BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2023: Former Home Secretary Has Music And Talk Show On WBGO-FM Radio

After serving and protecting the entire US as Secretary of Homeland Security, Jay Johnson would not be surprised to receive a respectful “thank you” from appreciative fans.

But the thanks Johnson received that day were not for his homeland security service; it was to play great soul music and give informative interviews on his monthly radio show All Things of the Soul on popular Newark radio WBGO 88.3 FM.

Jeh Johnson at the console for his WBGO-FM music and talk show "All Things Soul".

(Courtesy of WBGO/WBGO Jazz 88.3 FM)

“I’ll meet people at the train station and people will say, ‘Thank you very much,’ and I think they thank me for my service in Washington,” Johnson said. “They thank me because they enjoy listening to my music!”

With the exception of these dedicated WBGO radio listeners, Johnson is better known as the fourth secretary of homeland security, the head of the cabinet-level division that coordinates more than 20 federal departments and agencies, developing a comprehensive strategy for the country. The Department of Homeland Security, created in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, is constantly present through increased airport security, increased cybersecurity, national border security, and more.

But obviously Johnson is also impressing some Americans as a WBGO radio host. Well, the “All Things Soul” format of music and talk is really attractive. In March 2022, Johnson made his debut on the show with former President Bill Clinton as a guest. In a video chat, Clinton shared his love of jazz, leisurely reminisced about personal musical memories, and even spoke out about the war in Ukraine when asked about it by Johnson.

“It was in his music room at his home in Chappaqua, and he [Clinton] wanted to show me some autographed albums he had. And he had an amazing memory,” Johnson said. “I was hoping to get only 15 minutes, but we talked for 27 minutes.”

Following a jazz format on most days, the station hosts Rhythm and Song Weekend Friday through Sunday. It is a mixture of R&B, jazz and blues, which features popular classic soul and dance music expert Felix Hernandez. Johnson contributes once a month with his “All Things Soul” – a coordinated mix of classic R&B tracks and a powerful special guest line-up.

At last month’s birthday party for Martin Luther King Jr., the show was attended by civil rights icon and confidant of the king, Andrew Young, “one of the few survivors left in the king’s inner circle,” according to Johnson. Historian Henry Louis Gates, Black Entertainment Television founder Robert Johnson, and CNN host Wolf Blitzer are some of the other guests that Johnson—through influence and connections—hosted on the program.

“I’m taking on a new persona, obviously, beyond Secretary of Homeland Security, beyond Face the Nation, beyond Meet the Press, beyond MSNBC,” said Johnson, who was in demand and featured in the mainstream. TV shows about cases and other media since leaving homeland security in 2017.

Dedicated to each show, Johnson eagerly browses music libraries and other sources to develop the playlists he creates for each program. “I try to build music around the theme of the interview,” he said, noting that he also strives to provide something “worthy of attention and meaningful to people.”

The source of Johnson’s zeal for the program is multi-faceted and rooted in his love of music and his special attachment to WBGO.

Secretary of Homeland Security nominee Je Johnson (left) introduced to the media by President Obama in 2013.

(Drew Angerer/GETTY)

In his youth, Johnson, like many other listeners, tuned in to WABC radio, 770 AM, whose disc jockeys repeatedly played the top ten hits of the day to listeners. “So it ranged from Elvis to the Bee Gees, from the Rolling Stones to Smokey and Gladys Knight. It was a varied dozen,” he recalls.

In high school, “I developed an ear for music,” he said, recalling his personal taste for a solid switch to rhythm and blues, while his favorite radio station was WBLS, 107.5 FM, a powerful R&B station in the 1970s. x – 1970s. 1980s.

And his time at Morehouse College in Atlanta only strengthened his musical tastes. Later, when he was a married, Columbia-educated lawyer living in New Jersey, he was introduced to WBGO and Hernandez’s soulful sound. “From that moment on, I started listening to Felix every Saturday,” he said. “Even when I was in Washington, I listened to Felix on the Internet!”

But it was in 2002 that Johnson began to literally be drawn into the precinct. “In a moment of temporary insanity” during a WBGO fundraiser, he donated an amount that would have allowed him to work as a WBGO disc jockey for an hour – and was incredibly excited. “November 2002 was my first host hour and I loved it. It was impressive,” said Johnson, who continued to play “host his own show” concerts “every year from 2002 to 2008.”

Then, in 2017, Johnson accepted an offer to join the station’s board of directors, after which he began helping Hernandez fundraise at the station.

And then this happened: “About a year ago, station manager Steve Williams asked, ‘How would you like to have your own show?’ And I said yes, accepting the offer and deciding to do the show for free. “I do this pro bono because I have a full-time job,” practicing law at Paul, Weiss, a Manhattan company where he is a partner.

Grateful for the opportunity to share music and some knowledge through the show, Johnson gives thanks every month to the late Bob Porter, an invaluable 40-year-old on the air at the station. The Johnson Show is broadcast at Porter’s old premises from 8 am to 10 am on Saturdays.

Johnson’s February 11 show will be a fundraiser for the WBGO. On a personal note: This Black History Month will be special for Johnson, who, along with education activist Angela Davis, will be a guest on the Feb. 21 edition of Gates’ Roots Show on PBS.

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