard. #mightyradio #mightyradiocamp

Talluto's audio postcard

Grace and Max bring us to Molly's Books and Records in the Italian Market in this audio postcard. #mightyradio #mightyradiocamp

Molly's Books and Records audio postcard

Mighty Writers students Rave'n and Chris interviewed Madeleine Albright after the women's caucus at the Democratic National Convention.

Madeleine Albright

Mighty Writers intern Marie took a radio assignment in a totally unique direction. Listen to her audio postcard of Betty Ann's Italian Market Florist. 

Marie's Day At The Flower Shop

Rave'n Dajon Coleman and Christian Precise reported at the DNC on Tuesday. Here's their audio diary.

Chris and Rave'n report from the DNC

In the late '50s and 60s, Sam Reed was the house leader at the Uptown Theater on North Broad Street in Philadelphia. The artists he backed at the Uptown included Lou Rawls, Otis Redding, Chuck Jackson, Fats Domino, Sam Cooke, Isaac Hayes, Jerry Butler, Wilson Pickett, Brook Benton, the Supremes, Joe Tex, Mary Wells and others. Sam later did studio work for Gamble and Huff at Philadelphia International, particularly for the Intruders. Listen to Sam reminisce here about his days at the Uptown for our Mighty Radio documentary: "GOING BLACK: THE LEGACY OF PHILLY SOUL RADIO." (producer/photo: Alex Lewis)

Sam Reed, Uptown Boss Man

“Ee-tiddly-ock, this is the Jock, and I’m back on the scene with my record machine!”

That’s how legendary deejay Douglas “Jocko” Henderson, the godfather of rap, would launch his Philadelphia radio shows on WHAT and WDAS in the late ‘50s and ‘60s. (Listen below!) And when he did, kids all over the city would snap on their radios to hear the Jock lay down his pounds of sound from his tower of power. Who was this man? And this music, my goodness!

Jocko may have been the first big soul radio disc jockey on Philadelphia radio, but he was hardly the last. A litany of talented and dynamic broadcasters quickly followed—Georgie Woods, Louise Williams, Jimmy Bishop, Kae Williams, Sonny Hopson, Jerry Blavat and Butterball, just to name a mere handful.

But in the beginning there was the Jock.

Consider this description of Jocko from a 1999 book titled “Last Night A DJ Saved My Life“:

“Using a rocket ship blast-off to open proceedings, and introducing records with more rocket engines and ‘Higher, higher, higher…’ Jocko conducted his whole show as if he was a good-rocking rhythmonaut. ‘Great gugga mugga shooga booga’ he’d exclaim, along with plenty of ‘Daddios.’

“From way up here in the stratosphere, we gonna holler mighty loud and clear ee-tiddy-o and a bo, and I’m back on the scene with the record machine, saying oo-pappa-do and how do you do?

“When Yuri Gagarian completed the world’s first manned space flight in 1961, Jocko sent him a telegram. This now resides in the Museum of the Soviet Armed Forces in the Kremlin. It reads: ‘Congratulations. I’m glad you made it. Now it’s not so lonely up here.’

“Jocko… showed that the radio DJ could be a creative artist in his own right, not just a comedian or a companion but a vocalist, a poet.”

More on the history of Philadelphia Black radio at mightyradio.org.

Jocko Henderson Rocketship Show

There’s so much to say about the late Philadelphia radio personality Georgie Woods, and we’re going to be saying a lot about him in our upcoming audio documentary.

Woods first came to Philadelphia in 1953 from New York and began working at WDAS and WHAT.

Over the decades, when the spirit moved him, Woods would use his microphone to talk about issues of import to the African American community. We’ll be chronicling his role in the civil rights movement, both nationally and locally, for our upcoming audio documentary on the history of Black radio in Philadelphia. mightyradio.org

Georgie Woods Aircheck

Record label executive JOE MCEWEN, vice president of Concord Music Group, talks about the impact WDAS and WHAT had on his life and career. (producer/photo: Alex Lewis)

More on our documentary on the history of Black radio at mightywriters.org.

Joe McEwen Remembers

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” —Maya Angelou

The mission of Mighty Writers is to teach Philadelphia kids (ages 7 to 17) to think and write with clarity so they can achieve success at school, at work and in life. Mighty Radio is a Mighty Writers program.

Mighty Radio

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