Fans are discovering that “The King” has made a triumphant return to his throne.
Yes, Lonnell Conley, better known to blues and jazz fans as “King Ro,” is once again on the radio.
The popular disc jockey is now being featured on Jazz-City Radio, a new Indianapolis based station available on Live365.com, an online satellite music network.
“It feels good being back on the air,” said Conley. “I’ve always loved radio and have been involved with it for many years, so I decided to give this opportunity a shot. There is such a great need for the music being played on this station.”
Conley’s program, Blues With a Feeling, airs on Jazz-City Radio every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Jazz-City Radio plays classic and contemporary jazz, as well as some blues. The show can be heard by listeners on Live365.com or those that have a satellite radio system in their car.
Jazz-City Radio is owned by Jazz-City Entertainment LLC, which also has a concert promotion business, recording label and Web site magazine.
Michael Carter, president and co-founder of Jazz-City Entertainment, is excited that his station is hosting the return of a broadcasting legend.
“Let’s face it, King Ro is one of the top DJ’s,” Carter said. “To have a personality of that stature lends a lot of creditability to the station and is really a feather in our cap.”
When Carter, his wife Janice and business partner George Alexander established Jazz City Entertainment in 2002, they had no broadcasting experience. But they already had a good reputation on the local jazz scene as promoters, bringing artists such as Wayman Tisdale, Kim Waters, Walter Beasley and Chuck Glover for concerts.
“I’ve always loved jazz,” said Carter, a former executive at Allison Transmission. “My father introduced me to jazz at age 17, when Horace Silver’s “Song From My Father” became a favorite of mine.”
Carter has multiple goals for Jazz-City Radio. First, he would like to see it become an interactive station that inspires listeners to make requests and share their feedback by visiting the station’s Web site, www.jazz-city.com, which also has a Web magazine with articles on jazz artists and events.
Carter also hopes to use Jazz City Radio to help promote music education programs and offer affordable advertising opportunities for local businesses. The station plays mostly music by famous performers, but Carter would also like to expose talented artists on the Indianapolis scene.
“Anybody can play music, but we’re trying to develop an identity because we want this station to truly connect with the community,” said Carter. “We want Jazz-City Radio to be something that the city can be proud of.”
In addition to Conley, other disc jockeys on Jazz-City Radio include George Alexander and his A Touch of Jazz program on Tuesday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Jeff Gillis on Monday from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. To appeal to younger jazz fans, Carter’s sons, Michael and Keith appear on Saturdays from noon to 6 p.m.
The remainder of the station’s 24-hour air-time is filled by an automatic rotation of music from a database of over 7,000 songs.
Currently, Jazz-City Radio is one of only three online satellite stations in Indianapolis. Most industry experts agree that as more people begin searching for music on their computers, more stations will adopt the satellite format, which offers more options for listeners and is easier to operate for most program managers.
“By being an Internet station we are heard by countries all over the world, which is also exposure for Indianapolis,” said Carter.
Carter conducted research which determined that most of Jazz-City Radio’s listeners are those who live outside of Indianapolis in major markets such as New York, Las Vegas, Philadelphia and Washington DC. Out of the nearly 200 jazz stations on Live365.com the station already ranks at 36 for the level of listeners, and 1,463 out of the network’s total 7,000.
Conley, who remembers the days when disc jockeys had to manually spin vinyl records, is excited about the cutting-edge technology of Internet radio.
“Pretty soon all stations will have to be connected to the Internet somehow,” he said. “It’s definitely the wave of the future.”
Quick facts on King Ro
After briefly singing with a doo-wop group, Lonnell “King Ro” Conley attended the New York School of Announcing and Speech. He got his first job as a disc jockey with WTHB in Augusta, GA in 1964. He worked at stations in New York, Atlanta, Baltimore and other cities before arriving in Indianapolis in 1984. He promoted numerous blues concerts and hosted the Blues With A Feeling show on WPZZ-FM (95.5) from 1985 to 1989, and on WTLC-FM (107.5) from 1989 to 1999. He was a member of the Indianapolis City-County Council from 2000 to 2007, and plans to run again in 2011.
What Do You Think?
Jazz City Radio wants to hear from you. Make song requests or share your thoughts by emailing info@jazz-city.com, calling (317) 371-1326 or writing to Jazz-City Entertainment, PO Box 55124, Indianapolis, IN 46220.
