Sunday Night Slow Jams

Last updated
Sunday Night Slow Jams
Other namesSunday Nite Slow Jams(formerly)
Running time4 hours
Country of originUnited States
Language(s)English
Hosted by R Dub!
Created byR Dub!
Original release24 July 1994 –
present
Website slowjams.com

Sunday Night Slow Jams is an American weekly syndicated radio program dedicated to slow jams music. Created on 24 July 1994, it is directed and presented by creator R Dub!, and broadcast on more than 200 radio stations in 17 countries as of May 2023.

Contents

Format

Sunday Night Slow Jams is broadcast weekly on Sundays, from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. on most stations. [1] Listeners can send in "Oral Expressions" expressing their love for someone. [2]

History

Randy Williams, presenter of Sunday Night Slow Jams, was hired for his first professional job in radio when he was 16; he was hired to work for KXCI in Tucson, Arizona after having previously enrolled in a disc jockey (DJ) class there. He presented a slow jam show called Nyte Flyte once a week. His second job was at KFFN, then-branded as Power 1490, where, on 24 July 1994, he would premiere the first edition of Sunday Night Slow Jams—at this point called Sunday Nite Slow Jams. [3] [4] He also renamed himself R Dub!, a stylised shortening of his initials, R.W. [5]

After Power 1490 changed formats to an alternative rock station, Williams got a job at WKGN in Knoxville, Tennessee, which he described as the "worst six months of [his] life", [3] citing loneliness, unkind coworkers and inadequate pay. Once his lease expired, he was employed at the bilingual KOHT back in Tucson. [3] After six months at KOHT, the station was purchased by Art Laboe, but because of Laboe's unpopular changes, Williams, supported by much of the KOHT staff, launched KSJM (branded Power 97.5) as a competitor to KOHT. Within some nine months, Power 97.5 had surpassed KOHT in ratings. Despite this, Power 97.5 was bought out within a year, and Williams signed on with Tucson's KRQQ; [3] [6] Sunday Night Slow Jams also followed. [5]

In 1999, Tim Richards, then-operations manager of KRQQ, called Williams "one of the best night disc jockeys in the country right now". [5] In 2001, Clear Channel Entertainment, owner of KRQQ, purchased KOHT, and Williams was rehired as program director and afternoon host alongside presenter for Sunday Night Slow Jams. [3] In 2002, Sunday Night Slow Jams was syndicated in Nogales, Arizona and Tulsa, Oklahoma. That same year, Williams founded Fusion Radio Networks as Sunday Night Slow Jams added several new affiliates over the next few years. [4] By 2005, Sunday Night Slow Jams was syndicated in Hawaii, Mexico and England. [7]

In 2013, Williams appeared on Shark Tank alongside R&B singer Brian McKnight—who performed a serenade—unsuccessfully seeking a US$75,000 investment in exchange for a ten percent equity stake in Sunday Night Slow James. [8] As of May 2023, Sunday Night Slow Jams was broadcast on more than 200 radio stations in 17 countries. [1] [9]

In honor of the 30th anniversary of Sunday Night Slow Jams, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria declared June 21st "Slow Jams Day" for the city. [10] Mayor Regina Romero also proclaimed June 21st "Slow Jams Day" for the city of Tucson, Arizona. [11]

Sunday Night Slow Jams Live

Launched in February 1999, Sunday Night Slow Jams Live is a spinoff of the radio show. [12] It is a live concert featuring various R&B artists. [13] [14]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Sunday Night Slow Jams Radio Stations". Sunday Night Slow James (Official website). Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  2. ↑ "Sunday Night Slow Jams with R Dub!". XHITZ-FM . Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Levine, Joshua (24 October 2013). "Goddamn, That DJ Made My Day!". Tucson Weekly . Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  4. 1 2 Burke, Bob (4 December 2009). "Fusion Radio Networks President Randy "R Rub!" Williams". FMQB . Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 Severson, Ed (27 January 1999). "DJ rising at night". Arizona Daily Star . p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Villarreal, Phil (23 June 2000). "Dance clubs open doors to youths on summer eves". Arizona Daily Star. p. 91 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Mauet, Sarah (17 February 2005). "Gettin' down with slow jams". Arizona Daily Star. p. 52 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Griswold, Alison (13 October 2013). "Even A Flashy Pitch Couldn't Make This Radio Show A Hit On 'Shark Tank'". Business Insider . Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  9. ↑ "10 Questions with ... R Dub!". All Access. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  10. ↑ "San Diego declares June 21 'Slow Jams Day'". KPBS Public Media. Retrieved 2024-07-21.
  11. ↑ Blaser, Sierra (2024-06-14). "Popular radio show started in Tucson returns for 30th anniversary concert". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved 2024-07-21.
  12. ↑ Buck, TJ (19 February 2004). "Live show a spinoff of Slow Jams radio show". Tucson Citizen . p. 61 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "R Dub's Slow James Live will love you up Sunday". Arizona Daily Star. 15 February 2007. p. F37 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Sunday Night Slow Jams Live". Tucson Citizen. 21 February 2008. pp. 34, 42 – via Newspapers.com.
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