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5 unusual facts about WBEN


WBEN

WBEN-FM, a radio station (95.7 FM) licensed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

WIVB-TV, a television station (channel 4 analog/39 digital) licensed to Buffalo, New York, United States, which formerly used the call sign WBEN

WBEN-FM

Finally, in September 1997, when the station was bought by its current owner, Greater Media, an executive from that company announced that the station's classical recordings would be sold to WRTI (Temple University's radio station); the stated rationale was that classical music is best presented in a non-commercial format.

Named after Benjamin Franklin, the station pioneered a "Playing Anything We Feel Like" radio format, a concept which originated in Canada with the Jack FM concept.

The format didn't last long; at Noon on May 13, 1999, in the middle of Sarah McLachlan's "Building a Mystery", the station became WEJM "Jammin' Gold", playing a blend of urban oldies from the '60s to the '80s, disco, classic dance tunes, and some '70s pop hits. The first song on "Jammin' Gold" was "Back Stabbers" by The O'Jays.


Similar

WBEN-FM |

The Triolettes

In the early 1930s The Triolettes played on local stations CFRB and WBEN (in Buffalo, New York and Toronto, Canada).

WRNB

The format is very similar to that of the defunct WEJM, playing Motown, Disco, funk, new jack swing, freestyle, and early hip hop from the 1960s-2000s.


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