Frank Wood, Jr. — “Serious About Fun”
• Frank “Bo” Wood Jr., the founder of WEBN/Cincinnati, affectionately known as Cincinnati’s “Commissioner of Fun,” died July 29 at the age of 83. The market legend had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for several years.
As reported by Cincinnati.com, Wood launched WEBN-FM with his father, Frank Wood Sr. in 1967. Frank Jr. nurtured WEBN into a rock station that some have called the “zaniest” FM station in the country during the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s.
“Frank was one of a kind, a visionary, a ringleader, a smart businessman, a prankster, and a friend,” said Jay Gilbert, who joined WEBN in 1974 and spent 38 years there in various roles. “His genius at WEBN was to hire talented people, then leave them alone, and then vouch for them when they did stuff that pissed people off,” Gilbert said. “This city would be so different if not for him.”
Tom Sandman worked at WEBN for seven “really good years,” starting in 1975 while he was still in college. Sandman later went on to work for the legendary WBCN/Boston, and credits Wood and his time at WEBN for helping to take that big career step. “Bo spoiled me for life,” said Sandman, who said that after WEBN, he had expected every other station to be this crazy, and found out that wasn’t true. “[Bo] was one of the pioneers of FM Rock in the United States,” Sandman said. “He built a brand on being funny, creative, and a smart aleck.”
On Wednesday, RAMP connected with veteran programmer Scott Jameson, who worked for Wood in Indianapolis back in the day and graciously shared his thoughts on his former boss’ passing: “Frank had a profound impact on me as a programmer,” Jameson said. “He was so unique, an owner with childlike exuberance for fun and mischief, but also the brightest and most genuine leader I knew then and still today.”
Jameson continued, “In the early ’90s, Frank’s company, Secret Communications owned the legendary WFBQ in Indianapolis, and I was PD across the street at an upstart rock station WRZX. When it was announced Frank was buying WRZX I didn’t know what to expect… none of us did. When we first met, he put me at ease and gave me confidence to program the station aligning strategically with WFBQ to own the rock format. As years went by we developed a terrific friendship, and after the 18 years I spent in Indy we continued to stay in touch.
Frank’s early guidance of always taking the creative path first when it comes to programming and marketing shaped how I managed brands throughout my career. This one really hurts.” [Frank Wood photo, circa 2014, by Liz Dufour / Cincinnati Enquirer]
