CINCINNATI — June is Black Music Month, a time dedicated to recognizing the influence of Black music and its impact on American culture.
In Cincinnati, the Black Music Walk of Fame is marking the occasion by honoring its newest class of inductees: the legendary R&B and disco group Heatwave and pioneering radio station WCIN. WCIN’s impact, meanwhile, extended far beyond music.
Lincoln Ware, one of Cincinnati’s most recognizable radio personalities, began his broadcasting career at the station in 1973. He said WCIN served as a vital source of information for the Black community.
“People relied on WCIN to get all the information. Things that were going on in the black community and things like that,” Ware said. “Without that, people would have been just totally lost.”
Founded in 1953, WCIN became one of the nation’s pioneering Black radio stations and helped launch the careers of many broadcasters and community leaders.
“My biggest accomplishment is to have interviewed some of the people who are in the Walk of Fame back in the ’70s,” he said. “People like Bootsy Collins, James Brown.”
The Black Music Walk of Fame opened in 2021 and offers visitors a free, interactive experience featuring exhibits, digital storytelling and stars honoring notable figures in Black music and culture.
Founder and Hamilton County Commissioner Alicia Reece said the attraction has welcomed over 300,000 visitors and continues to grow.
“It’s still a best-kept secret. It’s only been three years that it’s been open. It’s nothing like it,” Reece said.
She hopes visitors leave with a greater appreciation for the region’s contributions to music and culture.
“All these things came from right here,” Reece said. “I want people to understand the richness of the talent that we had, and that we groomed.”
While Ware’s career later took him to other stations and now The Buzz, many people still associate him with WCIN, something he believes speaks to the station’s lasting legacy.
“When I see grandmothers come up to me and say, ‘This is my great-grandchild here, but I used to listen to you when I was a kid,’ I’m like, okay, it’s overwhelming,” Ware said.
The newest class of inductees will officially be welcomed into the Black Music Walk of Fame during an induction ceremony on July 25, coinciding with Cincinnati Music Festival weekend.
