WEBN - History - Launch of WEBN

Launch of WEBN

When it initially went on the air on August 31, 1967, it was owned by Frank Wood, Sr., a Cincinnati attorney. WEBN broadcast classical music daytimes and an all night jazz program. The night programming was managed by a bank of 10½-inch Scully reel to reel tape machines in an early instance of station automation. However, in the late evening hours of Saturdays and Sundays, it also broadcast a program hosted by Frank's son Frank Jr. ("Bo" Wood - or known by his air-name, Michael Xanadu), called "The Jelly Pudding Show". The show featured many album cuts by both popular and somewhat obscure artists, other than the recognized hit songs or radio edits, tagged "rock, jazz, folk and ragas." The program and its music proved to be so popular that the station eventually made this "album-oriented" rock the bulk of its programming, much to the chagrin of the older Wood. The station pioneered the concept of album-oriented rock, and is in fact the longest running AOR-formatted station in the United States, first airing this format in 1967.

However, it honored its roots as a classical music station by broadcasting classical music on Sunday mornings from 8 a.m. to noon, with Frank Wood, Sr., as the host. This proved to be one of the station's most popular programs, until Wood retired from the air on June 30, 1985. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the program was Frank's weekly tradition of always playing a very long work, which he preceded by announcing that the length of the work would give him enough time to eat a pie from Graeter's, a popular Cincinnati ice cream parlor that specializes in ice cream pies, confectioneries, and other baked goods. After Wood's retirement (he died in 1991), the classical program continued for a few years with new host Larry Thomas, and later began to include new age music. Its time was shifted to 6 to 10 a.m., and the show was eventually dropped in the late 1980s.

In its early days, WEBN broadcast from a bright blue old house in Cincinnati's west-side Price Hill neighborhood, referred to on-air as "Price's Mountain." Anyone, at anytime, 24 hours a day, could visit the station and walk right into the studio/home and watch on-air personalities broadcast their programs. Visitors were separated from station personnel by Plexiglas panels, but could walk through the premises, nonetheless. The house wasn't hard to spot - it had what appeared to be a cocker spaniel sitting in an old barbershop chair on the front porch. The taxidermied dog had been Frank Wood Sr.'s pet, named Miles Duffy. Wood, being basically a one-man show when he began the station, decided to name "Miles Duffy" as the station's Program Director to give the impression that WEBN had more employees than just himself. This joke continued officially for some years even as the station continued to grow. Among the early air personalities at WEBN were Denton Marr, Ty Williams, Tom McGreevey, Dave Howe, Geoff Nimmo, Russ Mims, Chris Gray, Peter Wolf, Ginger Sutton and Brian O'Donnell.

Another early voice at the station was Robin Wood, daughter of Frank Wood Sr. and sister of Frank Wood Jr. In 1973, the station moved to the east-side's Hyde Park Square, referred to on air as "Hyde's Meadow." In 1988, the station moved to the neighborhood of Mount Adams (this time calling it "Frog's Mountain), joining with several other stations purchased in recent years by its corporate parent, Jacor Communications. In 1999, Jacor was purchased by Clear Channel. Finally in 2004, all Cincinnati Clear Channel stations moved to the northern neighborhood of Kenwood. WEBN continued to call its location "Frog's Mountain." By 2006, WEBN was added to the Nielsen BDS active rock panel, only to revert to mainstream rock the following year.