Out of (W)CIN Came J.O.Y.

How a cassette from 1997 helped me trace J.O.Y. Radio back to the summer that shaped everything.

7/31/1997.

That’s the date written on this cassette tape. And yes, younger generation, this is what a cassette looks like.

I thought it was gone.

Over the years, many tapes from my collection were lost during moves, damaged, or dubbed over to make the next mix to ride around to. Somehow, this one survived.

What’s recorded on it is important: a two-hour Youth Summit about the issues facing young people in our society—especially in Cincinnati—following events that occurred during Music Fest weekend that year.

But the story behind the tape means even more.

The Summer That Changed Everything

That summer, through a Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce program, I had the opportunity to work at WCIN 1480 AM.

For a 16-year-old who already loved music and radio, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go behind the scenes at one of the country’s oldest Black-owned radio stations.

During the three months I spent there, my love for music and radio became a passion.

I was fortunate to learn from the station’s owner, Mr. John Thomas. His knowledge of both business and radio helped me understand what it took to operate a station.

Then there were the on-air personalities.

There was the morning crew—please forgive me, because I can’t remember everyone’s name. There was the late, great Everett Cork, who regularly quizzed me about music and helped sharpen the ear I still pride myself on today.

And there was the incomparable Ms. Marsha Robinson. I would wrap up my days helping set up her board and pulling the CDs for her entire show.

Everyone kept me eager to learn. More importantly, they answered every question that came from a curious 16-year-old audiophile working inside a classic oldies radio station.

A 16-Year-Old in the Producer’s Chair

That brings me back to the cassette—and to the two people I worked most closely with that summer.

From 10 a.m. until noon, I worked on 1480 Talk with Lincoln Ware and Alicia Reece, who would later become a county commissioner. My role was pretty much whatever they needed me to do.

I got drinks, greeted in-studio guests, contacted call-in guests, operated the board, screened callers, and kept everyone updated. You name it, I probably did it.

When something needed to be handled, we handled it.

After concerns arose about incidents involving young people during Music Fest weekend, the idea of holding a Youth Summit on the air came up. I was all for it.

Then Lincoln threw us a curveball.

He let Alicia host the show—and put me in the producer’s chair.

My friends came in as guests, and together we created a two-hour conversation about young people and the challenges facing our community.

For me, it was an incredible experience and an opportunity I would never forget.

I dubbed a recording of the show and kept it separate from my other tapes. But after leaving for college—and through everything life brought afterward—I lost track of it.

Until now.

How J.O.Y. Came Out of (W)CIN

Throughout my journey, I never lost my love for music and radio.

Radio was like that one love you always carried with you, even when you didn’t know whether the two of you would ever get the chance to make it work.

I went to school and became a media teacher. Eventually, I began to recognize how much those three months at WCIN shaped the way I teach today.

I’m hands-on. I want my students to learn by doing. I also want them to have room to mess up, because WCIN gave me that same room while I was learning.

Most importantly, I carried with me the structured freedom Mr. Thomas created at the station. He allowed every personality to be unapologetically themselves.

When the idea of starting an internet radio station came to me, it was a no-brainer to carry those principles into a venture of my own. I have worked to build J.O.Y. Radio in the spirit of the legacy I was blessed to experience firsthand.

Yes, the title is a play on words.

But it is also the truth:

Without WCIN 1480 AM, there would be no J.O.Y. Radio on the Net.

Congratulations to WCIN on its induction into the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame.

I’ll be there like a proud student, watching one of my greatest teachers receive its flowers for the legacy it created.

The cassette survived. So did the lessons.

And now, through J.O.Y. Radio, the legacy continues.