Contributing Writer
BOSTON – During the late 1950s, African American records had no real home on Boston radio. WCOP tried to answer the call to play R&B music, but the powers-that-be nixed the idea. That would soon change. Acting on a tip, Fred “Skippy White” LeBlanc approached WILD AM 1090 with a proposal, if he were allowed to DJ. The Waltham native took a big risk proposing something other than continuing to fill the airwaves with Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra melodies but his passion for R&B music was deep.
The legendary radio personality, concert promoter, record store owner and producer/manager of local artists would go on to say he got hooked on the genre after listening to “Crying in the Chapel” by the Orioles on the radio in 1953. From 1957 to 1960, White worked at the only Boston store that sold R&B records, Jack’s College Music Shop, where he began his record collection and started a side business as a distributor.
Influx of Southern migrants…