Remembering KBLX Innovator Harvey Stone
• Harvey Stone, longtime President and General Manager of KBLX/San Francisco and one of the architects of modern Urban Contemporary radio, died on August 4. During more than three decades at KBLX, he helped reshape broadcasting in the San Francisco Bay Area and influenced radio stations across the country.
For 31 years, Stone guided the station from Inner City Broadcasting’s acquisition of KRE-AM through the sale of KBLX to Entercom in 2012. He transformed what had been a struggling station into one of the country’s most successful independently operated, minority-owned radio properties, competing successfully against broadcast groups with far greater resources.
Born and raised in Cleveland, Stone was recruited by the Sutton family, owners of Inner City Broadcasting, to lead KBLX. When asked if he could fix the station, Stone replied, “Only if you let me.” They handed him the keys, and he never looked back. Stone helped develop the Quiet Storm format that became KBLX’s signature, creating a sound that reflected the Bay Area — a polished mix of contemporary R&B, Smooth Jazz and mellow instrumentals wrapped in the station’s memorable “Soft and Warm” identity.
Stone’s programming philosophy was simple: “music has no color.” KBLX attracted a broad audience while remaining deeply rooted in the African American community. Throughout the 1990s and into the ’00s, the station consistently ranked among the Bay Area’s top stations despite remaining a standalone operation as large broadcast groups assembled powerful station clusters.
Stone brought that same vision to the business side of radio. At a time when many advertisers overlooked Urban radio, he challenged outdated assumptions by demonstrating the buying power and loyalty of KBLX’s audience, helping change perceptions of minority-owned radio among national advertisers. Stone also created the Stone Soul Picnic, which grew into one of Northern California’s premier live music events and a signature celebration of the Bay Area community.
In 2015, Stone was inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame. He was also affectionately known as “the godfather” of the California Historical Radio Society for his pivotal role in helping secure Berkeley’s historic KRE building as the organization’s first permanent home.
Stone’s influence lives on in the broadcasters he mentored, the careers he helped shape and the philosophy he demonstrated throughout his career: know your audience, serve your community and never be afraid to do things differently.
Harvey Stone is survived by his wife, Sharon Cadiou, son: Jim, wife Natalie, and their 17 year-old twins, Aaron and Aliza, and daughter Jyll Stone.
