How WILD AM 1090 became the authoritative voice of Boston's Black community for decades
BOSTON – At 90 Warren St. in Roxbury, a non-descript brick building stands largely unnoticed. It blends in with the bustling environment with anonymity. Yet in the 80s and 90s, it was home to WILD AM 1090, a major force in the Boston radio universe.
"We win 'Best of Boston' from Boston magazine. Our little daytime morning show was all that and then some," recalled "Coach" Willie Maye.
How WILD AM 1090 rose to prominence
For decades, WILD AM 1090 was the authoritative voice of the Black community in Boston. It was the first station to play New Edition, and was the go-to source for music, sports and news for its listeners.
"We were in the community when issues happened. We were, I was there when the Charles Stuart situation happened and clearly the community needed a voice and that voice was WILD. The place where they could get their feelings about what was happening in the community, they came through on WILD," said media mogul Stephen Hill, who's a former radio voice of WILD.
Elroy Smith, a famed programming director who rose to prominence with WILD's success, said the joke was that if it was daylight, the station was on the air. In the winter time, WILD would start programming around 7:15 a.m. and go off air at 4:15 p.m.
"[Listeners] gravitated to this station as soon as we signed on, and they stayed with the radio station until it signed off. This station was the voice for the community." added
"We were beating some full-time FM stations in the ratings. We really were the center of the African-American/Black community in Boston and we took that responsibility with honor" Hill said.
WILD AM 1090 drew celebrities to studio
That authenticity didn't attract just listeners, but A-list celebrities as well.
"Everybody would come to the station. Barry White, Luther Vandross, Chante Moore," Maye said.
"Coach" handled sports duties at the station and hosted several prominent Boston athletes in the studio.
What makes WILD's success story even better was the fact that the station was only on during the day.
"WILD was the little daytime station that knew that it could. It was a daytime station because of some grandfather rules from the FCC from years ago. But when we were on the air, we were competitive with everybody else in the market," Hill said.
"Rock stars" in Boston
The team was loaded with talent. Smith has been a programming executive at some of the largest and most successful stations in the country.
Hill was scooped up by MTV and later led BET through its heyday. Maye went on to become the Celtics sideline reporter and in-house host. It was a "lightning in a bottle moment" for the community, the station and those involved.
"In no time we went from being regular to here, kind of like becoming rock stars in your own community" Maye said.
"It was a team. Everyone that walked in that door wanted to give back to the community. It was a family. We all watched out for each other" adds Smith.
"WILD Day' declared in Boston
On Friday, July 26, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu will make a proclamation that the day is "WILD Day" in the city for the station's legacy and impact on the community.
The Boston Radio Reunion and Awards ceremony will take place later at the Bolling Municipal Building.
