Celebrating 50 years of WDKX (103.9)
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Recorded on February 13, 2024 at 7:00 pm Program Runtime: 00:45:48 The program was recorded at: Greece Central School District’s Transportation & Support Services Building Presenter: Andre Langston |
Join Us on Tuesday, February 13, 2024, at 7 PM, at the Greece Central School District’s Transportation & Support Services Building, 1790 Latta Road, for a program on the History of WDKX the first and only African-American-owned station in Rochester, New York. The station was founded by Andrew Langston. Andre Langston & Andria B. Langston are the current owners of the radio station. The reason they chose the call sign WDKX is an acronym for and keeping with its urban contemporary format used the call letters to honor African-American Heros and one of them was a Rochesterian at the time of their death;
- W stands for radio stations located east of the Mississippi River
- D stands for Frederick Douglass
- K stands for Martin Luther King, Jr.
- X stands for Malcolm X
WDKX uses an 800-watt transmitter to broadcast its radio station. The station went live on April 6, 1974, at 5:30 AM and has been broadcasting 24/7 ever since. WDKX is one of only two remaining Urban stations in New York State.
The Station received the first-ever Pioneer Award from the Rochester Radio Broadcasters Hall of Fame, Andrew A. Langston, founder, owner, and general manager of 103.9 WDKX FM, was among the inaugural inductees into the New York State Broadcasters Associations Hall of Fame in June 2014.
Andrew Langston died in 2010 at the age of 82. His son, Andre Langston, continues to operate the station as the current general manager and is our scheduled speaker.
Other Locations WDKX was featured or mentioned in:
- mentioned on “Super Hoe” Boogie Down Productions Criminal Minded 1987
- VH1 Hip Hop Honors 2005
- Hart of the City in 2019 (Season 3, Episode 5) which was produced by Kevin Hart and Joey Wells in Episode 5 of Season 3 featured three African-American comedians from Rochester, New York, Joel Jones, Travis Blunt, and Zack Johnson, and was filmed at Photo City Improv & Comedy Club / Photo City Music Hall on the corner of Atlantic Ave and Culver Road.
The station has a wide-ranging playlist, from classic soul to current hip hop/R&B.
You can learn more about WDKX History at https://wdkx.com/about
The mission of the Greece Historical Society is to discover, research, and preserve the history of the Town of Greece and to share that history with its residents and the local community through public programs, publications, museum exhibits, and accessibility to its archives and artifacts.
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