Remembering Melvin Lindsey – A Quiet Storm

Melvin Lindsey was an American radio and television personality in the Washington, D.C. area. He is widely known for originating the “Quiet Storm” late-night music programming format.

Lindsey began his broadcast career as an intern at Howard University radio station WHUR-FM. In 1976, he brought the “Quiet Storm” to the station’s late-night lineup, titled after a romantic hit single by tenor crooner Smokey Robinson. The show’s soulfully melodic and moody musical fare made it a phenomenal success and the ‘love song’-heavy format was quickly replicated at stations across the country that served an urban, African-American adult demographic. Lindsey’s show also gave rise to a category of music of the same name.

After a nine-year run on WHUR, Lindsey took his format to another local radio station, WKYS-FM, for five more years and later hosted Screen Scene for Black Entertainment Television (BET). He also worked for Washington, D.C. television stations WTTG-TV and WFTY-TV and for WJZ-TV in Baltimore, Maryland.

Lindsey died in 1992 at the age of 36, but the Quiet Storm format he originated remains a popular staple in radio programming today, three decades after its inception, across the nation, especially in evening and late-night radio programs. Many artists continue to create songs targeted towards Quiet Storm stations and shows.

CHECK OUT VIDEO CLIP BELOW:

Kato Hammond

About Kato Hammond

Kato Hammond is an American musician and journalist. He is the owner and creator of Take Me Out To The Go-Go, Inc. (TMOTTGoGo), editor and publisher of Take Me Out To The Go-Go Magazine, executive producer of TMOTTGoGo DVD Magazine, and webmaster of TMOTTGoGo.com and creator of TMOTTRadio.com. Take Me Out to the Go-Go Magazine gains attention from outside media outlets for its designation as 'the official gateway to a Washington, DC music culture.' Such magazines as Vibe have made Kevin Hammond and Take Me Out to the GoGo Magazine a significant source of information about the go-go music culture. His history as a musician includes performing and recording with the go-go bands Pure Elegance, Little Benny and the Masters, and Proper Utensils, as well as serving as music director to such bands as Fatal Attraction.
Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply